FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Clearance eligibility. Editor Lindy Kyzer explains, “It all comes down to the adjudicative criteria and whether or not the federal government deems you trustworthy based on the judgement of adjudicative personnel. Having a security clearance, in turn, means an individual is eligible to access classified information. Eligibility standards are higher for SCI (Sensitive Compartmented Information) and SAPs (Special Access Programs). The adjudicative criteria, however, are the same. But because the investigation process is more lengthy and stringent, expect a deeper investigation into your personal conduct, credit history, and more. . . .”
Debt and clearance. Contributor Sean Bigley advises, “As with any debt, the government has two concerns regarding the security clearance holder: (1) is the debt evidence of a lack of financial responsibility that would translate to a similar, carefree attitude about protecting classified information; and (2) does the debt increase the clearance holder’s vulnerability to bribery or coercion? To mitigate the first issue, the security clearance holder needs to show how seriously he or she attempted to resolve the financial delinquency before it resulted in the lender being forced to seize secured property to satisfy the debt.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Women fail Ranger School. Christian Science Monitor’s Anna Mulrine reports, “On Friday, the Army announced that all the women who had attempted to graduate from Ranger School had officially failed to meet the standards . . . . But there is another opinion quietly being voiced as well: that Ranger School is more akin to a rite of passage – an opportunity for men to ‘thump their chest,’ as one Ranger puts it – than a realistic preparation for leading in war. That women can actually make Ranger units more effective. And that the standards that keep them out are outdated.”
Ramadi: life under ISIS. McClatchyDC’s Mohammed al Dulaimy and Hannah Allam report, “There are few signs of life in central Ramadi, the Islamic State’s latest prize in the vast western badlands of Iraq. Photos and videos posted on the Internet show battle-scarred streets littered with rubble and blood-stained clothing, but devoid of inhabitants. Many once-vibrant commercial districts are shuttered or in ruins from airstrikes. The black flag of the Islamic State, also called ISIS or ISIL, flutters atop what’s left of public buildings.”
Sea freedom: Ash Carter on Asian Pivot. Defense Media Activity’s Tyreone C. Marshall Jr. reports, “A strong and inclusive security architecture is key to ensuring the opportunity for the Asia-Pacific region to continue to rise, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said . . . . Carter stressed the importance of safeguarding the freedom of the seas for all nations, deterring conflict and coercion in the region and adherence to international rules. . . . In order to realize this future, Carter said the Asia-Pacific’s security architecture must be inclusive, open, and transparent.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Half-billion Navy dollars to ViaSat Inc. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “U.S. Navy communications experts are awarding ViaSat Inc. in Carlsbad, Calif., a nearly half-billion-dollar contract to provide digital tactical networking and voice communications capability for U.S. and allied aircraft, ground vehicles, and surface warships. Officials of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) in San Diego announced a $478.6 million five-year contract to ViaSat on Thursday to build and maintain Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) Joint Tactical Radio Systems (JTRS) terminals.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Patriot Act in the balance. Reuters’ Patricia Zengerle and Warren Strobel report, “The legal authority for U.S. spy agencies’ collection of Americans’ phone records and other data expired at midnight on Sunday after the Senate failed to pass legislation extending their powers. After debate pitting Americans’ distrust of intrusive government against fears of terrorist attacks, the Senate voted to advance reform legislation that would replace the bulk phone records program revealed two years ago by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. . . . Intelligence experts say a lapse of only a few days would have little immediate effect. The government is allowed to continue collecting information related to any foreign intelligence investigation that began before the deadline.”
Unbreakable bots. The Atlantic’s Adrienne LaFrance reports, “It almost looks like a wounded animal. There’s that little hop in its gait, the way it looks tentative as it springs forward from its haunches, the not-exactly-straight trajectory of its path. Except this isn’t an injured animal. It is a robot. And even with two broken legs, this hexapod can figure out how to keep going. Which means that what looks like a slightly sad (if persistent) hunk of metal making its way across a hard floor represents something much bigger, actually. New research published on Wednesday in Nature finds that machines can change their behavior to adapt to being broken—they can learn and iterate based on self-reflection. In other words, they can act like animals.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Pile on Paul. “The Rand Paul pile-on session began a few hours before sunset Sunday evening. Behind closed doors in the Senate’s Strom Thurmond Room, Republican senators lashed out at the junior Kentucky Republican’s defiant stance to force the expiration of key sections of the PATRIOT Act, a law virtually all of them support. Indiana Sen. Dan Coats’ criticism was perhaps the most biting: He accused the senator of ‘lying’ about the matter in order to raise money for his presidential campaign, according to three people who attended the meeting. The message may have gotten through to Paul except for one thing: The libertarian-minded senator skipped the hour-long meeting. That only infuriated his colleagues more.”
Creating crisis. “Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) slammed Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday for creating a ‘manufactured crisis’ over expiring provisions of the Patriot Act. Reid said McConnell was to blame for the possible expiration of the law at midnight, and not Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has opposed a bipartisan reform bill and a straight extension of the Patriot Act, which would authorize key National Security Agency programs. ‘It is clear that the majority leader simply didn’t have a plan,’ Reid said in comments on the Senate floor during a rare Sunday session of the upper chamber.”
