FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Goin’ to Carolina. Contributor Tranette Ledford heads for the hills: “As the birthplace of powered flight, North Carolina’s defense and aerospace industry continues to thrive. The state now ranks as one of the best places for cleared careers in both defense and the technology sector. In June, CNBC rated North Carolina number five for top states to do business. For cleared transitioning veterans, it not only offers great job prospects, it gets high marks for quality of life and affordability.” 2. Welcome to the job market. Also from Tranette Ledford: “If you have an active clearance and just earned a college degree, you don’t necessarily need a long work history on your resume to land second cleared careers. A new study by the University of California recently compiled a list of hot careers for new graduates. Among the top 10 career fields, four are stand-outs for security clearance requirements. . . . For new veterans who are also new graduates, these cleared careers are in demand throughout government and among government contractors.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Homeless Veterans. Take a few moments to explore this important presentation. Washington Post contributor Richard Johnson explains, “Two hundred miles southeast of Denver, in a meander of the Arkansas River, is an old military base called Fort Lyon. It was once a prison, once a hospital, once an asylum, but for the past 10 months it has been a refuge for people—especially veterans—struggling with homelessness, and in many cases addiction and mental illness. They are distorted shadows of the soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen they once were.” 2. Operation Protective Edge update. DefenseNews.Com’s Barbara Opall-Rome reports from Tel Aviv, “As Israel closes out the 22nd day of Operation Protective Edge, here’s some preliminary data measured against its 23-day, 2008-2009 Cast Lead campaign. . . . While data from the ongoing operation is rough, unverified and still in flux, this much is clear: Israel is paying a much heavier price against an enemy emboldened by new asymmetric attack capabilities.” See also AP’s “Gaza War Rages” and Reuters’ “Israel maintains pressure on Gaza.” 3. Asia-Pacific Pivot is still on track. DoDBuzz.Com’s Richard Sisk reports, “The head of Pacific Command on Tuesday said the rebalance of U.S. forces to the Asia-Pacific region remained on course despite the growing demand for U.S. troops and assets to counter escalating threats in Europe and the Mideast. ‘The military piece of it is moving forward,’ Adm. Samuel Locklear said of the so-called ‘Pacific pivot’ that has been a centerpiece of the Obama administration’s strategy. ‘I don’t get a sense that we’re backing away’ from the commitment to the rebalance . . . .” 4. Confirmed—VA’s 8th Secretary, Robert A. McDonald. DefenseOne.Com contributor Jordain Carney reports, “The Veterans Affairs Department has a new secretary, with senators voting 97-0 Tuesday to confirm Robert McDonald. The strong bipartisan support for the former Procter & Gamble CEO is hardly a surprise. Senators from both sides of the aisle lavished praise on the nominee throughout his confirmation process. . . . Senators expect McDonald to overhaul the department by fixing a corrosive culture, ensuring veterans get timely access to care, and making progress on a myriad of other issues—including cutting pay and pension claims and reducing veterans’ homelessness.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Hellfires to Iraq. DefenseNews.Com’s Aaron Mehta reports, “The US State Department has approved two new lots of weapon sales to Iraq at a time when that government is desperately trying to fight off the encroachment of the militant Sunni Islamic State. The larger agreement would procure 5,000 AGM-114K/N/R Hellfire missiles for the Iraqi military for $700 million. Lockheed Martin is the principal contractor on the agreement.” 2. Fixing Federal IT contracting. NextGov.Com’s Jack Moore reports, “Total federal IT spending now tops more than $80 billion annually, but agencies are still stuck with the same sluggish, even ‘calcified’ approach to federal buying they’ve been saddled with for years. True solutions to the problem, however, will probably be found in a broad overhaul of the acquisition system writ large—not a fragmented focus on information technology.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. High price of NSA surveillance. Wired.Com’s Kim Zetter reports, “There is no doubt the integrity of our communications and the privacy of our online activities have been the biggest casualty of the NSA’s unfettered surveillance of our digital lives. But the ongoing revelations of government eavesdropping has had a profound impact on the economy, the security of the internet and the credibility of the U.S. government’s leadership when it comes to online governance. These are among the many serious costs and consequences the NSA and those who sanctioned its activities . . . .” 2. Canvas fingerprinting. VentureBeat.Com’s Richard Byrne Reilly reports, “Popular, heavily trafficked websites are increasingly turning to ‘canvas fingerprinting’ in order to track your online movements. Canvas fingerprinting is extremely hard to block, hard to detect, and has become a unique identifier that logs your ‘Net history as you jump from site to site without you knowing about it—on desktop and mobile devices. Adama Kujawa, the head of intelligence at Malwarebytes, said canvas fingerprinting is a step above cookies and is exceptionally complex. . . . canvas fingerprinting actually takes control away from the users and is virtually impossible to detect.” 3. Professionalizing Cybersecurity. FierceGovernmentIT.Com’s Dibya Sarkar reports, “A new study calls for the creation of a professional association to address the shortage of highly trained cybersecurity experts who can deal with cyber hackers, thefts, attacks and disruptions, and vulnerabilities. ‘The dearth of advanced cybersecurity professionals can be felt across all sectors, from the federal government to the private sector, with potential negative consequences for national security, economic vitality, as well as public health and safety,’ wrote co-authors Francesca Spidalieri and Sean Kern in the report released July 28 by the Pell Center at Salve Regina University . . . .” Read the report.
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Do I dare to say impeach: “Democrats cannot get enough of Republicans talking about impeaching President Obama. They are using it to raise money and claim to have collected $1 million on Monday alone. They are using it to add supporters, with 74,000 new contributors. And, to animate their base, they would like to goad Republicans into debating impeachment in close races in the midterm elections. All of which has forced Republican leaders in Congress to talk down any notion of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors,’ saying that Democrats were cynically using the specter of impeachment as a ‘scam’ to generate support.” 2. Winner take nothing: “Rep. Paul Ryan, the GOP’s 2012 vice presidential nominee, is warning that his team cannot afford another presidential loss because a 2016 win for the Democrats will cement the liberal, big government direction of the federal government put in place by President Obama. Working hard with his own agenda to help the Republicans offer programs that the public can get behind, he said that the GOP must both offer an optimistic platform and reach out to potential, non-traditional supporters to beat the Democrats and their nominee, now looking to be Hillary Clinton. ‘If we don’t win in 2016, they get the country,’ said Ryan referring to progressives and liberals. He explained that the next president will set the ‘trajectory for the country’ for years to come.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Putin’s anti-American rhetoric now persuades his harshest critics.” Reuters contributor Nina Khrushcheva argues, “People I know in Russia, members of the intelligentsia and professionals who have long been critical of President Vladimir Putin’s anti-Western stance, have suddenly turned into America-bashers. Many have been swept away by Putin’s arguments that the United States, not the Kremlin, is destabilizing Ukraine.” 2. “What’s not a target for Israel?” Aljazeera.Com contributor Brad Parker argues, “Palestinian civilians must not be blamed for their own deaths. Even if Hamas or another Palestinian armed group may have violated the laws of war and used civilians as human shields, this does not relieve Israel from its obligations under international law nor does it justify an attack on civilians or civilian structures.” 3. “To the Moon and Beyond.” USNews.Com contributor Lamont Colucci argues, “The dreamers of the 1950s realized the military, cultural and scientific benefits of a lunar outpost; those on the national security side of the coin understood the message this would send to America’s adversaries. In essence, this kind of thinking is the exact opposite of the minimalistic, fearful goals of the present. It was bold, it was audacious, and it was American.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Pay up. 2. Eyes wide shut. 3. Know Excel, get a job.
