Congress has sided with labor unions against the Pentagon over the National Security Personnel System, prohibiting use of 2007 funds for NSPS labor relations actions. The House-Senate conference report for the 2007 defense spending bill would remove this limitation should the federal district court decision (American Federation of Government Employees vs. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld) be reversed on appeal. The Pentagon is pursuing implementation of NSPS—without the union employees.
The Defense Department now says military members can indeed attend conferences in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, correcting a statement made last week by Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby. The Air Force Association continues to plan a full, in-person 2022 AFA Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla., March 2-4. “To…