FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Fed hiring. No fair! Contributor Chandler Harris reports, “Federal hiring practices are far from fair, with federal hiring managers predetermining who will fill vacancies and sometimes only accepting internal applications, according to a recent review of federal hiring practices by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). . . . The MSPB report said 79 percent of federal human-resources staff admitted that management already had a specific candidate in mind ‘at least some of the time’ before a job opening was posted, according to a survey.”
2. Cleared network engineers at a glance. Contributor Jillian Hamilton reports, “As a network engineer, you can stick to the cube life, if that’s what you want. But the gray ‘walls’ don’t have to be your only view. With enough experience and the right certifications, network engineers can move into management positions or specializations in telecommunications or network architecture. Promotion and career growth are dependent on the organization.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Bergdahl decision in the wind. Christian Science Monitor’s Anna Mulrine reports, “Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl will be charged with desertion after a months-long review of his disappearance from his Afghanistan outpost that led to his five year-long captivity. That, at least, is the speculation from Fox News and reportedly confirmed by NBC. The Army denies that any decision has been made. The reporting ‘is patently false,’ Maj. Gen. Ronald Lewis, chief of public affairs for the US Army, said . . . . ‘To be clear, there have been no actions or decisions on the Sgt. Bergdahl investigation.’”
2. $585 billion for FY2016 Defense. Defense News’ Paul McLeary reports, “The Department of Defense is preparing to submit a $585 billion fiscal 2016 funding request to Congress on Feb. 2 . . . . The request includes $534 billion in base budget funding along with a $51 billion overseas contingency operations (OCO) . . . . The request would shoot past the congressionally mandated budget cap of $499 billion for 2016, as the Obama administration has long pledged to do. The request would lay the groundwork for a contentious debate with Congress over spending priorities, and guarantees another several rounds of tense hearings with the service chiefs and defense secretary on Capitol Hill next month.” See also, “Obama To Propose Pentagon Spending Boost in 2016.”
3. Mattis and Keane on Guantanamo and the world. DoD Buzz’s Richard Sisk reports, “Retired Marine Gen. James Mattis took a stance Tuesday against the release or transfer of prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. . . . On Afghanistan, Mattis said the White House risked failure by adhering to strict timelines for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. . . . Mattis urged Congress to hold off on imposing new economic sanctions on Iran while negotiations were underway on reining in Iran’s nuclear programs. . . . Keane, the former Army vice chief of staff, faulted the Obama administration for failing to blunt Iran’s drive for regional influence.”
4. Reorg at Veterans Affairs. Gov Exec’s Kellie Lunney reports, “The Veterans Affairs Department is reorganizing its labyrinthine structure into a single, five-region national framework as part of a large-scale effort to improve services to veterans and reduce an entrenched bureaucracy responsible for mismanagement throughout the organization. The realignment would integrate the different geographical and organizational boundaries that exist across the department’s agencies and offices . . . into five regions across the country. It’s a major undertaking that requires each part of the department to rework its structure to fit into the new ‘organizational map’ by June 30, 2015.”
5. All hail the AC-130 gunship. Breaking Defense’s Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. reports, “Sometimes smart bombs aren’t the smart choice. Sometimes you just need a big bad flying gun. That’s why the aging AC-130 gunship is still revered by ground troops for its ability to fire a 105mm cannon—a weapon normally mounted on light tanks. That’s why the head of Air Force Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, decided the new model, the AC-130J Ghostrider, had to have the 105 instead of relying on missiles. And that’s why Heithold will fight to slow the rate at which older AC-130s are retiring.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. GSA’s new cloud rains money. Nextgov’s Frank Konkel reports, “The General Services Administration is the latest agency to commit big bucks to cloud computing, awarding Laurel, Maryland-based Aquilent a 5-year blanket purchase agreement for cloud services worth up to $100 million. Awarded through GSA’s Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, the contract will be a GSA-wide procurement vehicle, meaning any organization or department within GSA has a quick route by which to procure many variations of cloud services.”
2. Acquisition data consolidation. Federal Times’ Aaron Boyd reports, “The Federal Acquisition Service rolled out a new prices-paid database for Alliant and Alliant Small Business contracts that lists up-to-date pricing information by agency, company, labor category and contract family and type. The new tool was built as part of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy’s new category management approach, which looks to consolidate all pertinent acquisition data into a single place, organized by topic.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. On CIA’s Sterling’s conviction. Newsweek’s Jeff Stein reports, “Patrick Lang doesn’t like leaks, not after decades as a Green Beret and a second career at the Defense Intelligence Agency, where he ran worldwide spying operations. But on Monday, he called the conviction of former CIA operative Jeffrey Sterling on espionage charges, for allegedly leaking classified information to a New York Times reporter, ‘an injustice.’” See also, “Former Senate Intel Chair Strikes Back At CIA For Spying” and “Feinstein slams report clearing CIA of spying on Senate.”
2. A future of cybersecurity. Defense One’s Patrick Tucker reports, “After a decade in development, researchers from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, or ORNL, have unveiled a new type of malware detection program that points to the future of cybersecurity tools. It’s called Hyperion, after the Greek titan who first came to understand the movement of the sun and the moon. The product can predict whether or not a program is going to cause problems before the program actually executes.”
3. Internet of Things cyber-risks. Wired’s Davey Alba reports, “There’s danger lurking in the Internet of Things. At least, that’s the word from the Federal Trade Commission. . . . According to the FTC, 25 billion objects are already online worldwide, gathering information using sensors and communicating with each other over the internet, and this number is growing, with consumer goods companies, auto manufacturers, healthcare providers, and so many other businesses investing in the new breed of connected devices.” See, “FTC Report on Internet of Things Urges Companies to Adopt Best Practices to Address Consumer Privacy and Security Risks.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Betting on Bernie. “Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is under intense pressure to run for president as a Democrat and not as a ‘spoiler’ independent who could undercut support for the eventual nominee, according to several progressives. But Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, hasn’t decided which direction to go. . . . ‘There are advantages and disadvantages’ to both, he told members of the progressive Democracy for America in a conference call . . . . During the call, executives with Democracy for America, started by former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, urged Sanders to run as a Democrat.”
2. Kochs like Rubio. “The Koch brothers’ conservative network is still debating whether it will spend any of its massive $889-million budget in the Republican presidential primaries, but the prospect of choosing a GOP nominee loomed over the network’s just-concluded donor conference in the California desert. In an informal straw poll of some conference donors, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida came out ahead of four other would-be GOP presidential candidates who had been invited . . . .”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Edward Snowden Wins ‘Debate’ With NSA Lawyer.” Forbes contributor Gil Press argues, “This blind belief in the automated discovery powers of lots and lots of data is fine when all that is at stake is a corporation’s profits. It is, however, a critical endurance test for the government of the people, by the people, for the people.”
2. “Meet the CIA’s secret protector.” Salon contributor Heather Digby Parton argues, “Anyone who thinks that the new Congress is going to be more confrontational with the military and intelligence establishments needs to think again. The oversight committees under the Democrats were hardly present during the past six years. It will be a miracle if the Republicans even decide to meet. Why bother?” See also from The Atlantic, “The Wrong Senator to Oversee the CIA.”
3. “Israel’s dangerous new game playing out in Washington’s corridors of power.” Reuters contributor Bill Schneider argues, “House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are playing a dangerous game. What they are doing runs the risk of turning Israel into a deeply divisive partisan issue. . . . Both Boehner and Netanyahu are meddling in another country’s politics. That is never a wise thing to do.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Petrol limbo
2. It’s a puck!
