Today's Top News

• Pentagon says White House to release budget April 8
  The Obama administration will release the 2014 budget about two months later than required by law, according to members of Congress who say they were briefed by Pentagon officials. The budget is said to be coming April 8, although the White House hasn't confirmed that date. Congressional Republicans criticized the delay, saying it causes unnecessary uncertainty among military leaders. The Hill/DEFCON Hill blog (3/8)     

Defense

• Dramatic sequester warnings generate questions
  Some members of Congress are questioning whether military officers "hyped" the effects of sequestration, issuing dramatic warnings that were more dire than was necessary, and making statements better left to civilian leadership. Military officials counter that their warnings about sequestration were real. "Look, military leaders don't make decisions to make a point," Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby wrote in an op-ed piece. "We don't do drama. And we don't involve ourselves in political debates." Defense News (3/10)     

• AIA hires Christian Marrone for national security post
  Christian P. Marrone has joined the Aerospace Industries Association as vice president for national security and acquisition policy, a post he comes to after serving at 3M Co. as defense markets executive. Marrone previously worked for then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates at the Pentagon as a special assistant. Roll Call (free content) (3/8)     

• Other News

• Northrop makes 2 aerospace-sector appointments
  Washington Technology (3/8)     

Commercial Aviation

• Boeing to relocate flight training to Miami
  Boeing announced plans to move all of its flight training and maintenance training operations in North America to Miami from Seattle. "With the 787 grounded, there's a lessening of the training demand," said Boeing spokesman Jim Condelles. "There's an opportunity with that situation to relocate to Miami." Reuters (3/8)     

• Senator plans bill to expand use of electronic devices on flights
  Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., plans to introduce legislation to allow passengers to use personal electronic devices during all phases of flight. The bill would not apply to cellphones, but would include "iPads, other tablets, music players and other devices," this feature says. Politico (Washington, D.C.) (3/7)     

• Other News

• Boeing appoints executives to lead 777X, 737 MAX programs
  Reuters (3/8)     

• N.M. faces closure of air-traffic control towers
  The Washington Post/The Associated Press (3/8)     

Space

• NASA powers down Curiosity to withstand solar strike
  The sun has sent a solar blast scorching through space to Mars, but the rover Curiosity is sleeping through the whole thing. NASA powered down the rover to be on the safe side while Mars experienced a surge in radiation from the solar burst. Such flares have damaged Mars exploration equipment in the past, but NASA doesn't expect the same thing to happen to Curiosity. CBS News/The Associated Press (3/7)     

• Other News

• Commentary: NASA should close some space centers
  Florida Today (Melbourne) (tiered subscription model) (3/9)     

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by AIA dailyLead® readers in the past week.

• House passes interim measure to avert U.S. government shutdown (Reuters)

• Northrop Grumman to create 920 jobs at Fla. facility (Orlando Sentinel (Fla.))

• 787 can return to service quickly, Boeing executive says (The Seattle Times)

• Defense firms cut jobs, wait for sequester fallout (Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas))

• Lawmakers may work on overtime sequester bill (Defense News)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

AIA News

• Reach AIA members - New advertising opportunity
  For the first time, AIA is publishing a comprehensive Membership Resource Guide to provide AIA members with information on all of the benefits and opportunities available to members. The first edition of the AIA Member Resource Guide will be available both in print and online, and distributed to all of AIA's members as well as high-level government and administration officials. If you are interested in advertising in AIA's Member Resource Guide, visit here.     

• Urgent call to action – write Congress and the White House to repeal sequestration
  Because of the White House's and Congress' inability to reach a deal to reverse sequestration, the initial round of multibillion cuts to defense and non-defense federal agencies has begun. Although these cuts are now being implemented, it is not too late to repeal this bad policy and develop a balanced, bi-partisan solution to our nation's debt and deficit problem. Now is the time to reach out to your elected officials to communicate the urgent need to repeal sequestration. Go to the Second to None website to send a letter to your elected officials in Washington today.     

Position Title Company Name Location A&P Line Mechanics, Various Locations EMPIRE AIRLINES Oahu, HI Hardware-in-the-Loop Software Engineers Raytheon Missile Systems Tucson, AZ Junior-Level Software Engineer Raytheon Missile Systems Tucson, AZ Senior Software Engineer-Systems Test Raytheon Missile Systems Tucson, AZ PROGRAM MASTER SCHEDULING PROFESSIONALS AAI Corporation Hunt Valley, MD CONTRACTS PROFESSIONALS AAI CORPORATION Hunt Valley, MD PROGRAM MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALS AAI Corporation Multiple Locations, United States Senior Embedded Software Engineer Raytheon Missile Systems Tucson, AZ Senior Key Account/Customer Manager LORD Corporation Phoenix, AZ Engineer Interiors JetBlue Airways Long Island City , NY Assistant Vice President, Acquisition Policy Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) Arlington, VA Assistant Vice President, Industrial Base Policy Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) Arlington, VA

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SmartQuote

The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be." --Socrates, Greek philosopher