FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Internships with a kick – DHS: Applications due 3 Jan. Contributor Jillian Hamilton reports, “For students in a two or four year program in a field related to cyber security, the 2014 Secretary’s Honor Program Cyber Student Volunteer Initiative provides the opportunity to gain valuable cyber security experience. Required skills and expertise are dependent on the assignment and location. Some positions could require the ability to acquire a clearance, and all positions are subject to a background check. This DHS initiative could help spark the next generation’s interest in a growing field. . . . Applications are due January 3, 2014.”
2. Recruiting the talent to your cyber team. Also from Jillian Hamilton, “Cyber threats are growing. It’s a costly problem that industry and government are working to meet. By 2015, U.S. Cyber Command is projected to grow by 4,000 new personnel, and across the globe businesses are looking to hire cyber talent. It’s a critical time for individuals with the right experience. Right now, the demand is high and the supply is low. Recruiting is difficult, but retention is often even more important, given the complexity of onboarding talent with the right certifications and clearances.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Iraq – our first proxy war with al-Qaeda. Aljazeera.Com reports, “The US has sent dozens of Hellfire air-to-ground missiles to Iraq’s air forces, which is using them in an ongoing campaign against the country’s branch of al-Qaeda. Officials in Washington and Baghdad on Thursday confirmed that 75 Hellfires arrived last week, and shipments of Scan Eagle drones will be coming next year amid a surge in violence in Iraq. . . . The Hellfire missiles were apparently being used by four Iraqi King Air propeller planes as part of a large-scale military operation in the western desert near the Syrian border, where an intelligence official said four camps were destroyed. . . . Washington has been adamant it will not send troops back to Iraq, but will continue to help train Iraqi forces. Al-Qaeda is believed to have made use of the war in Syria to rebuild its organisation in Iraq, with hard-line fighters shuttling between the two countries.” See also UPI.Com’s “U.S. sending missiles, drones to Iraq.”
2. South Sudan peace talks looking grim. UPI.Com reports from Nairobi, Kenya, “Talks on ending South Sudan’s deadly fighting were frank but produced little progress, officials said, ahead of a crisis summit Friday to advance peace talks . . . . But Adhanom, whose country is among those leading efforts to open peace talks between Kiir and his political rivals, announced none of the breakthroughs the leaders had hoped for. . . . The summit in Nairobi, to advance peace talks between Kiir, Machar and their rival supporters, is expected to include leaders of the regional eight-nation Intergovernmental Authority on Development bloc.”
3. Come and get it! Yard sale in Afghanistan. BusinessInsider.Com contributor Bob Crilly reports, “It is a January sale with a difference. The American military is auctioning off millions of pounds of tankers, accommodation blocks, tents, generators and other ‘white goods’ in Afghanistan ahead of next year’s deadline for the end of combat operations. In a tender document published on Friday, buyers are invited to offer a percentage of the equipment’s original value by January 10 when sealed bids will be opened. . . . Possible buyers include the private contractors who are picking up business as foreign forces leave, providing security, logistics support and training to charities, embassies and the Afghan government. Or the bases could be dissembled and their component parts sold off for civilian uses.” Also, in Kabul, suicide bomber attacks coalition convoy.
4. Face Off: DoD vs Veterans groups on military pay cuts. FederalNewsRadio.Com reports, “The Pentagon’s top civilian says it’s time to tame burgeoning military personnel costs, but he’s facing a test of wills with the nation’s powerful veterans groups, which want no cut in their benefits. Veterans groups are fighting curbs in annual pension increases for military retirees under age 62 that are part of the new budget deal passed by Congress last week and awaiting President Barack Obama’s signature. After a barrage of protests from the military community, lawmakers said they’ll review the cut next year and possibly reverse it. But Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that reform of military compensation can’t be avoided.” American Forces Press Services reports, “President Barack Obama [Thursday] signed House Resolution 3304, which provides pay and bonuses for U.S. service members, enhances counterterrorism efforts overseas, builds security capacities of key U.S. partner-nations, expands efforts to prevent sexual assault and strengthens protections for victims.”
5. Drones heading to Geneva. Khaama.Com reports, “The Pakistani Foreign Office officials have warned to take up the issue of US drone strikes with the Human Rights Council. The threat is followed by a fresh US drone strike in Miramshah, North Waziristan late Wednesday night, which left at least four people dead.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. China – big boon for private aviation. Reuters’ Fang Yan and Matthew Miller report from Beijing, “Recent rules changes . . . indicate that China is preparing to open its skies to private aircraft, in a move that may herald the greatest expansion of business and private aviation in the last 30 years. Last month, China’s aviation regulator simplified flight approval procedures for private aircraft and lowered the threshold for obtaining a private pilot license. More importantly, the implementation of little-noticed guidelines issued by China’s State Council and the Central Military Commission in 2010 will gradually lift the ceiling for low-flying aircraft by 2020.”
2. Federal emergency notification contract in the works. Also from NextGov.Com, Joseph Marks reports, “Federal emergency managers are considering replacing their current custom built system for notifying the public about emergencies with a commercial alternative, contracting documents show. . . . FEMA is looking for a commercially built alternative to IPAWS that enables faster action and better communication between federal, state and tribal officials and the public and that uses more advanced storage, including possibly placing some portions of the system in the cloud.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. They know who you are. NextGov.Com contributor Rebecca J. Rosen explains, “In defending the NSA’s telephony metadata collection efforts, government officials have repeatedly resorted to one seemingly significant detail: This is just metadata—numbers dialed, lengths of calls. “There are no names, there’s no content in that database,” President Barack Obama told Charlie Rose in June. No names; just metadata. New research from Stanford demonstrates the silliness of that distinction. Armed with very sparse metadata, Jonathan Mayer and Patrick Mutchler found it easy—trivially so—to figure out the identity of a caller.”
2. Surveillance fight 2014. Wired.Com’s Chris Finan predicts, “If you’re holding out hope for an act of political courage to end bulk surveillance and improve transparency, such as passage of the Leahy-Sensenbrenner USA Freedom Act to curb the NSA: Abandon hope, all ye whose data is indiscriminately collected here. Instead, here are some things to expect from the government, tech companies, and investors regarding surveillance and privacy this coming year.”
3. Financial apocalypse, now? WashingtonExaminer.Com’s Paul Bedard reports, “A top financial advisor, worried that Obamacare, the NSA spying scandal and spiraling national debt is increasing the chances for a fiscal and social disaster, is recommending that Americans prepare a ‘bug-out bag’ that includes food, a gun and ammo to help them stay alive. David John Marotta, a Wall Street expert and financial advisor and Forbes contributor, said in a note to investors, ‘Firearms are the last item on the list, but they are on the list. There are some terrible people in this world. And you are safer when your trusted neighbors have firearms.’”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. First big dances of 2014: “Already, familiar fault lines are emerging as Republicans and Democrats retrench for the next fiscal fight over raising the debt ceiling, which the Treasury says must be resolved by late February or early March. Despite the White House’s insistence that Obama won’t negotiate over that issue, Ryan has vowed the GOP will seek concessions before acquiescing. Whether Obama and Republicans can resolve their differences without another default-threatening showdown may set the stage for other items on the agenda as Washington gears up for the midterm elections in November, when the entire House and one-third of the Senate will be on the ballot.”
2. They didn’t do nothing, exactly: “2013 is widely considered to be the least productive year in the history of the United States Congress. The legislative body struggled to do the most basic work expected of it, such as keeping the government open. Despite all the partisan strife, 65 bills were sent to President Obama to be signed into law. These are seven of the more notable laws enacted during this not-very-momentous first session of the 113th Congress, where that body did more than just keep the lights on.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “The real reasons behind South Sudan crisis.” Aljazeera.Com contributor Mehari Taddele Maru argues, “The current crisis in South Sudan amounts to a failure of the international community to ensure that this new state develops into a democratic and stable nation.”
2. “The awkward state of U.S.-China relations.” LATimes.Com contributor Nina Hachigian argues, “The two huge powers have divergent interests but also deep interdependence. Working together is hard and frustrating, but not working together is worse. Both countries have managed to compartmentalize disagreements so cooperation in some areas can generate real progress. Given the differences, even these modest successes are worth celebrating.”
3. “It’s time to restrain . . . the NSA.” BaltimoreSun.Com contributor David Horsey argues, “Even with the best intentions, it is the nature of government agencies to accumulate more power if they are unrestrained. This is especially true of America’s proliferating spy organizations because the claims of national security can trump all other considerations. Add to that the ever-expanding technological capability the NSA and other spy agencies have to peer into every dark corner of a person’s life and there is the real potential for Uncle Sam to turn into Big Brother.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Snoopy.
2. Gas on the fire.
3. Ancient Aliens.
