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Recruitment and retention in federal agencies Kiran Ahuja, director of the Office of Personnel Management, reviews what OPM has accomplished in the past year and what it is focusing on now with hiring, employee pay and support of agencies   Assessing damage to Capitol grounds after attack Jim Kaufmann, director of the Capitol Grounds and Arboretum and finalist for a Service to America Medal, describes what it was like to restore the grounds after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack

How would China enact naval blockade of Taiwan? Bradley Martin, director and senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, discusses the possibility for China to put in place a naval blockade of Taiwan, potential response and recommendations for the U.S.   Iran may be preparing rocket launch Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, discusses the potential for an Iranian rocket launch and the military significance of this move   Leading vaccine rollout effort Anita Patel, former senior advisor for pandemic preparedness and response at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses managing the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, addressing challenges and working with the private sector  

Collaboration between Space Force and UK Space Command Air Vice-Marshal Paul Godfrey, commander of UK Space Command, discusses the founding of the command, accomplishments so far and partnership with the U.S. Space Force   US-Russia relations on board space station Zhanna Malekos Smith, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and assistant professor at West Point, discusses how Russia’s war on Ukraine has impacted relations with Americans on board the International Space Station

Deterring Chinese attack on Taiwan Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, discusses the “dual deterrence” policy and the likelihood that the United States would be able to defend Taiwan from China   China set to launch third aircraft carrier Warren Strobel, national security reporter for The Wall Street Journal, provides updates about satellite imagery of China’s new aircraft carrier and explains the significance   Shoring up strategic mineral stockpile Bryant Harris, Congress reporter for Defense News, discusses the drastically dwindling National Defense Stockpile and steps the government is taking to bolster it

Department of the Navy’s plan for climate action Meredith Berger, assistant secretary of the Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment, discusses the Department of the Navy’s new “Climate Action 2030” strategy and initiatives for extreme weather preparation and reduction of emissions   Protecting networks and critical infrastructure Brandon Wales, executive director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, describes what it was like to step in as acting director of CISA after the 2020 presidential election and deal with major cyber and ransomware attacks

Top priorities of the Army chief of staff Gen. James McConville, chief of staff of the U.S. Army, discusses his biggest priorities, challenges and other topics including modernization, the Russia-Ukraine war, hypersonic weapons, budget, recruitment and clean energy

Taking down pandemic relief criminals Roy Dotson, assistant special agent in charge at the U.S. Secret Service, discusses his team’s work in successfully investigating and combating fraud related to Covid-19 relief funds   Recent North Korean missile tests Soo Kim, policy analyst at RAND Corporation and former analyst at the CIA, discusses the significance of North Korea’s recent missile test fires and the dynamic between North Korea, South Korea and the United States   Diversity of Capitol Hill staffers LaShonda Brenson, senior researcher at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, breaks down research into the diversity of senior staff in Congress and recommendations for institutional change

Chinese reaction to Biden’s Asia trip Phelim Kine, D.C.-based China correspondent for Politico, discusses whether the president’s recent trip to Asia was successful in rallying Asian allies against China’s increasing influence   Understanding collapse of Afghan security forces Jonathan Schroden, director of the Countering Threats and Challenges Program at CNA, analyzes the factors leading to the collapse of the Afghan security forces and a recent report from the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction   Protecting sensitive defense data Jennifer Franks, director of information technology and cybersecurity at the Government Accountability Office, discusses her office’s review of the cybersecurity of DoD computer systems with sensitive and unclassified data

Inside EUCOM center delivering weapons to Ukraine Jack Detsch, Pentagon and national security reporter for Foreign Policy, describes the International Donor Coordination Center in Germany where American and British officials are working to get weapons to Ukrainians   Improving American military readiness LTG David Deptula (Ret.), dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, discusses his concern that the United States is heading down a similar path as Russia with respect to military capabilities   Technology needed for drone deliveries Lt. Col. Mark Jacobsen, professor of strategy and security studies at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, explains how ready the U.S. Defense Department is to deliver humanitarian aid by drone in war zones

Managing the $9 billion space telescope project Gregory Robinson, program director for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA, discusses what the James Webb Space Telescope will enable and how he improved the management of the program   Army acquisition process improvement and modernization Young Bang, principal deputy assistant secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology for the U.S. Army, discusses accelerating the acquisition timeline, replenishing stock for weapons sent to Ukraine, upskilling the workforce and improving recruitment

Mission of US Army space and missile defense LTG Daniel Karbler, commanding general of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, discusses Army space operations and the evolving importance of space to warfighting   Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Chief Warrant Officer 5 Mohammed Badal, chief of the Contingency Construction and Operational Energy Branch in the U.S. Army, shares his story of starting out in the Army as an immigrant and progressing in his career to his current position

Evacuating 120,000 people from Afghanistan Hila Hanif, director of Afghanistan strategy and policy at the Defense Department, and Holly Herrera, chief of domestic resettlement at the State Department, recount their experiences helping coordinate the evacuation and resettlement of thousands of Afghan refugees last summer   Leading Covid-19 treatment research at NIH Dr. H. Clifford Lane, clinical director at NIAID at NIH, discusses Covid treatment guideline development and his work combating AIDS and Ebola