The mandatory federal budget cuts that went into effect earlier this year are finally cutting into the workers at the government’s single largest employer.

Even though the Pentagon has no problem helping out a movie like Transformers, it found The Avengers too unrealistic to lend its support.

Listen to President George W. Bush on any given day and you’ll probably hear that Iraq is a little messy, but nothing that a little elbow grease and Republican determination couldn’t handle. Listen to the Post’s correspondents and, well, things seem a little less rosy. To date four of the newspaper’s writers have produced books on Iraq, none of which Bush will likely be taking down to Crawford anytime soon. Bob Woodward’s State of Denial:…

Windfall City? Last week, we discussed a report from an Arlington County task force recommending that Crystal City undertake some significant improvements after the Defense Department moves thousands of its office workers out of the complex. Officials advocated a shift toward residential development and the destruction and replacement of some of the office buildings. Now it appears that such a strategy could yield a windfall for Arlington County. According to Economics Research Associates, which…

Good morning, Washington. Marine Corps Marathon registration opens at noon today, so those of you ready to take on the 26.2 should be ready to get your information in. There will be a number of DCists doing their best to join the field this year (the presale password is “dehydration”). Yours truly will not be among them, but we wish all entrants the best. At right is a photo of Wilson Bridge construction; no reason…

Mayor Williams got his wish. After planning to consolidate regional hearings in Baltimore, the Defense Department will hold Base Realignment and Closure Commission hearings in the District to look at the impact of the proposed closure or realignment of Defense Department facilities in D.C. From the mayor: “I am pleased that Secretary Rumsfeld and BRAC Chairman Principi have heeded my call to engage in a dialog with District residents on how closing Walter Reed will…

That banging sound people near Pentagon City and Crystal City will hear tomorrow morning may not be the usual cacophony of construction noises, but rather “flash-bangs” that are a part of a large-scale public safety exercise the Pentagon will be conducting in Arlington on Wednesday. From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., areas around the Pentagon, Navy Annex and Jefferson Plaza in Crystal City will be swarming with emergency vehicles, role players, observers, and media types….

As the Post notes this morning, Mayor Williams wants the Defense Department to hold at least one Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission meeting in the District to discuss the proposed move of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center on 16th Street NW to Maryland and other BRAC moves that would shift 6,000 jobs out of the District. (Walter Reed himself, is pictured here.) Currently a hearing for the region is proposed for Baltimore on…

It’s military base closure and realignment time! Can’t you feel the tension? A day after Northern Virginia went on alert that as many as 50,000 Defense Department workers could be leaving the area because their buildings do not meet federally mandated terrorist safeguards, a quiet corner of Bethesda might be the next area to see a Pentagon retreat. The Post reports that the Defense Department is considering consolidating agencies like the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on…

Calm down, you World Bank bureaucrats. We have not allowed the news of your new boss to pass us by. As President Bush positions his nominee to run the Bank and European governments brace for the coming change, it’s difficult to see who comes out ahead in the transfer of power. One early winner is definitely the guy who’ll change the office nameplate, as they’ll merely have to scrape the “-ensohn” off the door and…