Pentagon App Store Is Open, But The Shelves Are Pretty Bare

The Defense Information Systems Agency’s new Mobile Applications Store is open for business, but don’t expect to shop there for military-grade killer software. The store offers Slate, Pandora, TED and Twitter apps, along with apps for USAToday, Flipboard, Facebook and Kindle.

But of the 19 apps available in the store as of April 30, only one is a unique military application—DoD Safe Helpline. That’s a “crisis support” app for service members who are dealing with sexual assault. The app promises access to live, confidential help that is “anonymous, secure, and available worldwide, 24/7 by click, call or text.”

DISA opened the app store Jan. 31 as a means of delivering approved software applications to military-issued smartphones and tablet computers. Those devices are controlled by the agency’s new Mobile Device Management system, which enables the store to deliver apps, to update them and even delete them, DISA says...