NSA Monitoring Changes Pose Immediate Challenges

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Leader’s owners or staff.

President Obama’s order to modify the National Security Agency’s sweeping data collection program faces daunting political and technical challenges and resistance from telecom companies, reports the Washington Post. The Economist called it “the biggest attempt to codify American spying since the aftermath of Watergate.” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers on Sunday called the changes “unworkable” and said they’d hinder the nation’s ability to anticipate terrorist acts, Politico reported.

The 2014 defense appropriations budget reduces Navy aircraft procurement by $1.5 billion, a provision of the omnibus spending bill Congress passed last week. The F-35A joint strike fighter lost advance procurement funds for two jets that would be purchased in fiscal 2015. The Navy also lost one F-35C variant, Defense News reported. The bill does contain funding for unmanned vehicle programs such as the Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper.

Unless there is “financial buy-in” from NATO partners, dollars allocated to a nuclear-capable F-35 should be redirected to the long-range strike bomber, former USAF chief Norton Schwartz said in a speech late last week, Defense News reported.

Israel becomes the first foreign country permitted to purchase the V-22 Osprey, DefenceTalk reported. The purchase of six Osprey is valued at $1.13 billion.

“Clear-cut victory” will be as elusive in future wars as it has been in recent past, former SecDef Robert Gates said on “Meet the Press” Sunday. (video)

A cascade of Congressional retirements means that there will be fewer champions of defense on Capitol Hill, The Hill reports.

Despite recent controversy over trimming some military retiree benefits, military retirees are still in cost-cutters’ sights, reports Government Executive.  The reason:  belief that shifting more health-care costs to retirees is the most effective route to slowing medical outlays. DoD now pays $52 billion annually, about 10 percent of its base budget, toward health care.

BlackBerry mobile devices, losing steam in much of corporate America, are moving to the front of the line at the Pentagon, as they will be among the first to be secured under a program that will protect mobile device data on warfighters, Defense One reports. About 80,000 BlackBerrys and 1,800 Android and Apple devices will begin interfacing with the new security management system Jan. 31.

Congressman Steny Hoyer joined Dennis V. McGinn, assistant secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment, for a tour of Patuxent River Naval Air Station Friday.