Weekend wrap: Expeditionary links

This was an incredibly hectic week, so there were many stories that we just couldn't get to with all the other action on the Hill and elsewhere. Here were a few of them:

• Secretary Panetta warned that if the Doomsday Device "sequestration" goes into effect, it could cause DoD to lay off so many people it might increase the national unemployment rate by a whole percent. Game over, man! Game over!

• Not long after we talked about the infamous Gray Elephant here on Buzz, General Dynamics and the Navy announced they had signed contracts for the second and third Zumwalt-class destroyers, DDGs 1001 and 1002. Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe said the deals "will ensure a strong and steady workload at Bath Iron Works for the next several years,” per the Bangor Daily News. That's the name of the game.

• Speaking of series production, the Army says it could field as many as 26,000 new trucks in its Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles over the next few years.

• Did you hear about DoD's new space warfare office?

• Here's a cool story: A U.S. Navy sailor in Hawaii found a message in a bottle that had been dropped into the ocean by a Japanese girl -- five years ago. So if you're stranded on a desert island, go ahead and send your message, because it'll get there eventually. But keep your beach ball companion around for company since it's going to take awhile.