FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Adding up your lifestyle. Contributor Jennifer Cary explains, “Leaving the military also means leaving some nice financial perks behind. Unlike most civilian jobs, the military pays service members an annual salary plus money towards meals and housing costs. And while it may not seem like much at the time, it definitely adds up when you no longer have it. So how much money do you need to make on the civilian side to have a comparable lifestyle? Let’s break it down.”
2. Before you retire . . . Also from Jennifer Cary: “When it’s time to retire, the military provides you with a stack of paperwork, lots of classes and dozens of to-do blocks to check off. And while those things are important, there are a few items you may want to spend some extra time on before you hang up your uniform.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Kerry, Kurds, and Kirkuk. Reuters’ Lesley Wroughton reports, “U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was in Iraqi Kurdistan on Tuesday to urge its leaders not to withdraw from the political process in Baghdad after their forces took control of the northern oil city of Kirkuk. Peshmerga fighters, the security forces of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish north, seized control of Kirkuk on June 12 after the Iraqi military fled in the face of an onslaught from Sunni militants from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Kurds have long dreamed of taking Kirkuk, a city with huge oil reserves just outside the autonomous region, which they regard as their historical capital.”
2. Arming Iraq. Medium.Com’s Robert Beckhusen reports, “The near collapse of the Iraqi state—and the U.S. riding to the rescue—is likely to be a boon for American defense contractors. The United States has poured billions of dollars in military aid to Iraq since 2005, but Congress has held up some of it due to worries the weapons and equipment will simply prop up a sectarian Shia government in Baghdad. . . . Here’s just a few items of Iraq aid—roughly one billion dollars’ worth—awaiting Congress’ approval.”
3. Jordan—ISIS’ next target. Aljazeera.Com reports, “Jordan has intensified its security measures near the Karama border crossing with Iraq, known in Iraq as Tirbeel crossing, amid unconfirmed and conflicting reports that it has been seized by armed groups. There was growing concern over the rapid territorial gains made of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on the other side of the border. . . . . Political analysts say the geographical expansion and the violent and practices of the ISIL present Jordan with a colossal security challenge.”
4. Army—opening doors for women. Army.Mil’s David Vergun reports, “Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh signed a directive authorizing more opportunities for women to serve in a wider range of roles within the Army. This authorization results in the opening of about 33,000 positions in units that were once closed to women . . . . This change in policy means there are no more units in the Army that are closed to women. A closed unit was one that was expected to see combat.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Bouncing off satellites. GovConWire.Com reports, “The U.S. Air Force has opened the door to more industry competition for the branch’s Global Positioning System III satellite program. A June 4 FedBizOpps post by the Air Force encourages contractors to submit ideas on production methods for 22 succeeding GPS III space vehicles and associated navigation payloads. Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is contracted to build eight satellites under the program and collaborates with Exelis (NYSE: XLS) on the satellite navigation system. The Air Force intends to award two new GPS III technology design and evaluation contracts worth up to $200 million each next year.”
2. Contracting outside the box—OASIS and CDM. FederalTimes.Com’s Steve Watkins reports, “There are two large federal procurement programs worth keeping an eye on because they are breaking the mold for how complex products and services are procured in the federal sector. . . . the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program, being run by the Homeland Security Department [and] . . . . GSA’s One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) program.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. Unmanned operations and nondeterministic systems. AviationWeek.Com’s Graham Warwick explains, “As unmanned systems evolve rapidly from remote piloting through automated flying to autonomous decision-making, civil aviation will not escape unscathed. Beyond unmanned aircraft, the technology is expected to find its way into aircraft cockpits and air traffic control centers to increase efficiency and safety. . . . The critical challenge is being able to assure that adaptive and nondeterministic systems, which can modify their behavior in response to the external environment, are safe and reliable.”
2. F-35s catching fire, literally. DefenseNews.Com’s Marcus Weisgerber and Aaron Mehta report, “A US Air Force F-35 Joint Strike Fighter caught fire when attempting to take off from a Florida Air Force base . . . . a spokesman for aircraft-maker Lockheed Martin, said the company is ‘keenly aware’ of the situation and is prepared to ‘assist in any way’ requested by the Air Force. A spokesman for engine-maker Pratt & Whitney said: ‘We are aware of this incident at Eglin AFB. Pratt & Whitney stands ready to assist the 33rd Fighter Wing in its investigation.’ The fire is the second major incident experienced by the program in recent weeks. Test flights were temporarily halted on June 13 for inspections of an oil flow management valve fitting inside the engine.”
3. BAE’s IR sensors. MilitaryAerospace.Com Editor John Keller reports, “Electro-optics engineers at the BAE Systems Electronic Systems segment in Nashua, N.H., will design special sensitive infrared sensors to enhance the ability of anti-air missiles to detect, track, and destroy incoming ballistic missile warheads. Officials of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., announced a $9.4 million contract to BAE Systems on Friday to design and fabricate 512-by-512-pixel two-color high speed digital focal plane arrays.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Metaphor of the week: “Sen. Dianne Feinstein says she laughed off former Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer’s offensive remarks earlier this week, chalking them up to his ‘large mouth.’ In an interview with National Journal, Schweitzer used a crude analogy to describe Feinstein’s relationship with the intelligence community. ‘She was the woman who was standing under the streetlight with her dress pulled all the way up over her knees,’ Schweitzer said, ‘and now she says, I’m a nun,’ when it comes to this spying!’ . . . Feinstein, D-Calif., said she didn’t take Schweitzer’s remark too seriously. ‘Well, my first reaction was that I laughed, to tell you the truth . . . . He clearly has a rather large mouth, and all sorts of things come out. I think that’s really too bad, but it’s the way it is.’”
2. It was a dog whistle: “A federal investigator has described a ‘troubling pattern’ of Veterans Affairs Department officials downplaying or ignoring whistleblowers at facilities nationwide, resulting in patients receiving deficient, delayed and in some cases no needed medical attention. In a letter Monday to President Obama, Carolyn Lerner of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel said that ‘too frequently, the VA has failed to use information from whistleblowers to identify and address systemic concerns that impact patient care.’ Lerner said the VA, and particularly the agency’s Office of the Medical Inspector (OMI), consistently have used a ‘harmless error’ defense, where the department acknowledges problems but claims patient care is unaffected.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Should U.S. work with Iran in Iraq? Yes, if it wants to take on the real challenge: China.” Reuters contributor Trita Parsi argues, “Indeed, stability in the Middle East is more important than dominating the region if one recognizes that China—and not Iran—is America’s true competitor. Persia may be a roaring lion, but China is a rising dragon.”
2. “How the U.S. Can Really Help Iraq.” USNews.Com contributor Daniel J. Gallington argues, “The U.S. should be advocating and supporting a moderate Sunni central government for Iraq, and, if that means the country must be divided into three or four autonomous states or regions, then so be it. While this kind of solution is obvious to many in the region and in the West, and is not a new idea, it has somehow escaped the attention of both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations.”
3. Heroes and policy. Washington Post contributor Benjamin Summers argues, “It isn’t that the U.S. public shouldn’t honor those who served in combat; it’s that a large civil-military divide prevents policymakers from even asking the right questions. Leaders inside and outside the military need to focus on bridging this gap. Not every service member is a hero. The quicker we realize that, the quicker we start creating a political environment that can foster genuine debate and answer the difficult policy problems we face.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Great marriages.
2. Pessimism.
