Humph Day

FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM

1. Call for cleared engineers. Contributor Tranette Ledford reports, “The job market for cleared civil engineering careers is as strong as ever.  In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 20 percent growth over the next eight years. . . . civil engineering skills include balancing multiple projects, cost objectives, safety requirements and oversight.  The ability to demonstrate good decision-making skills and leadership is a plus during interviews.”

2. High five skills. Also from Tranette Ledford, “This year’s job market for cleared professionals is more stable over last year, pushing a handful of IT fields to the top of the list of high-paying skills.  Cleared veterans interested in better than average salaries may want to update their resumes to ensure their skills and training match what hiring managers are looking for to fill openings in the second half of 2014.”

THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT

1. ISIS’ brutal, bloody calling card. Reuters’ Alexander Dziadosz and Michael Gregory report from Baghdad, “Islamic State insurgents posted a video on Tuesday purportedly showing the beheading of U.S. journalist James Foley and images of another U.S. journalist whose life they said depended on how the United States acts in Iraq. The video, titled ‘A Message To America,’ presented President Barack Obama with bleak options that could define America’s next phase of involvement in Iraq and the public reaction to it, potentially deepening his hand in a conflict he built much of his presidency on ending.” AP reports, “Another American hostage at risk,” and Aljazeera.Com, “The Islamic State group has released a video purportedly showing one of its fighters beheading US journalist James Foley, who had gone missing in Syria nearly two years ago.” Finally, LongWarJournal.Org’s Bill Roggio reports, “The Islamic State beheaded an American reporter who was captured in Syria in 2012, and threatened to kill another if the US military does not halt its air campaign against the jihadist group in northern Iraq.”

2. Jordan—on terrorists’ short list. Christian Science Monitor’s Nicholas Blanford reports from Fakehe, Lebanon, “The US plans to send the Lebanese Army additional supplies of Hellfire missiles and other munitions and equipment to help it fight well-armed Sunni militants in the remote mountains of east Lebanon, diplomats and analysts say. The weapons request, supported by a $1 billion donation from Saudi Arabia, comes as Lebanon’s Army absorbs the lessons of a battle earlier this month in the border town of Arsal. The town was attacked by several hundred members of Jabhat al-Nusra, Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, and other Syrian rebel factions. More clashes could be imminent . . . .”

3. Mission creep by any other name. Defense Media Activity’s Claudette Roulo reports, “The partnership between U.S., Iraqi and Peshmerga forces was critical to the success of the operation to retake the Mosul Dam from Sunni terrorists . . . . Charges that U.S. involvement in the retaking of Mosul Dam represents mission creep are wrong, [Navy Rear Adm. John] Kirby said. ‘Mission creep refers to the growth or expansion of the goals and objectives of a military operation—that the goals and objectives change, morph into something bigger than they were at the outset . . . . Nothing has changed about the missions that we’re conducting inside Iraq. . . . Airstrikes are authorized under two mission areas—humanitarian assistance and the protection of U.S. personnel and facilities’ . . . The airstrikes in and around Mosul Dam fit into both of those categories, he said.”

4. Fighting Falcons on the ground. DefenseNews.Com’s Aaron Mehta reports, “The US Air Force has grounded over half of its F-16D Fighting Falcons . . . . The initial damage, described in a Pentagon release as ‘canopy sill longeron cracks found between the front and rear pilot seats,’ was discovered after a routine post-flight inspection on one of the jets. The discovery of cracks led to a fleet-wide inspection order. Of the 157 F-16Ds in the fleet, 82 were found to have cracks and have been ordered to stand down. The remaining 75 have been cleared to resume normal activities. . . . The F-16 recently celebrated its 40th year of production . . . .”

CONTRACT WATCH

1. Cost effective contracting. FederalTimes.Com’s Andy Medici reports, “The General Services Administration and the Air Force will form a working group to identify enterprise-wide contracts that will save the Air Force money . . . . GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service and the Air Force’s Sustainment Center signed a memorandum of understanding to see which GSA contracts the Air Force can use in its mission. Some of those include the recently announced OASIS contract—a multi-billion dollar professional services contract—and GSA’s strategic sourcing initiatives and reverse auction tools.”

2. $16 million to General Dynamics. GovConWire.Com reports, “The U.S. Navy has awarded a $16,286,671 contract to General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems (NYSE: GD) for the production of 60 mission computers for E/A/18-G Growler fighter jets. General Dynamics will build 48 of the Type 3 Advanced Mission Computers for the U.S. Navy and 12 for Australia, which that country plans to acquire through a foreign military sales agreement . . . .”

TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY

1. Phishing—don’t click that link! DefenseOne.Com contributor Aliya Sternstein reports, “Nuclear Regulatory Commission computers within the past three years were successfully hacked by foreigners twice and also by an unidentifiable individual . . . . The phishing emails baited personnel by asking them to verify their user accounts by clicking a link and logging in. The link really took victims to ‘a cloud-based Google spreadsheet.’ A dozen NRC personnel took the bait and clicked the link.”

2. A history of gear. Wired.Com’s Liz Stinson shares, “In the 13th century, if you wanted to kill a man your best bet was using a battle axe. By the 16th century, swords and daggers had given way to muskets. During World War I, hand grenades were a standard part of every British soldier’s inventory. And today? Soldiers carry iPads alongside their rifles. Photographer Thom Atkinson documents the battle kits of British soldiers over the course of 1,000 years.”

3. China hack attack—3.5 million compromised. VentureBeat.Com’s Ruth Reader reports, “Community Health Systems says that hackers may have accessed data from as many as 4.5 million patients, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The health organization operates 206 hospitals in 29 states. The attack happened between April and June of this year and is believed to be the work of a hacker group in China. The group is thought to use advanced persistent threat technology, a continuous series of hacking processes. The advanced malware was able to penetrate Community Health networks and successfully transfer data out.”

POTOMAC TWO-STEP

1. Presidential paradox: “It’s a paradox of Barack Obama’s presidency: The first African-American to run the country finds himself in the tensest racial confrontation of his tenure but is constrained from addressing the nation’s original sin in anything but the loftiest, most dispassionate terms.”

2. Now you see him . . . . “President Obama went back to his vacation on Martha’s Vineyard Tuesday evening following less than 48 hours in Washington, leaving people puzzled over why he came back in the first place. Obama’s two days in Washington were mostly quiet, and concluded with the president receiving his daily national security briefing in the morning, and joining Vice President Biden to huddle with members of his economic team in the afternoon.”

OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS

1. “U.S. still has time to stake out a position of strength on Ukraine.” Los Angeles Times contributor John Bolton argues, “Washington should supply Kiev with weapons and other assistance, while also reviving President George W. Bush’s 2008 plan to fast track Ukraine for NATO membership.”

2. “Crafting a strategy for deterring Putin.” Washington Post’s David Ignatius explains, “The question is whether Russia will experience a sudden decline or a gradual one. The consensus was that U.S. interests wouldn’t be served by fast decline and the resulting instability.”

3. “Slash the Pentagon’s mysterious slush fund.” Stars & Stripes contributor William D. Hartung argues, “The Pentagon needs to come up with a much more specific justification for this part of the OCO budget, in keeping with the drawdown of troops in Afghanistan to 10,000 over the next two years. The Defense Department should also explain whether it contemplates reducing some of these supporting units and activities once the war in Afghanistan is over.”

THE FUNNIES

1. What they really mean.

2. Media mayhem.

3. Back to school Iraq.

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Ed Ledford enjoys the most challenging, complex, and high stakes communications requirements. His portfolio includes everything from policy and strategy to poetry. A native of Asheville, N.C., and retired Army Aviator, Ed’s currently writing speeches in D.C. and working other writing projects from his office in Rockville, MD. He loves baseball and enjoys hiking, camping, and exploring anything. Follow Ed on Twitter @ECLedford.