GAO wants agencies to evaluate and enhance telework programs; Navy is exploring new tactics while pairing kamikaze drones with robo-ships

Telework programs in the federal government should benefit mission, operations and work-life balance at agencies, according to the Government Accountability Office. Yet some agencies are not fully aligned with key practices to ensure successful telework implementation, the watchdog found in a new report. The Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency all told the GAO that they have not yet fully evaluated the effects of telework on agency performance, it explains in the report. Similarly, the Department of Veterans Affairs cannot do so for the Veterans Benefits Administration because it does not have a system in place that provides telework agreement information in an accessible manner. U.S. Naval Forces Central Command is steaming ahead with experimental efforts to launch unmanned aerial vehicles from uncrewed surface vessels. The latest Digital Talon exercise, conducted earlier this month in the Middle East region, included a variety of robotic capabilities that could play a significant role in future conflicts. In a release, NAVCENT said: “Digital Talon 3.0 … tested the electronic and mechanical effectiveness of robotics and autonomous systems (RAS), the capabilities of over-the-horizon communications between unmanned systems, and testing aerial autonomous launch and recovery of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) off a unmanned surface vessel (USV).” The Daily Scoop Podcast is available every Monday-Friday afternoon. If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast  on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.