Top on Tuesday & A Must Read: PTSD love story
FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Career fair game. Contributor Diana Rodriguez explains, “Career or job fairs give job seekers a chance to talk face to face with many recruiters, from different companies and organizations, in a single location. . . . Knowing what to expect, and how things work at a career fair can help job seekers prepare themselves for the experience. Here are some suggestions and tips for making the most out of a career fair . . . .”
2. Defense offense. Also from Rodriguez, how to play your hand at your Defense interview: “Defense contractors are usually required to perform at very high levels of achievement and be ready to perform their jobs with very little transition time. Adaptability is a key trait. The operational tempo may be difficult for some employees to adjust to, so it is critical that hiring managers chose the right individuals. Given lengthy waiting periods for security credentialing and access, it’s important that each hire is a long term investment. Below are five questions you can expect to be asked by a defense industry hiring manager.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Pakistan’s peace talks. BBC.Co.UK reports, “Preliminary peace talks between the Pakistani government and the Taliban are due to get under way in the capital, Islamabad, later on Tuesday. At their first meeting, negotiators nominated by the government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are to chart a ‘roadmap’ for dialogue. The militants have been waging an insurgency inside Pakistan since 2007.”
2. al Qaeda – terrorists with some standards. TheDailyBeast.Com’s James Dettmer reports, “After weeks of vicious rebel infighting in northern Syria that has left more than a thousand dead and set jihadists at each other’s throats, al-Qaeda has disavowed the militant group triggering the war within Syria’s civil war, saying it isn’t responsible for the actions of the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS). The disavowal—the first time the terror group’s top leadership has disowned an affiliate—takes al-Qaeda into unchartered territory.” LongWarJournal.Org’s Thomas Joscelyn reports, “Not long after al Qaeda’s general command yesterday disowned the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), a popular Saudi cleric who has relocated to Syria took to his social media sites to call on ISIS members to defect.”
3. Afghan children – the glass might be half full. NPR.Org’s Sean Carberry reports, “One of the most dramatic changes in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban is the increase in average life expectancy from 45 to 62 years. That gain is almost entirely a function of reductions in child mortality due to the spread of basic health services. Yet Afghanistan still has one of the highest child mortality rates in the world, and there could be significant backsliding as the international community reduces aid after NATO troops withdraw at the end of this year. . . . USAID says it intends to continue providing $100 million a year for health services in Afghanistan, but officials warn their funding is subject to congressional approval. And Congress just voted to cut Afghan aid almost in half.” Also, “Afghanistan’s Karzai in secret talks with Taliban” and “Obama to hold talks on Afghanistan with defense leadership.”
4. Syrians to Switzerland. TheGuardian.Com reports, “The Syrian government will attend the next round of peace talks in Geneva, Russia’s deputy foreign minister has announced ahead of talks in Moscow between Russian officials and the Syrian opposition leader, Ahmad Jarba, on Tuesday. “We have no doubt that the government delegation will take part in the second round of international talks in Geneva,” Mikhail Bogdanov told reporters. A Russian minister also announced that Syria would complete its removal of toxic agents from the country by 1 March.” Also, Aleppo barrel bombing day 3.
5. Hagel to nukers: “Can you hear me now?” 341st Missile Wing’s Josh Aycock reports, “While flying back to Washington D.C., Feb. 1 from the Munich Security Conference, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke by phone with six officers currently pulling alert duty in three of the 341st Missile Wing’s ICBM launch control centers here. In conversations that lasted approximately an hour, Hagel expressed his confidence [wink wink] in the officers’ ability to carry out the nuclear deterrence mission, according to DOD officials. . . . Hagel also listened to the officers’ concerns and said he deeply appreciates their critical service to the nation, according to those he spoke with.”
6. USAF to cut platforms & personnel. DefenseNews.Com’s Aaron Mehta reports, “This close to the March 4 submission of the fiscal 2015 budget request, getting specifics from service officials can be like pulling teeth. But a number of statements, both in public appearances and during interviews, provide a sense of direction for the US Air Force’s plans. The message: Expect to see big cuts to personnel and platforms.
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Thumbs down – General Dynamics C4 Systems. NextGov.Com’s Bob Brewin reports, “Army tactical company commanders universally panned satellite communications equipment installed on their vehicles in tests last year, the Pentagon’s test organization has reported. The Soldier Network Extension portion of the Army’s Warfighter Information Network – Tactical, or WIN-T, was developed by General Dynamics C4 Systems to provide voice and broadband satellite communications to tactical vehicles while on the move. . . . Congress slashed $204 million from the Army’s $974 million WIN-T funding in the 2014 budget signed by the president on Jan. 16.”
2. Acquisition streamline for Small Business. FederalTimes.Com’s Andy Medici reports, “The Defense Department, General Services Administration and NASA are proposing to amend federal acquisition guidelines to help streamline small business purchasing, according to a notice in the Feb. 3 Federal Register. The proposed rule would clarify that agencies can continue to claim credit toward their small business spending goals even if the small business has left the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program – as long as the contract award was made while the business was in the program. . . . Agencies are expected to spend 23 percent of contracting dollars through small business.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. Next: Unmanned Ground Vehicles – the UGV. Wired.Com’s Allen McDuffee reports, “U.S. Army convoys will soon be able to roll into even the roughest of unfriendly foreign urban areas and combat zones without the worry of loss of life, thanks to new technology that will make large vehicles fully autonomous. . . . the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) and Lockheed Martin demonstrated the ability of the Autonomous Mobility Appliqué System (AMAS), which gives full autonomy to convoys to operate in urban environments. In tests, driverless tactical vehicles were able to navigate hazards and obstacles including pedestrians, oncoming traffic, road intersections, traffic circles and stalled and passing vehicles. Under an initial $11 million contract in 2012, Lockheed Martin developed the multiplatform kit which integrates low-cost sensors and control systems with Army and Marine tactical vehicles to enable autonomous operation in convoys.”
2. Mechanical Keyboards: get some. PCWorld.Com’s Alex Cocilova explains, “Keyboards are of two kinds: (1) the cheapo, no-name slabs that are bundled by the millions with PCs, and (2) the ones that are actually worth using—and in most cases, that’s a mechanical keyboard. Stalwart friend to gamers and power typists alike, the mechanical keyboard’s physical operation and durability make it the gold standard for computer use. It’s not the only option out there—good alternatives abound for wireless, ergonomic, and other purposes—but if nothing else, ditching that freebie is something everyone should do. Read on to learn more about why a mechanical keyboard should be in your future.
3. Don’t be “that guy.” Time’s Micah Singleton advises, “Technology has become a part of our everyday lives over the last 10 years. Seeing people running around with smartphones, tablets and laptops on a daily basis doesn’t even garner a second look as it did in the early 2000’s. Unfortunately, not everyone reviewed their copy of the Common Courtesy Rulebook that should have come with their beloved devices. Annoying habits have migrated from analog to digital and it’s time for a refresher on what not to do with your tech toys.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Fox hunt: “Hillary Clinton took a jab of Fox News while watching the Super Bowl on Sunday night. The former secretary of State and potential presidential candidate said she enjoyed watching Fox ‘when it’s someone else being blitzed & sacked!’ Democrats have been critical of the news network — and Republicans in Congress — for what they perceive as unfair coverage of the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi, Libya, for political purposes. . . . President Obama also took a slight shot at Fox News during an interview with host Bill O’Reilly on Sunday while talking about the administration’s public response to the attacks. ‘They believe it because folks like you are telling them that,’ Obama said when asked to respond to detractors who believe his administration was slow to call the incident a terrorist attack.”
2. Benghazi Boogaloo hullabaloo: “It is hard to count all the investigations into the Benghazi, Libya, attack — the exhaustive hearings and extensive testimony, the State Department review, the Senate report, the House report, the piles of newspaper and television stories. All failed to reveal any cover-up, any orders for the military not to help, or any lies from administration officials. Yet Mitt Romney, the GOP’s 2012 presidential nominee, told a conservative radio host last week that Americans still do not have the “full story” behind the deaths of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. Also last week, a Republican invited the father of one of the Americans killed in the terror attack to be his guest at the State of the Union address. And, by the end of last week, a House resolution to form a select committee to investigate the episode had more than 181 Republican co-sponsors.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. Israel: “The Talks, Round Two” NYTimes.Com contributor Richard Cohen argues, “This is not rocket science. The core elements of any two-state deal are well known. But neither side has been ready to embrace the suboptimal middle ground where peace is made. What is needed now are ‘pull factors’ that begin to allay the core fears of both sides. . . . Kerry has moved the ball.”
2. “The Pakistani Taliban’s P.R. Offensive.” NYTimes.Com contributor Huma Yusef argues, “The [Pakistani] government’s equivocations afford the Pakistani Taliban a rhetorical advantage: All they have to do is point out its contradictions and say the government isn’t serious about negotiating. This puts the onus on the state to prove its commitment to peace, perhaps by meeting the Taliban’s preconditions for talks, like an end to drone strikes. The point is also to generate public pressure on the government to pursue talks without resorting to military action.”
3. “Europe and Russia: Dancing to different tunes.” Aljazeera.Com contributor Rosa Balfour argues, “Europe has always muted its criticism of the Kremlin in the shadow of its energy dependence on Russia and of its role in global politics. But Russia, too, depends on Europe to buy its gas and oil, and has few friends elsewhere. Putin’s hard-nosed politics may have given Europeans a few tips on how to treat its long-standing partner.”
THE FUNNIES
3. Cold shoulders.
