Friday Finale, This Time Last Year, & Farewell Mario Cuomo

FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM

1. Fort Knox is gold. Contributor Jennifer Cary reports, “When it comes to career management in the U.S. Army, look no further than Fort Knox, Kentucky. From recruiting to branch managers to leaving the service, this installation is in the business of serving soldiers. But would it surprise you to learn that there are a lot of civilian employment opportunities there? Or that it’s an affordable place to live? Here are five things everyone should know about Fort Knox and the surrounding area. . . .”

2. SF-86 tips. Contributor Andrew Levine explains, “When completing your application, bear in mind the two primary purposes of your personal interview with an investigator: to verify the information on the SF-86, and to expand upon that information as necessary. The more complete and accurate your application, the easier it is to satisfy both purposes. Simply put, an extra few hours spent on your SF-86 at the start of your investigation could eliminate weeks of unnecessary field work tacked on to the end of your investigation. The following is a non-exhaustive list of suggestions to consider when submitting your SF-86. . . .”

THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT

1. The year in war. Washington Post’s Ishaan Tharoor reports, “2014 has been a brutal year. The death toll of Syria’s ongoing civil war likely eclipsed 200,000, while the hideous rise of the Islamic State spurred a U.S.-led bombing campaign. . . . Sadly, there was plenty of other mayhem and violence that didn’t make newspaper frontpages as often. Here are seven awful conflicts that merited more attention.”

2. At the very end. Washington Post’s Nicole Crowder offers, “On Sunday, a quiet flag-lowering ceremony held in Kabul by the U.S. and NATO was the ceremonial end to a tumultuous and bloody 13-year war in Afghanistan. . . . Photojournalist Lucas Jackson has been embedded with the 3rd Calvary Regiment at the operating base Gamberi in the Laghman province of Afghanistan, and . . . he released intimate and up-close photographs documenting the daily life, training, and camaraderie of troops counting down their final days in the region.”

3. Military tragedy. The Atlantic’s James Fallows reports, “America’s distance from the military makes the country too willing to go to war, and too callous about the damage warfare inflicts. This distance also means that we spend too much money on the military and we spend it stupidly, thereby shortchanging many of the functions that make the most difference to the welfare of the troops and their success in combat. We buy weapons that have less to do with battlefield realities than with our unending faith that advanced technology will ensure victory, and with the economic interests and political influence of contractors.” See also, “‘The Tragedy of the American Military’ is the latest attempt to define the Pentagon’s troubles.’

4. Our fight in Somalia. Christian Science Monitor’s Anna Mulrine reports, “The United States carried out an airstrike in Somalia against the militant group Al Shabab, the Pentagon confirmed Monday. It appears that the Al Qaeda-affiliated group’s intelligence chief, Abdishakur Tahlili, was the target of the attack. If confirmed, his death would be the latest in a series of setbacks the US military has dealt the terrorist organization.”

CONTRACT WATCH

1. $43 million for Lockheed’s Cobra Target Sight Systems. MilitaryAerospace.Com Editor John Keller reports, “Electro-optics experts at Lockheed Martin Corp. are building 14 multi-sensor electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) fire-control systems for U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopters. Officials of the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Ind., have announced a $43.4 million contract to the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control segment in Orlando, Fla., for 14 AN/AAQ-30 target sight systems (TSS).”

2. BAE’s $1.2 billion AMPV win. DoDBuzz.Com’s Brendan McGarry reports, “The U.S. subsidiary of British defense contractor BAE Systems Plc won a potential $1.2 billion contract from the Army to build a replacement to the Vietnam-era M113 armored personnel carrier. The initial phase of the agreement is valued at $382 million over four years to build 29 prototypes of the so-called Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, or AMPV, under engineering and manufacturing development . . . .”

TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY

1. The Secret Service slide. Washington Post’s Carol D. Leonnig reports, “The Secret Service began struggling to carry out its most basic duties after Congress and the George W. Bush administration expanded the elite law enforcement agency’s mission in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. According to government documents and interviews with dozens of current and former officials, the recent string of security lapses at the White House resulted from a combination of tight budgets, bureaucratic battles and rapidly growing demands on the agency that have persisted through the Bush and Obama administrations in the 13 years since the attacks.”

2. Old guns, new age. The Atlantic’s Robert H. Scales reports, “The military must change the caliber and cartridge of the guns it gives infantry soldiers. Stoner’s little 5.56-mm cartridge was ideal for softening the recoil of World War II infantry calibers in order to allow fully automatic fire. But today’s cartridge is simply too small for modern combat. Its lack of mass limits its range to less than 400 meters. The optimum caliber for tomorrow’s rifle is between 6.5 and 7 millimeters. The cartridge could be made almost as light as the older brass-cased 5.56-mm by using a plastic shell casing, which is now in final development by the Marine Corps.”

3. Future war, disinformation, and real time reporting. AviationWeek.Com’s Bill Sweetman reports, “The trend toward real-time public scrutiny of military operations will continue and most likely accelerate. Deniable operations—whether in the information sphere or in the urban battlefield—will become more important. Whether military professionals like it or not, this is the picture of future warfare.”

4. Hacking in 2015—favorites and twists. NextGov.Com’s Aliya Sternstein reports, “Hacking trends are not like fashion fads. They don’t go in and out each year. They withstand defenses by advancing, in terms of stealth and scope. So there will be no 2015 ‘What’s Hot and What’s Not’ list of cyber threats confronting federal agencies. Instead, here is a list of hacker ‘Old Faves and New Twists’ that feds should be mindful of.”

POTOMAC TWO-STEP

1. Veto power: “Obama said there were areas of agreement that would be priorities come January, particularly finding ways to further the economic recovery. But he acknowledged that the Democrats’ midterm losses would put him in more direct confrontation with congressional Republicans. ‘I haven’t used the veto pen very often since I’ve been in office, partly because legislation that I objected to was typically blocked in the Senate,’ which was in Democrats’ hands. ‘Now I suspect there are going to be some times where I’ve got to pull that pen out. And I’m going to defend gains that we’ve made in healthcare; I’m going to defend gains that we’ve made on environment and clean air and clean water.’”

2. Congress 2014: “They did their best to convince you otherwise. But Congress actually did some things in 2014. It actually kept the government open all year and manage to pass something vaguely resembling a budget. In fact, by the end of 2014, it passed over 220 bills, which were signed into law by President Barack Obama. These are eight of the most interesting laws passed in the second session of the 113th Congress. . . .”

OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS

1. “Is Afghanistan ready for the drawdown?Aljazeera.Com contributor Horoun Mir argues, “The biggest test for the security transition is ahead of us because the insurgents will further intensify their attacks in the beginning of next spring and we might see a Taliban surge next summer. The Afghan government has little time to prepare itself for the upcoming fighting season, which has impacted the US and NATO military missions in Afghanistan since 2001.”

2. “How I Learned to Love the Draft.” The Atlantic contributor Joseph Epstein argues, “The reinstitution of the draft would make our country’s participation in this lengthy struggle not merely more just but possibly more efficient, by conscripting better-educated young people. It is time, I would argue, for a serious consideration of returning to compulsory military service in America.”

3. “How To Attract More Women To Aerospace.” AviationWeek.Com contributor Emily Zimovan advises, “Be driven by the desire to prove yourself and your abilities. Show everyone that you can not only ‘get by’ but you can be at the top. Don’t be the best woman engineer, be the best engineer, period.”

THE FUNNIES

1. 2015’s first veto.

2. The ball drops.

3. Peace wishes.

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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.