Department of Defense Denies This Mobile Device Rumor

The Pentagon is denying reports that it is planning on eliminating the use of BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) devices in its operations. The report that the Pentagon was eliminating its use of BlackBerry devices originated with Electronista, which had earlier reported that the DoD was planning on implementing severe cuts to the testing budget for BlackBerry’s new operating system, BlackBerry 10.

Official DoD spokesperson Lt. Col. Damien Pickart said via PC Mag that “the department is aware of recent reporting that asserts it is ‘dropping’ BlackBerry. This reporting is in error. The department recently released its mobility strategy and supporting implementation plan, which clarifies we are moving towards a mobile management capability that supports a variety of devices, to include BlackBerry.”

Pickart also denied he had knowledge of plans to buy over 650,000 iOS devices from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), as Electronista reported earlier this week. However, he did explain to PC Mag that, “As clarified in the recent release of our Commercial Mobile Device Implementation Plan, we are working towards establishing a multi-vendor environment in support of the DoD mobility strategy”…