The Defense Department has begun notifying 43,000 national guard and reserve troops that they will be deployed to Iraq early next year. Reserves will account for about one-third of the next deployment.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said more units may be called up. They will serve 12-month tours of duty, plus additional time for training.

About 28,000 reservists are currently in Iraq.

Senate Small Business Committee Chair Olympia Snowe (R-ME) has asked the Congressional Budget Office to assess the impact of the call-ups on small companies.

The Washington Post reported that about 1,300 reservists have filed complaints with the Labor Department, charging their employers discriminated against them when they returned from active duty.

SBA offers loans of up to $1.5 million for small firms that have been hurt financially by the loss of an essential employee.

These working capital loans may be used to pay necessary operating expenses that could have otherwise been covered. The current interest rate is 3.1 percent with a maximum term of 30 years. SBA determines the amount of economic injury, the term of each loan and the payment amount based on the borrower’s financial circumstances.

To download an application, visit the website at www.sba.gov/disaster.

The federal information technology budget will grow by only about 4% per year over the next six years, according to a forecast by the Government Electronic and Information Technology Association.

Just two years ago the association was predicting double-digit growth in IT spending. The slowdown is the result of a combination of factors: budget deficits, spending on the Iraq war and savings through consolidating IT contracts.

Defense Department employees booked more than 68,000 premium airline tickets, in business class or first class, during 2001 and 2002, paying an extra $30 million above the cost of flying coach, the General Accounting Office reported.

GAO estimated that high-ranking civilian employees and military officers accounted for nearly half of the premium travel. Its report was presented to the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Oct. 6.

DOD said it has appointed a task force to look into the problem. Assistant secretary Charles Abell told the committee that the department has begun implementing a new travel management system that will provide additional controls.

A former defense contractor was sentenced to 40 months in prison after pleading guilty to selling faulty parts for military weapons systems.

The U.S. Attorney in Miami announced the Oct. 31 guilty plea by Nestor Daniel Lopez, a former director of Damon Industries Inc. of Pompano Beach, FL. Lopez was also ordered to pay $355,444 in restitution to the government. He pleaded guilty to 12 counts of falsifying documents on spare parts for jet fighters, helicopters, machine guns, howitzers, rifles and grenade launchers.