Tuesday’s Top Ten

FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM

1. Clearances for Fed Service. Contributor Charles Simmins explains, “The majority of security-clearance holders work directly for the federal government. The official procedure for obtaining a clearance is identical to that for contractors but there may be a few important differences in process.”

2. FBI’s run on cyber agents. Also from Charles Simmins, “Among the many duties assigned to the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the investigation of cybercrime. Those duties do overlap with other law enforcement agencies at times, especially for financial crimes, but it is the lead agency for investigations into cyberterrorism and espionage. Where and how those duties are performed are often shrouded in secrecy. . . .”

THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT

1. U.S. military takes on Ebola fight. Reuters’ Jeff Mason reports, “The United States will ramp up its response to the Ebola crisis in West Africa with plans to build 17 treatment centers, train thousands of healthcare workers, and establish a military control center for coordination . . . . The plan will be unveiled by President Barack Obama on Tuesday . . . . Obama, who has called the epidemic a national security crisis, has faced criticism for not doing more to stem the outbreak, which the World Health Organization (WHO) said last week had killed more than 2,400 people out of 4,784 cases in West Africa.” See also, “U.S. to assign 3,000 from military to fight Ebola” and “Lebanon fears Ebola virus.”

2. NATO loses three more in Afghanistan. AP’s Jason Straziuso reports from Kabul, “A Taliban attacker detonated his car bomb next to an international military convoy on Tuesday, killing three troops from the NATO-led force and wounding nearly 20 troops and civilians . . . . The three military deaths – and a fourth in the country’s east – brought the total number of international troops killed in Afghanistan this year to 59, at least 42 of whom were American.” See also from Khaama.Com, “Insider attack leaves NATO soldier dead in western Afghanistan” and “Al Qaeda operations chief, propagandist reported killed in airstrikes.”

3. Silent partners in ISIS fight. Christian Science Monitor’s Howard LaFranchi reports, “The numbers are flying as to how many countries have signed on to the United States-led coalition to fight the militant group Islamic State that’s in control of parts of Iraq and Syria. Obama administration officials say more than three dozen regional and Western states have signed on. But there are overt participants, and then there are the hidden partners—some of whom will be more central to the anti-Islamic State (IS) effort than, say, Albania, which has agreed to provide some arms and ammunition to Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces. Among these ‘hidden partners’ that won’t publicly enlist in the coalition but will very likely play crucial roles in the fight against IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL: Russia and Iran.” See also, “U.S. scouts for Sunni allies on the ground in Iraq,” “House Vote on Syria Expected Wednesday,” and “Congress scrutinizes Obama military strategy.”

CONTRACT WATCH

1. For Christmas, an F135 engine. DoDBuzz.Com’s Brendan McGarry reports, “The U.S. Defense Department official in charge of the F-35 fighter jet program said he hopes to have a fix in place for a defective engine part by the end of the year. . . . Air Force Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan said engine-maker Pratt & Whitney, part of United Technologies Corp., is developing a replacement component for the fan section of the F135 engine. ‘We’re hoping before the end of the year, we’ll have at least the prototype,’ he told reporters after a presentation on the acquisition program. ‘If the prototype works, we’ll put that in.’”

2. Veterans Affairs contracting out. NextGov.Com’s Bob Brewin reports, “The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to outsource issuance and administration of the ‘Veteran’s Choice Card,’ a key provision of legislation signed last month by President Barack Obama that allows veterans to seek health care from private providers outside the Veterans Health Administration network of 950-plus hospitals and clinics. In contracting documents, VA said a third-party administrator will manage the creation and distribution of the Veteran’s Choice Card, which vets can use to obtain services from private sector clinicians and hospitals as called for in the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014.”

3. Grumman’s Global Hawk hat trick. GovConWire.Com reports, “Northrop Grumman . . . has been awarded a $354 million contract to manufacture three additional Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles for the U.S. Air Force. The order will increase the number of RQ-4 Global Hawks operated by the branch to 37 by 2017, Northrop said Monday. ‘Even as Global Hawk flight hours increase each year, we are striving to reduce the overall operating cost of the system for the Air Force,’ said Mick Jaggers, Northrop’s Global Hawk program manager.

TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY

1. Managing cyber soldiers—Career Management Field 17. DefenseNews.Com’s Joe Gould reports, “The US Army is closer than ever to introducing a cyber branch to better manage troops with highly sought skills in this area, according to a senior Army cyber official. The branch, called Career Management Field 17, will draw on experts from the intelligence and signals community for dedicated cyber forces, said Ronald Pontius, deputy to the commander of US Army Cyber Command. ‘What the Army is looking to do is to train and sustain the very high-speed cyber operators, in the range of offensive to defensive cyber operations’ . . . . An estimated 5,000 to 6,000 troops will be part of the branch eventually . . . .”

2. Nikon’s hot, new D-SLR. Wired.Com’s Tim Moynihan reports, “In the past year alone, Nikon has unleashed a full-frame bonanza. There’s been the flagship D4S, the retro-minded Df, the ultra-high-resolution D810, and the somewhat affordable D610. But until now, what there hasn’t been is a successor to 2008’s popular Nikon D700. The Nikon D750 is going to be that camera, blending the D700′s fairly small size with promising low-light specs and a snappy continuous-shooting mode. But it’s quite a bit different than the D700. Its innards are somewhat unrecognizable due to what’s happened over the past six years.”

3. Man-portable laser—game-changing tech. DefenseOne.Com contributor Bob Brewin reports, “The Special Operations Command requires ‘revolutionary game-changing’ technologies to support its mission, including portable lasers, color night vision systems and advanced battlefield wound dressings . . . . The prototype laser, developed by Boeing Directed Energy Systems and tested at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, weighed 750 lbs.—too heavy to fit the man-portable description, and now SOCOM wants to develop a smaller and lighter version. . . . SOCOM ‘is currently pursuing directed energy systems as a non-kinetic, stand-off anti-materiel solution.’”

POTOMAC TWO-STEP

1. Snap: “The party that’s acted as a bulwark against President Barack Obama’s agenda suddenly looks like it will quickly agree to some of his biggest demands. House Republicans are poised to extend the Export-Import Bank’s charter well into next year, despite decrying the agency as an antiquated vestige of crony capitalism. They will fund the federal government until mid-December without much of a fight. And, most notably, they are rapidly moving toward giving the White House authority to arm and train Syrian rebels, despite deep misgivings about their ability to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and even deeper distrust of Obama’s foreign policy. And this is all playing out in the final three days of session before Election Day—in a historically unproductive Congress.”

2. Pitch and check: “House Republican leaders on Tuesday will try to sell skeptical rank-and-file members on their plan granting President Obama’s request for authority to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels but with several congressional checks on his power. During a closed-door morning meeting, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other leaders will try to win over their conference by arguing they are curbing Obama’s authority and requiring top administration officials to regularly keep Congress in the loop. Both the Syria legislation and the larger stopgap spending bill to fund the government will be debated Tuesday, with a vote expected on Wednesday . . . . A vote on the broader use of military force against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) isn’t expected to happen until after Election Day.”

OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS

1. “Obama vs. the generals.” Washington Post contributor Marc A. Thiessen argues, “Yes, we are at war with the Islamic State. And if we are to ‘destroy’ it (as Obama promised), then the president needs to start listening to his military commanders. If he keeps ignoring their advice, he may be in for a long, hard slog — or something far worse.”

2. “NATO could have trouble combatting Putin’s military strategy.” Reuters contributors David Axe and Robert Beckhusen argue, “A Russian form of secret warfare called maskirovka might not qualify as a military attack — and could avoid triggering NATO intervention.”

3. “The new ‘robocops’ policing the poor.” Aljazeera.Com contributor Yiannis Baboulias argues, “Until we take an honest look at the toxic realities of rampant inequality, the best we can hope for is a tear-gas-democracy in which dissent is purposefully silenced. But we might get something far worse.”

THE FUNNIES

1. Paris Conference.

2. Anti-terror strategy.

3. Gearing up for war.

Related News

Ed Ledford enjoys the most challenging, complex, and high stakes communications requirements. His portfolio includes everything from policy and strategy to poetry. A native of Asheville, N.C., and retired Army Aviator, Ed’s currently writing speeches in D.C. and working other writing projects from his office in Rockville, MD. He loves baseball and enjoys hiking, camping, and exploring anything. Follow Ed on Twitter @ECLedford.