FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Jobs—from commando to accountant. Contributor D.B. Grady with a Cleared Job rodeo: “For many, a job is a job. For others, it’s more than a career. It’s an identity. Sometimes that identity includes a quest for adventure, and an ambition to aim higher. Here is a round-up of adventurous jobs for the clearance holding professional.”
2. Paying the background check. Contributor John Holst explains, “The federal sponsor agencies pay OPM for the background investigation service of the individual they wish to grant classified access. To ensure a sponsored individual is granted, and maintains, a clearance, sponsoring federal agencies must make sure all clearance application materials are submitted; ensure the individual is eligible for access to classified materials; request and ensure periodic investigations are conducted; as well as making sure the initial background investigation is completed.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Moral Wounding—three parts. HuffingtonPost.Com contributor David Wood explains, “Moral injury is a relatively new concept that seems to describe what many feel: a sense that their fundamental understanding of right and wrong has been violated, and the grief, numbness or guilt that often ensues. Here, you will meet combat veterans struggling with the moral and ethical ambiguities of war.”
2. Turkey takes on Syria. Aljazeera.Com reports, “Turkey’s air force has shot down a Syrian aircraft for violating Turkish airspace, an action that Syria denounced as ‘unprecedented and unjustifiable’. The incident happened on Sunday, with the plane crashing near the Syrian town of Kasab on the Turkish border after it was targeted by F-16s. The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, praised the Turkish military for the action.”
3. Russia easing into Crimea. Reuters’ Aleksandar Vasovic reports, “Russian troops used stun grenades to force their way into a Ukrainian marine base in Crimea early on Monday, overrunning one of the last symbols of resistance left after Moscow wrestled the peninsula away from Kiev, Ukrainian . . . . The Russians fired weapons as they charged into the compound in the port city of Feodosia, and Ukrainian officers were taken away for questioning, a soldier inside . . . .” DefenseNews.Com’s Pierre Tran reports, “A deepening crisis in Ukraine has sharpened the defense policy of NATO member states in Eastern Europe, with the Estonia prime minister calling for higher military spending and Poland seeking early orders for missile defense and drones.” Time’s Denver Nicks reports, “NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe is concerned about Russian forces massing at the Ukrainian border as fears grow that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be eyeing a Russian-speaking region of Moldova.”
4. Verdict: Death for 529 in Egypt. AP reports, “A court in Egypt convicted 529 supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and sentenced them to death on charges of murdering a policeman and attacking police in one of the largest mass trials in the country in decades. The majority of the defendants were tried in absentia while more than 150 stood trial in unprecedentedly rushed hearings that lasted only two days. Sixteen suspects were acquitted.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. The growing cost of the F-35. AviationWeek.Com’s Amy Butler reports, “Despite a squeeze on investment accounts, the Pentagon’s fiscal 2015 budget strategy prioritizes funding for the stealthy F-35—but at what cost, some in industry ask. . . . Critics of the Pentagon’s EW strategy point to the fiscal 2015 budget’s termination of the U.S. Navy’s ties to Boeing’s Super Hornet production line. The service likely will buy only its planned 138 EA-18G Growlers, the Pentagon’s newest airborne EW system, and deploy five to each carrier air wing.”
2. Cybersecurity-smart contracting. FederalTimes.Com’s Nicole Blake Johnson reports, “Security experts often make the case for building cybersecurity into federal systems and solutions up front. Those results have been mixed, at best. But that’s expected to change as government officials flesh out recommendations for incorporating security standards into the federal acquisition process. That includes setting baseline cybersecurity requirements for contractors bidding on work that could pose cyber risks.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. C.I.A. vs. Senate—next round. AP’s Bradley Klapper and Stephen Braun report, “If senators vote this week to release key sections of a voluminous report on terrorist interrogations, an already strained relationship between lawmakers and the CIA could become even more rancorous, and President Barack Obama might have to step into the fray. The Senate Intelligence Committee hopes that by publishing a 400-page summary of its contentious review and the 20 main recommendations, it will shed light on some of the most unsavory elements of the Bush administration’s ‘war on terror’ after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
2. Poland’s 3-Tier missile shield: a detailed report. DefenseIndustryDaily.Com reports, “In the wake of events in Georgia and Crimea, Poland has emerged as NATO’s key eastern bastion. The Tarcza Polski (Shield of Poland) aims to give it an advanced air defense system to match. Poland’s military rise has been slow, but steady.”
3. Dirigible drones. Wired.Com’s Allen McDuffee reports, “With UAVs crowding navigable airspace and plans underway to put giant mega-satellites into orbit, it was just a matter of time before a drone-satellite hybrid was developed to fit between the two spaces. StratoBus, a new project out of France, is conceptualized to do just that. Designed to be about the length of a football field and 25 yards in diameter, the blimp-shaped vehicle’s shell will be made of carbon fiber.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Snail-mail revival: “Former President Jimmy Carter (D) says he thinks the National Security Agency might be monitoring his emails. In an interview on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ Carter said he sends messages to foreign leaders via snail mail instead. ‘As a matter of fact, you know, I have felt that my own communications were probably monitored. And when I want to communicate with a foreign leader privately, I type or write the letter myself, put it in the post office and mail it,’ he said ‘because I believe if I sent an e-mail, it will be monitored.”
2. Release the Kraken! “The Senate Intelligence Committee is poised to send a long-awaited report on the CIA’s interrogation practices to President Barack Obama’s desk for his approval — or redaction. Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says she has the votes on the narrowly divided panel to publicly reveal the executive summary and key conclusions of a 6,300-page report on Bush-era interrogation tactics, a move sure to fuel the Senate’s intense dispute with the CIA over how the panel pieced together the study. That vote is likely to happen sometime this week.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Bill Clinton on leadership.” CNN.Com covers Fortune contributor Bill Clinton: “Leadership means bringing people together in pursuit of a common cause, developing a plan to achieve it, and staying with it until the goal is achieved.”
2. “Agency IT budgets aren’t keeping pace with malware threat.” NextGov.Com contributor Mohamad Elbarasse argues, “If federal agencies hope to fight malware and cybersecurity threats in 2015 they need to allocate more IT funds towards cyber.”
3. “The cynicism behind Cold War revivalism.” Aljazeera.Com contributor Marwan Bishara argues, “The Cold War ideologues are making too much noise because the peace camp is not speaking out loud enough. Time to reverse the trend to keep the warmongers in check.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Snowball fight.
2. Hypersensitive.
3. Who am I ?
