North Korea purges, Sea drones, and Creative acquisition – Daily Intelligence

FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCE JOBS.COM

1. Survey says . . . You’re Cleared! Contributor Marko Hakamaa explains the dirty job of adjudicating your risk to our national security: “Adjudicators hold an immense responsibility for making decisions that could impact national security and/or alter the life path of the individual being investigated. Adjudicators are required to be unbiased and maintain a fair, impartial, and objective attitude toward the person being investigated and information being reviewed and adjudicated. Common characteristics of persons assigned these duties include: maturity, integrity, honesty, discretion, sound logical thinking, and strong analytical processing and communication skills.”

2. Defense industry winning traits. Contributor Diana Rodriguez’s character sketch of the perfect defense industry professional: “For those who have an interest in working in the defense industry, it is beneficial to understand the mindset and culture, as well as what will be expected. Defense industry jobs have similar skillsets to jobs in other industries, but there are core traits required to be a successful and valued employee within the Department of Defense. The defense industry is a specialized field, which has expectations and requirements beyond many other enterprises.”

THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT

1. North Korea’s purge taps Kim Jong Un’s uncle. AP Foster Klug reports, “North Korea announced Monday it had sacked leader Kim Jong Un’s uncle, long considered the country’s No. 2 power, saying corruption, drug use, gambling, womanizing and generally leading a ‘dissolute and depraved life’ had caused Pyongyang’s highest-profile fall from grace since Kim took power two years ago. . . . But worries remained over whether the expulsion of such a senior figure could instead lead to less stability and open up the possibility of a power struggle.”

2. Afghan military leaders’ petition to SecDef. American Forces Press Service’s Karen Parrish reports from Kabul, “The secretary said the Afghan national security forces have been doing ‘a very good job of transitioning to their full capabilities and responsibilities.’ Valid and important missions nonetheless remain for U.S. troops and coalition partners in sustaining the still-fragile Afghan forces, he said: countering terrorism and training, advising and assisting the Afghan forces. . . . A senior defense official who accompanied Hagel on today’s travels told reporters also on the road with the secretary that the Afghan military commanders Hagel spoke with today all said they still want help in sustainment — particularly, learning to manage maintenance: supply chains, ordering, distribution and scheduling.”

3. SecDef – candid and productive in Pakistan. Khaama.Com reports, “US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Pakistan on Monday to hold talks with the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other Pakistani government officials. . . . Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is looking forward to ‘candid and productive conversations’ about ways to address common threats and help promote the stability of neighboring Afghanistan . . . .” See also, Reuters’ “Defense Chief to visit Pakistan”: “The Pakistan visit comes amid renewed tensions over U.S. drone strikes as well as a threat to U.S. equipment being shipped from Afghanistan across Pakistan to the port of Karachi.”

4. Infighting in Syria, Islamic Front affronts Free Syrian Army. LongWarJournal.Org’s Lisa Lundquist reports, “The Islamic Front, a recently formed Islamist alliance of several large groups that cooperate with al Qaeda in Syria, has driven Free Syrian Army forces out of bases and a warehouse at the Bab al-Hawa border crossing into Turkey. Late last month, the warehouse and its FSA commanders were taken over by the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. Following an all-night battle between the Islamic Front and FSA units, today Islamic Front fighters seized FSA arms depots containing weapons that had come into Syria through Turkey, according to the activist Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.”

5. Army’s war in 2030. DefenseOne.Com’s Stephanie Gaskell reports, “Army leaders recently conducted a ‘deep future’ war game to play out a military conflict 15 years from now, coined ‘Unified Quest,’ and held at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pa. Defense One was invited to listen in as dozens of Army brass and civilian and foreign counterparts conducted an after-action review at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. . . . There are ground combat vehicles that weigh just 30 tons, helicopters that can fly faster and longer, extended-range missiles and ammunition with advanced sensors, hybrid-powered rechargeable equipment and a massive vertical lift aircraft capable of moving an entire battalion.”

CONTRACT WATCH

1. $1 billion Saudi on the Raytheon table. GovConWire.Com reports, “Saudi Arabia has asked to buy more than 15,000 Raytheon-made (NYSE: RTN) missiles from the U.S. government under two foreign military sales transactions worth close to $1.1 billion combined. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the proposals Thursday in two separate notices, one detailing a $900 million deal for 13,935 missiles and another potential $170 million sale covering 1,764 missiles. According to DSCA, the Saudi army and national guard are buying the tube-launched, optically-tracked wire-guided missiles to support defense and counterterrorism missions.”

2. Getting creative in acquisition to cut costs. FederalTimes.Com contributor Adam Stone reports, “Across government, budgetary belt-tightening has increased the pressure on logisticians. These planners and organizers still must get the right material to the right place at the right time. Now they’re doing it to under a cloud of fiscal uncertainty. . . . A number of recent efforts show how creative logistics has become.”

TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY

1. “It came up OUT of the water and flew to space!” DefenseOne.Com’s Stephanie Gaskell explains, “The Naval Research Lab just launched a drone from a submerged submarine – giving a huge edge to the future of special operations. It took six years to develop and launch an all-electric, fuel cell-powered, folding-wing drone aircraft from a submerged submarine. The eXperimental Fuel Cell Unmanned Aerial System, or XFC UAS, was fired from the submarine’s torpedo tube using a ‘Sea Robin’ launch system, which is designed to fit within an empty Tomahawk launch canister used for launching Tomahawk cruise missiles.” See also, DefenseMediaNetwork.Com.

2. “I saw it, clear as day, flying over Area 51 . . . some kinda robotic bird!” Wired.Com’s Jason Paur reports, “The latest top secret unmanned spy plane to be uncovered isn’t just a design idea, it’s already flying at the Air Force’s famed Area 51. Unlike the recently announced SR-72, the new RQ-180 from Northrop Grumman is believed to be currently in flight testing according to Aviation Week and Space Technology. The RQ-180 is a new design aimed at intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR, a.k.a. spying) and incorporates stealth technology, in addition to an efficient new design that’s tailored to flights over countries where the red carpet isn’t being rolled out for current U.S. spy drones.”

3. Group of Eight takes on NSA. Reuters’ Pawel Kopczynski reports, “Eight U.S. web giants have joined hands to start a public campaign for new limits on how governments collect user information amid concerns of growing online surveillance. The companies — Google Inc, Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, Facebook Inc, Twitter, LinkedIn Corp, Yahoo Inc and AOL Inc — issued an open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama and Congress to bring in reforms and restrictions on surveillance activities. Documents leaked by former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the National Security Agency had penetrated and perhaps targeted some of the companies, prompting Microsoft, Google and Yahoo to increase the amount of encryption.”

POTOMAC TWO-STEP

1. Final act of a too long tragi-comedy: “Barring uncharacteristically swift work by Congress, more than a million victims of the recession will lose long-term unemployment benefits over the holidays, the price of milk could shoot up in late winter and government payments might fall sharply for doctors who treat Medicare patients. There’s more – much more – as lawmakers grasp the tail end of a dog of a year. . . . They are routine deadlines gone unmet in a year more likely to be remembered for a tea party-inspired partial government shutdown, the stalling of President Barack Obama’s agenda, repeated failed Republican attempts to eviscerate the health care law and a successful move by Senate Democrats to limit opposition to White House judicial nominees.”

2. Closing scenes of Act V: “The House on Monday kicked off its last work week of the year with lawmakers still needing to approve a budget bill to keep the government running after Jan. 15 while softening budget cuts that are squeezing domestic and military spending. The Senate also returns Monday after a two-week Thanksgiving break to decide on a defense authorization bill and to vote, under newly eased filibuster rules, on one of President Obama’s nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the House will adjourn Friday with or without a budget agreement, leaving the duty of completing a budget to the Senate, which adjourns Dec. 20.”

OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS

1. “Why Economics, Not Military Might, Is the Future of Foreign Policy.” Reuters’ David Rhode argues, “America’s ossified, military-focused foreign policy must learn to focus on economic forces — not just military power — to bring about lasting change.”

2. “A fresh approach to looking at foreign threats.” WaPo’s David Ignatius argues, “The crackup ahead lies in the mismatch between the challenges facing America and the public’s willingness to support activist foreign policy to deal with them. Simply put: There is a splintering of the traditional consensus for global engagement at the very time that some big new problems are emerging.”

3. “Iran, From Enemy to Ally.” New York Times’ David Patrikarakos argues, “The recent nuclear deal with Iran has caused a predictable furor among Middle East hawks. But it offers an opportunity for a much bigger breakthrough: rapprochement and, eventually, even strategic cooperation with Iran.”