FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Reflective resumes – tailor them to the job. Editor Lindy Kyzer explains, “Recruiters are flooded with candidates every day, so if a candidate wants to get noticed and hired, they should tailor their resume to the position they want and ensure the things that differentiate them from the rest of the candidates, such as certifications, are easily identifiable.”
2. Transitioning to OCONUS. Also from Lindy Kyzer, “The Department of Defense may be decreasing its boots on the ground overseas, but military contracting positions are still available. And not just force protection and physical security jobs. Defense contracting firms need IT professionals, program managers, linguists, and other skilled pros to go international.”
3. Reputation, recruiting, retention. Finally, contributor Jillian Hamilton explains, “If you are finding it hard to fill open positions, it might be time to conduct an internal assessment. Work with management to interview or survey employees. Get an understanding of what employees like or dislike about the organization and what makes them want to stay or go. It’s also a good idea to ask candidates why they rejected an offer. And don’t forget to check company reviews that are floating around the web. Once you’re armed with the information, provide the information to management to be addressed.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Kiev chaos – proxy cold war battles. BBC.Com reports, “At least 17 protesters have been killed in renewed clashes with police in central Kiev after a truce agreed on Wednesday broke down . . . . The protests first erupted in November when President Yanukovych rejected a landmark association and trade deal with the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia. Since then, the protests spread across Ukraine, with the main demand of snap presidential and parliamentary elections.” Reuters reports, “At least 21 civilians were killed in fresh fighting in Kiev on Thursday, shattering an overnight truce declared by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, and a presidential statement said dozens of police were also dead or wounded.”
2. 2014 Singapore Airshow features U.S. systems. DoD’s Navy Cmdr. Amy Derrick-Frost reports from Singapore, “Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told reporters at the airshow that the United States was the ‘feature country’ at this year’s event, the first time organizers have made such a designation. U.S. military aircraft participating in static displays and aerial demonstrations included two F-16 Fighting Falcons, two MV-22 Ospreys, a P-8A Poseidon, a C-17 Globemaster III, a KC-135 Stratotanker and a C-130J Super Hercules.”
3. Iran’s nuke framework in Geneva. BBC.Co.UK reports, “Iran is reported to have agreed a framework for talks with six world powers in Vienna on a comprehensive agreement to limit its controversial nuclear programme. A top Iranian representative was quoted as saying that agreement was reached after two days of talks. But correspondents say the two sides remain far apart on a final resolution.” Reuters reports, “World powers and Iran make ‘good start’ towards nuclear accord.”
4. Army budget – expeditionary modernization. DefenseNews.Com’s Paul McLeary reports that in Afghanistan, “the story is all about what’s being shipped out, and how the Army is looking for ways to pay to modernize its ground and air fleets while positioning heavier equipment overseas, allowing its ground forces to use them for future expeditionary operations.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Boeing’s Globemaster lands in Kuwait. DefenseMediaNetwork.Com’s Steven Hoarn reports, “Boeing delivered the first of two C-17s ordered by Kuwait on Feb. 13, marking the addition of another country to the C-17 family of operators. Kuwait’s C-17 will give the Kuwaiti Air Force expanded capabilities in both military and civilian operations. . . . For Boeing’s part, the Kuwaiti C-17 delivery was an opportunity to showcase its C-17 production line.”
2. Adobe’s DISA win – $40.5 million over three. NextGov.Com’s Bob Brewin reports, “The Defense Information Systems Agency said it has signed a three-year, $40.5 million enterprise licensing agreement with CDW-G for Adobe software to be used by its own personnel along with Army and Air Force users. The contract covers Acrobat Pro, Experience Manager Document Services and a number of Creative Cloud subscriptions for each organization . . . . Dave Bennett, DISA chief information officer said the deal leverages the consolidated buying power of the Army, Air Force and DISA to obtain capabilities at a much lower cost. He added that DISA is in talks with other vendors to for similar contracts.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. Social media diplomacy. DefenseOne.Com contributor Joseph Marks reports, “Personal tweets and Facebook posts from ambassadors and other high ranking officials can show a human side to policy that’s more difficult to convey through official profiles, panelists said. That’s a difficult line to tread at the State Department, however, which aims to speak with a single voice about international questions.”
2. Fighting over drones and black budgets. DefenseNews.Com’s John T. Bennett reports, “A senior US lawmaker intends to renew his fight to require the Obama administration to fully shift its armed drone program from the CIA to the Defense Department. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a senior Armed Services Committee member, told Defense News on Wednesday, just before Congress left for a weeklong recess, that he will push the issue when the panel crafts its 2015 Pentagon policy bill in coming months.”
3. Tesla growing – a new way of imagining the car. VentureBeat.Com contributor Tom Cheredar reports, “The future is looking mighty bright for Tesla Motors. The upstart car company saw the sale of 22,477 cars last year, with a record 6,892 vehicles sold in the fourth quarter alone . . . . Unlike other auto makers, Tesla insists on selling its cars directly to consumers. You walk into a Tesla store — much like you would an Apple Store — to sample the products and order a custom version of their car. . . . Tesla is predicting an even brighter 2014.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. Executive Order: “President Obama on Air Force One Wednesday will sign an executive order to streamline U.S. exports and imports, according to the White House. The directive ‘cuts processing and approval times from days to minutes for small businesses that export American-made goods and services by completing the International Trade Data System by December 2016’ . . . Under the current system, some businesses are required to provide information to dozens of government agencies, which leads to a multi-day wait to move certain goods across the border. . . . In scope, the latest executive order is smaller than those recently issued by Obama. But the directive will likely stoke the GOP narrative that the president is implementing his agenda by ignoring Congress.”
2. Gold standard – Ted Nugent: “Sarah Palin is wading into the Texas governor’s race, urging voters to back Republican candidate Greg Abbott and even citing his recent controversial supporter. ‘If he is good enough for Ted Nugent, he is good enough for me!’ Palin wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday. Abbott, the state’s attorney general, is challenging Democrat Wendy Davis. He came under fire this week after inviting Nugent to campaign with him. In a recent interview, the musician called President Barack Obama a ‘subhuman mongrel.’”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Answering Ukraine’s bullets.” Christian Science Monitor’s Editorial Board argues, “Ukraine’s sovereignty has begun to slip away because of the government’s egregious human rights abuses against the protesters. The regime needs a regime-wide rebuke from the West or the United Nations in order to compel it to compromise with the opposition, release political prisoners, and end the violence. As with the Balkan wars of the 1990s, Europe cannot ignore this violent strife on its doorstep – and in a country whose people aspire to join the EU.”
2. “Ukraine after the Maidan.” Reuters contributor William E. Pomeranz argues, “Yet neither sanctions nor condemnation will fix what divides Ukraine. In addition, a crackdown in Ukraine will have major ramifications for Russia. Putin deeply fears the spread of such protests. He no doubt will tighten his grip on power to make sure that similar demonstrations do not cross the border.”
3. “Untrained doctors, low quality medicines a greater risk for Afghan lives.” Khaama.Com’s Ahmad Shoaib Safi argues, “[U]nprofessional and untrained doctors, low-quality medicines can be supposed as the greatest risk enough for claiming many Afghan lives. This can be said regretfully that during plenty flow of foreign donations in past decade, the passive Afghans both government and well-off civilian Afghans failed to address the important most issue. Everyone tried to surpass others by building splendid houses, markets and plazas but they left poor Afghans at the mercy of unprofessional commercial-minded doctors.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Smores.
