FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
1. Before you retire—bucket list. Smart advice from contributor Jennifer Cary: “When it’s time to retire, the military provides you with a stack of paperwork, lots of classes and dozens of to-do blocks to check off. And while those things are important, there are a few items you may want to spend some extra time on before you hang up your uniform. . . . In the end, taking some extra time to focus on things like your resume, social media accounts and health can really pay off when your retirement date rolls around. By starting early and staying driven, you’ll set yourself up for success as you transition to your new civilian life.”
2. Great jumping-off points. Also from Jennifer Cary, “Once you’ve made the decision to retire from the military, you may find yourself with more questions than answers. Deciding if you should start a second career, purchase a home or stay close to a military base are all legitimate concerns. Of course, all of these are directly linked to one decision that you haven’t had much control over for years – location, location, location.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
1. Bo Bergdahl—love him, hate him. Washington Post’s Dan Lamothe and Kevin Sieff report, “Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s recovery after five years in captivity has rekindled anger among some of his military peers over how he came to fall into enemy hands and the price the United States has paid to get him back. . . . Afghan children nearby . . . said they had seen an American crawling through weeds.” See also, “Bergdahl release stirs resentment” and “Worried to very end.”
2. Syria’s election. AP’s Albert Aji and Diaa Hadid report from Damascus, “Waving photos of their leader and dancing with flags, thousands of Syrians pledged renewed allegiance to President Bashar Assad as they voted Tuesday in the country’s presidential election decried by the opposition as a charade. Some stamped ballots with their blood, others chose to vote in full sight of other voters and television cameras—rather than go behind a partition curtain for privacy.” See also, “5 things to know about Syria’s Presidential vote” and Aljazeera.Com’s “Syrians vote in Presidential poll.”
3. DoD’s worldwide commitments—an inventory. American Forces Press Service reports, “The United States is demonstrating its continued commitment to collective security through a series of actions designed to reassure NATO allies and partners of America’s dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region, in light of the Russian intervention in Ukraine . . . . ‘Increased air, land and sea deployments to eastern Europe are a tangible demonstration of our solid and enduring commitment to collective security and the NATO alliance’ . . . .” See also, “Bringing NATO Into the 21st Century.”
CONTRACT WATCH
1. Air Force contract awards $1.2 billion. DefenseNews.Com’s Aaron Mehta reports, “The Air Force announced two major awards today, awarding Lockheed Martin the contract for its Space Fence program and Raytheon the winner of its Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T) system.”
2. Sechan’s $9 million Navy win. MilitaryAerospace.Com’s John Keller reports, “Navy leaders are looking to electronics contract manufacturing specialist Sechan Electronics Inc. in Lititz, Pa., to build digital signal processors (DSPs) that help Navy commanders create one common air defense tactical display, or ‘air picture,’ which is based on all sensor data available. Officials of U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington awarded Sechan an $8.7 million contract last week to manufacture signal data processor-Sierra (SDP-S) systems for the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) program. The prime contractor for CEC is the Raytheon Co. Network Centric Systems segment in St. Petersburg, Fla.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
1. Post-Snowden whistleblowers. GovExec.Com’s Charles S. Clark reports, “Among the many continuing shockwaves from last spring’s domestic surveillance disclosures by Edward Snowden is a concerted effort within the intelligence community to recast whistleblowing.”
2. Flat-lining on cybersecurity. FierceGovernmentIT.Com’s Molly Bernhart Walker reports, “Across the board, major federal agencies are not consistently responding to cyber incidents, such as computer network breaches. About 65 percent of the time agencies aren’t completely documenting actions taken in response to detected incidents . . . . Only sometimes do agencies identify the scope of the incident, most frequently they won’t determine the impact of an incident and they often fail to demonstrate post-incident actions to prevent recurrence . . . .”
3. Dr. Artificial Intelligence at your service. Wired.Com contributor Daniela Hernandez reports, “Artificial intelligence is still in the very early stages of development–in so many ways, it can’t match our own intelligence–and computers certainly can’t replace doctors at the bedside. But today’s machines are capable of crunching vast amounts of data and identifying patterns that humans can’t. Artificial intelligence . . . can be a tool to take full advantage of electronic medical records, transforming them from mere e-filing cabinets into full-fledged doctors’ aides that can deliver clinically relevant, high-quality data in real time.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
1. You dirty rat!: “Charles Forbes was chosen to head the Veterans Bureau by his poker buddy, President Warren G. Harding, in 1921. He was a poor choice. Forbes took kickbacks. He sold off federal supplies. He wildly misspent taxpayer money—once buying a 100-year supply of floor wax, enough to polish a floor the size of Indiana, for 25 times the regular price (apparently as a favor to a floor wax company). Eventually, Forbes was caught. The president was unhappy. In 1923, a White House visitor opened the wrong door and found Harding choking Forbes with his bare hands. ‘You yellow rat! You double-crossing bastard!’ Harding was saying, according to historians. When he noticed the visitor, he let go of Forbes’s neck.”
2. Media dance. “The briefing book, which takes enormous effort to assemble each morning, contains the assembled wisdom, positions, acumen and sheer flackery of the Cabinet, the executive agencies, the White House staff and sometimes even the president of the United States. It is all done—and the process often starts before dawn—in anticipation of what questions the press corps will be asking at the daily briefing and what messages the White House wants to convey. . . . Press secretaries, standing behind the lectern each day, appear to wield great power. In fact, like everybody else at the White House, their power is limited by the needs, desires and whims of the president.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
1. “Senate must rein in the NSA.” Reuters contributor Elizabeth Goitein argues, “It is now up to the Senate to breathe life back into this National Security Agency reform effort. . . . intelligence agencies should collect information about Americans only where there is reason to suspect wrongdoing, and only under publicly disclosed authorities.”
2. “Let Japan help defend America—and itself.” Reuters contributor Clyde Prestowitz argues, “There is a growing risk that Washington may be drawn into confrontation with Beijing as a result of parochial issues between China and some U.S. allies. Japan, by taking greater responsibility for its own defense and that of its allies, would be moving to decrease this risk of having to put more Americans in harm’s way. Washington should not only support this—it should welcome it. Despite the inevitable howls from some Asian capitals.” See related, “Chinese Cruise Missiles Could Pose Biggest Threat to US Carriers.”
3. “On prosecuting Syrians for war crimes.” Aljazeera.Com contributor Richard Falk argues that “there are two intertwined concerns. Firstly, whether seeking the criminal indictment of Syrians accused of crimes against humanity is on balance, helpful or harmful. This issue should be evaluated in relation to resolving in the right way the devastating conflict in Syria. And secondly, whether such recourse to the ICC would strengthen or weaken this judicial institution, and its need to overcome the strong impression of operating on the basis of double standards.”
THE FUNNIES
1. Win-win.
2. Channeling Nixon.
3. Syrian elections.
