FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Recruiter refinements. Editor Lindy Kyzer offers, “You measure candidates across performance metrics every day, but how do you measure your own performance? While most recruiters are aware of their time-to-hire metrics and retention rates, if those are the only metrics you consider, you won’t get a full picture. Think about how you assess candidates across key variables, and use those criteria to access your performance. . . .”
Financial matters. In-house counsel Sean Bigley advises, “My clients are often surprised to learn that the government really does just pull their credit report. I always counsel clients to proactively pull a copy of their credit report before an investigation and make sure any potential issues are promptly cleaned up. You’ll still have to report any financial problems that meet the reporting requirements on the SF-86 form, but it looks much better (and significantly increases your chances of avoiding a clearance denial), if you’ve already cleaned your financial house.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
ISIS strikes Baghdad. AP’s Vivian Salama reports, “A massive truck bomb ripped through a popular Baghdad food market in a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in the early morning hours on Thursday, killing at least 62 people . . . . The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the blast, saying it targeted a gathering place of Shiites and vowed more attacks. . . . Last month, the militant group targeted a popular market in the eastern province of Diyala, killing more than 115 people in one of the worst-single attacks to tear through the country in a decade.” See also, “Islamic State claims huge truck bomb attack in Baghdad’s Sadr City.” “Deadliest attacks in Iraq since the US pullout,” and “Islamic State claims advances in Baiji.”
Odierno on Iraq. Defense One’s Marcus Weisgerber reports, “Gen. Ray Odierno, the U.S. Army’s top officer, pushed back on the Iraq War blame game that has dominated the GOP 2016 presidential campaign trail, saying that the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 was the Bush administration’s plan all along. Odierno, formerly the senior U.S. general in Iraq, said he was unconvinced at the time that the Iraqi parliament would have approved a longer stay for American troops had Obama administration officials successfully negotiated for it.”
Gearing-up for war. The Telegraph’s Roland Oliphant reports, “Russia and Nato are actively preparing for war with one another amid the greatest build up of military tension in Europe since the end of the Cold War, a new report says. Rival exercises by the Russian armed forces and Nato have led to several near-miss incidents that could result in confrontation between the two sides, and leaders need to consider a new arms control treaty to avert the possibility of heightened tensions spilling into war.” Read the report: “Preparing for the Worst: Are Russian and NATO Military Exercises Making War in Europe more Likely? ”
CONTRACT WATCH
Counter-ballistics. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “Officials of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in Huntsville, Ala., announced separate contracts Tuesday to the Lockheed Martin Corp. Space Systems Co. in Sunnyvale, Calif., and to the Raytheon Co. Missile Systems segment in Tucson, Ariz., to start designing the Multi-Object Kill Vehicle (MOKV). The MOKV could engage several incoming objects simultaneously with kill vehicles that could communicate with one another. Raytheon and Lockheed Martin will define a concept that can destroy several incoming warheads and decoys by considering advanced sensor, divert and attitude control, and communication concepts.”
Small business contracting wins. Government Executive’s Charles S. Clark reports, “The government’s success in meeting mandatory small business contracting goals two years running is due largely to White House focus and new requirements that program managers in the Senior Executive Service pay greater attention to the acquisition process, the Obama administration’s small-business development chief said . . . . Many call set-asides for small business ‘not a handout but a hand-up, but I say it’s a matter of survival for the federal government as a whole,’ said John Shoraka, associate administrator of government contracting and business development at the Small Business Administration.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
NSA, Iran, and bulk collection. New York Times’ Charlie Savage reports, “The National Security Agency has used its bulk domestic phone records program to search for operatives from the government of Iran and ‘associated terrorist organizations’ — not just Al Qaeda and its allies . . . . The inclusion of Iran and allied terrorist groups — presumably the Shiite group Hezbollah — and the confirmation of the names of other participating companies add new details to public understanding of the once-secret program.”
CIA and the Senate. Vice News’ Jason Leopold reports, “The draft apology letter Brennan wrote to Feinstein and Chambliss are two of more than 300 pages of documents VICE News obtained in response to a joint Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed against the CIA with Ryan Shapiro, a historian and doctoral candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who specializes in national security research. We sued the CIA seeking a wide range of documents related to the allegations that the agency had spied on the Intelligence Committee and hacked into their computer network. While the CIA turned over some records, it also withheld thousands of pages, citing nearly every exemption under FOIA.”
Rocket science. Breaking Defense’s Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. reports, “American ingenuity can absolutely build a rocket engine to replace the Russian-made RD-180, the Pentagon’s top buyer said today. The wide-open questions are: how soon can they do it; and how much will the Pentagon have to pay. ‘The big problem isn’t the technology, it’s the time,’ Frank Kendall told reporters at the Space & Missile Defense conference . . . . Congress wants the US military to stop relying on imported Russian rocket engines by 2019, he said, but ‘that’s pretty ambitious. I think 2021 or ’22 is probably more realistic.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Perplexed. “Democrats are worried that the furor over Hillary Clinton’s private email server will be prolonged and intensified after her sudden move to hand it to the FBI. The Clinton campaign’s decision to give up the server and a thumb-drive containing back-up copies of emails left Democrats scratching their heads as to why the former secretary of State had resisted turning over the server for months. Coupled with new polls that suggest Clinton is vulnerable, Democrats are nearing full-on panic mode.” See also, “Hillary Clinton email probe turns to Huma.”
Schumer strong. “Democratic senators say Sen. Charles Schumer’s opposition to President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran won’t prevent him from becoming their next leader. Even a potential rival to Schumer said Democratic senators who back the Iran deal will not turn on Schumer over the divisive vote. Schumer’s decision has irritated the White House and enraged former aides to President Obama, who have launched a public attack on the powerful New York Democrat. Former Obama advisor David Plouffe called Schumer naive in a message on Twitter after the senator urged Obama to go back to the negotiating table ‘to try to get a better deal.’”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“Taliban Confused and Nervous.” Khaama contributor Manish Rai argues, “Gradualism begets disorder, a power vacuum and internal Taliban strife. In other words, the longer it takes for the Ghani government to fall, the greater the chances for Islamic State to undermine the Taliban. The Taliban want to avoid a situation in which, having won their long war against the U.S. and its Afghan regime, they have to fight another civil war against an Islamic State offshoot for control of the country.
“Japan and Chinese Decision-Making.” The Diplomat contributor Charles Douglas Appleton explains, “Chinese foreign policy decision-making remains a process characterized by, and influenced by, both domestic nationalism and the Chinese political structure. The Chinese Communist Party is by design ultimately concerned with its political legitimacy in the eyes of the people, and by extension, its own survival. As such, this continues to affect both its choices and international outlook.”
“Unlocking New Ideas.” Fast Company’s Sarah Lawson offers, “Working intentionally on becoming more creative means knowing what works for you.”
