FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Robot Army. Contributor D.B. Grady explains, “There are excellent arguments for and against such weapons of war. But regardless of the words of ethicists or activists, robots are the inevitable reality of combat zones in the near future. Indeed, at Ft. Benning, technology companies were invited to demonstrate their latest refinements to the ‘unmanned ground systems’ that make up robotic warfare.”
2. Employer’s view – Embedded Systems Design, Inc. Editor Lindy Kyzer’s one-on-one with CEO Kristen Wecht: “In our industry, since we’re a government contractor, a lot of the embedded systems we deal with have to do with real-time digital signal processing, so we hire software engineers, systems engineers, systems integrators, electrical engineers, and systems architects. If you’re good at what you do, you enjoy collaborating, enjoy mentoring, and enjoy being mentored, then we want you.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Crimea—Cold War turning hot. AP’s David McHugh and Dalton Bennet report from Kiev, “Russia has taken effective control of the Crimean peninsula without firing a shot. Now, the fears in the Ukrainian capital and beyond are that that Russia might seek to expand its control by seizing other parts of eastern Ukraine.” Reuters’ reports on the economics of Putin’s push: “Ukraine said Russia was building up armored vehicles on its side of a narrow stretch of water near the Ukrainian region of Crimea after President Vladimir Putin said he had the right to invade his neighbor, prompting a sell-off in Russian assets.” And DefenseOne.Com’s Stephanie Gaskell reports, “Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Kiev on Tuesday to try to head off invading Russian forces and de-escalate the conflict.”
2. SecDef Hagel faces the nation. American Forces Press Service’s Amaani Lyle reports, “Appearing on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ . . . Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel urged a diplomatic approach to resolve what he described as a ‘dangerous situation’ in Ukraine. The secretary explained the Defense Department’s strategic interest in Ukraine upon his recent return from a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels where he saw strong support for the beleaguered nation. . . . Turning to another subject, the secretary noted the Defense Department’s need to adjust to a more dangerous and complicated world, including the cyber threat.”
3. On Egypt—the new Prime Minister. Aljazeera.Com reports, “Egypt’s new prime minister has said that security is his top priority and urged a halt to protests and strikes to give the nation a breather to rebuild after more than three years of deadly turmoil. . . . The turmoil sweeping Egypt since the 2011 ouster of Hosni Mubarak has devastated the economy, particularly the vital tourism sector. However, protesters have usually brushed off the charge that they are destroying the economy. They blame government mismanagement for hardships that include unemployment, inflation and a surge in crime.”
4. On Syria—what went wrong. Christian Science Monitor’s Ariel Zirulnick reports, “In his first public comments since stepping down as US ambassador to Syria on Friday, Robert Ford addressed the failure to contain Syria’s bloody civil war, laying most of the blame at the feet of President Bashar al-Assad and his government’s international backers. . . . his outlook was bleak, warning that a fractured rebellion, the presence of Al Qaeda inspired fighters on the battlefield, and the fears of the country’s minorities are a recipe for prolonged conflict. . . . His remarks had seven key takeaways.”
5. DoD Budget preview—coming 4 March. DefenseNews.Com’s John T. Bennett reports, “Chuck Hagel, with his first budget plan as US defense secretary, has managed to do the unthinkable: He has united Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill. In short, they hate it. Limited by spending caps erected by Congress, Hagel’s budget proposes large cuts to America’s ground combat forces, a number of controversial troop-benefits changes, retiring aircraft fleets and a round of politically white-hot base closures.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Re-writing security clearance contracting. GovExec.Com’s Charles S. Clark reports, “Fallout continues from last September’s fatal shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, with a prime federal contractor, U.S. Investigative Services (USIS), emerging seriously but not irreparably scathed. The Falls Church, Va.-based company, which conducts about two-thirds of federal background checks on private contractors and has been charged with fraud by the Justice Department for submitting incomplete background checks, would no longer be able to review its own work under a Senate bill introduced Thursday.”
2. Dark horse XTec wins $103 million DHS dollars by a nose. NextGov.Com’s Aliya Sternstein reports, “DHS originally awarded the $102.8 million contract to HP Enterprise Services on Sept. 27, 2013, but in November the department notified the Government Accountability Office that it was reevaluating the award after XTec, which had previously provided software for the project, argued that ‘the agency did not reasonably evaluate proposals,’ Ralph White, GAO managing associate general counsel, told Nextgov last month in an email.’ The value of the new contract, over an anticipated 10-year timeline, will remain the same . . . .”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. IT reform in DoD. FederalTimes.Com’s Amber Corrin reports, “Defense Department officials are pushing forward with plans to improve the ways they manage and buy information technology, including through reform efforts that accelerate timelines, improve management and maximize investment. . . . Among the efforts is a so-called ‘IT Box’ concept designed to provide better oversight and management of products, develop requirements and flesh out costs associated with system development, sustainment and operations. . . . Other plans include improvements to DOD’s use to the federal IT dashboard to track data on IT investments, as well as a new interim guidance aimed at ‘modular, open-system technology, with the emphasis on design for change’. . . .”
2. AN-2: Collaborative success on the water. DefenseMediaNetwork.Com’s Steven Hoarn reports, “The AN-2 performed in the presence of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette team, Swiftships employees, U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.), and U.S. Department of Commerce trade specialist Brie Knox. Boustany seemed to recognize the potential for jobs for the region, in addition to possible military applications. ‘It’s very maneuverable and quiet, but at the end of the day, all this means is that Louisiana can be part of the renaissance of shipbuilding for the entire U.S., which will allow us to export this kind of technology,’ said Boustany. The vision of shipbuilding jobs for the Gulf Coast is something Geibel sought to encourage. ‘The application of autonomous technology has far reaching implications for the entire inland shipping industry,’ said Geibel.”
3. We’re gonna need a smaller missile. Wired.Com’s Allen McDuffee reports, “If the Pentagon is going to increasingly rely on drones to carry out precision attacks, the military is going to need access to smaller munitions than one-ton JDAMs. While most defense contractors are designing drones to accommodate the already-existing larger weapons, the Navy has taken the opposite approach with Spike, a five-pound, 25-inch mini-munition which it likes to call ‘the world’s smallest guided missile.’ Relying on commercial-off-the-shelf components such as cellphone camera technology, Spike can be launched from the air or the ground and is being developed so it can even be shoulder-fired.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. In the center ring, Obama juggles: “The crisis over Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine looms over a busy week for President Obama, as he also welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and turns to domestic politics, highlighted by his budget on Tuesday. . . .”
2. Enough, already: “It took barely a year in Congress for Democrat Gloria Negrete McLeod to decide that she could do more for her California constituents by serving in county government. She’s one of 38 House members, including six from California, not to seek re-election in November, and during her single term, she grew frustrated quickly with the gridlock on Capitol Hill.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Share Tactics.” GovExec.Com contributors Dave Mader and Kristine Rohls explain, “The specifics of managing down the national debt will continue to be the subject of vociferous debate, but one thing nearly everyone can agree on—regardless of political stripe—is that agencies are going to face substantial budget cuts.”
2. “A partner, not an enemy in the White House.” Haaretz.Com’s Editorial Board argues, “Netanyahu is not going to the United States as the representative of Likud or Yisrael Beiteinu, or as the spokesman of Habayit Hayehudi, but as the Israeli prime minister. In such a role, he is required to understand the upmost importance of a peace agreement, to remove the potholes he has placed in its path, to stop blaming the Palestinians for thwarting the peace process and to leverage Obama’s efforts. He needs to understand that a framework agreement is not a declaration of war against Israel, and certainly not an American betrayal. He must not sabotage it.”
3. “The glass in Ukraine: Half full, half spilt.” Aljazeera.Com contributors Michael Hikari Cecire and Lincoln Mitchell argue, “These are serious challenges blocking Ukraine’s hopeful path to stability – never mind democracy. They are not insurmountable, but it remains as likely as not that Ukraine’s next chapter will resemble the lost years of 2004-2010 – minus a few eastern territories. If the country is to remain united, powerful passions in Kiev, however righteous, must be tempered in favour of pragmatism.”
THE FUNNIES
2. No free lunch.
