FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
OPM Shuts Down eQIP system: Editor Lindy Kyzer reports, “The shutdown will affect the thousands of individuals who have already recently submitted applications through the e-QIP system, or who may have been up for new security cleared positions or reinvestigation in the next month. OPM did not announce how it will process security clearance applications while the e-QIP system is down, but it is possible there will be a return to an old paper SF-86 process. e-QIP is expected to be offline for 4-6 weeks while the cyber improvements are made.”
Hot jobs for Veterans. Editor Lindy Kyzer advises, “Hardware, software or engineering – veterans can pick just about any Information Technology field and find career success today. The great news for vets is that a traditional four-year degree is typically not a requirement – so if you’re a vet who would rather use your GI bill benefits to obtain the necessary certifications or take on a more unique course load, an IT career is an excellent choice. Vets with IT skills can get a job in just about any region of the country, and can also choose from work directly with the federal government, or with a government contractor.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Nuke deal deadline. AP’s Bradley Klapper reports, “Iran says it won’t allow inspectors to visit military sites and interview scientists to ensure Iranian compliance. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, also says he wants all economic sanctions lifted once the deal is signed, while the U.S., Britain, France, China, Germany and Russia must still agree among themselves – and then with Iran – on a much-slower schedule for rolling back sanctions and a plan for snapping them back into place if the Iranians are caught cheating. Meanwhile, Israel is threatening potential military action to destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and Saudi Arabia’s Sunni monarchy is considering an atomic program of its own to match that of its Shiite neighbor.” See also, “With stalemate looming, Iran needs nuclear deal more than US.”
Afghanistan: orphaned war. Homeland Security News Wire reports, “Afghan security forces, like their fellow citizens more generally, do not view the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan as ‘their war.’ This is a primary policy-relevant conclusion reached in one of two new reports issued last week by the Costs of War Project at Brown’s University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. Members of the Afghan National Police Force (ANP) do not see the war as their own; they participate as a means of employment to make a living and support family members, particularly given the lack of economic opportunities after thirty-five years of armed conflict and foreign occupation.” Read the report.
Navy’s Joint High Speed Vehicle: broader role. DoD Buzz’s Kris Osborn reports, “The Navy has stepped up deployments of its new Joint High Speed Vessel in exercises around the globe as part of a broader effort to expand the mission set and operational use of the platform, service officials said. Initially envisioned as a high-speed transport vessel, the JHSV is showing a broader range of applications such as logistical support, counter-trafficking and medical operations in support of larger platforms such as amphibious assault ships.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Army’s next-gen munitions. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “U.S. Army munitions technology experts are choosing five companies to help design and build new technologies for next-generation Army armaments and munitions, ranging from precision-guided munitions, warheads, fuzes, mortars, and different kinds of conventional ammunition. . . . The five contractors will help the Army Armament, Research, Development, and Engineering Center (ARDEC) design, build, and test new munitions technologies for new and emerging Army requirements. The companies are . . . .”
Lockheed Martin wins in Syracuse. Syracuse.Com’s Mark Weiner reports, “The U.S. Navy has selected Lockheed Martin and its plant in suburban Syracuse for a contract worth up to $59 million to improve the electronic warfare defenses of its ships. The new contract, valued at nearly $8 million, is for Block 1B3 systems for the Navy’s Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program, or SEWIP. Lockheed will update existing electronic warfare defenses on U.S. aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and other warships to improve anti-ship missile defense, counter targeting and counter-surveillance capabilities . . . .”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Future of cybersecurity. Venture Beat contributor Aditya Singh reports, “Given the evolution of cyber threats, security needs to be addressed with a collaborative, distributed systems mindset centered on protecting identities. Identity is a concept in modern consumer-facing digital services that aims to track and understand people across various devices they use—based on their preferences, relationships, attributes, and interests. Modern consumer platforms own the identities of their users, but many enterprises still use homegrown identity platforms that they can’t scale across their security products. These stacks don’t track privileges, relationships, or the context of user interactions. Without a better understanding of identity, security professionals will have a hard time detecting and predicting attacks at scale . . . ”
NGA’s open data move. Nextgov’s Frank Konkel reports, “Times are a changin’ for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. In the past, it was the supercool, secret sauce-worthy stuff NGA did to deliver world-class geospatial intelligence to warfighters, stakeholders and decision-makers on which the agency focused the majority of its efforts. In recent years, with the explosion of publicly available open data and tools like cloud computing, startups and talented data gurus have encroached on what used to be territory occupied by NGA and its partners.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Unclear deal. “The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Sunday that the Obama administration has officially dropped the ball in the Iran talks by failing to get Iran to agree to any of the main U.S. negotiating objectives. . . . ‘The difficulty is that so far, Iran has turned down all of the four key objective the United States had in this agreement, including having inspectors on military bases, or the ability to go anywhere, anytime for those international inspectors,’ [Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif.] said. ‘That has flatly been turned down by the Ayatollah, and so the consultation obviously will be with the Supreme Leader.’” White House confident final Iran nuclear deal is in reach.”
Internet of what? “Obama’s own government panel has warned of a “small — and rapidly closing — window” for the U.S. government to successfully figure out how to deal with the tech explosion everyone is so excited about. . . . ‘There’s 435 members of the House, 100 members of the Senate, and most of them still don’t know what the Internet of Things is,’ said Rep. Darrell Issa, the California Republican who co-chairs the recently created Internet of Things Caucus, and counts himself an industry evangelist. Where government involvement is concerned, many of the most plugged-in legislators belong in the ‘wait-and-see’ camp.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“How will the GCC react to Iran nuclear deal?” Aljazeera contributor Jamal Abdullah argues, “Despite their historical basis, relations between the US and Gulf states suffer from deep trust issues that have steadily worsened over the past decade due to the US’ approach to the Iranian nuclear programme. But these relations could be mended if both sides took certain steps . . . .”
“New steps to bring U.S. hostages home, offer families help.” Reuters contributor David Rhode argues, “Taking an American captive immediately boosts the standing of commanders in jihadist circles. The payment of ransoms by European countries, meanwhile, creates an incentive for jihadists to abduct any foreigner they come across. Europeans can be sources of cash; Americans sources of fame.”
“Russia’s Top Brass Preparing to Battle Dissent.” Moscow Times contributor Alexander Golts argues, “On one hand, the vast majority of Russians respect Putin. On the other hand, the Kremlin is preparing both ideologically and physically to use force against the population. The Russian authorities’ deep contempt for the people is the only way to explain this phenomenon.”
