Tuesday’s Top Ten

FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM

Smart social networking. Editor Lindy Kyzer advises, “There is utility in social networking. While some members of the Intelligence Community may find it safer to stay off line, most of us are perfectly safe with our Twitter accounts and Facebook profiles. But there are smart steps anyone can take, and particularly those who work for the government and in sensitive national security positions. . . . No site is 100 percent safe, but ClearanceJobs.com is the only career site with end-to-end https encryption.”

Touching the space program. Contributor David Brown reports, “When we think of NASA, we think of geniuses of almost superhuman caliber, and those geniuses were certainly key. But what makes the rocket engine test stand structure so magical is that an elegant cross section of society came together for it: welders and draftsmen and wrench turners and concrete mixers. Hard hats were as crucial as lab coats. . . . [R]ocket scientists and aerospace engineers are joined with deckhands and tugboat pilots—everyone can touch the space program in some way; the jobs turn up in the least-expected places.”

THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT

Women Rangers arrive Friday. Defense One’s Kevin Baron reports, “American women have seen combat, fought in wars, and died on battlefields. But for the first time, two of them have completed the U.S. Army’s Ranger School, the service’s most grueling course for combat leaders. On Friday, they will don the Ranger “tab,” a shoulder patch borne only by those who endure and excel in two months of lessons and tests in woodlands, mountains, and swamps. . . . What comes next for the two women – and the ones who will follow if Army officials keep the School’s doors open to women, as expected – is a policy decision awaiting Defense Secretary Ash Carter by year’s end.”

Rift in Israel. Christian Science Monitor’s Joshua Mitnick reports, “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’ denunciation of the Iran nuclear deal as a ‘historic mistake’ enjoys broad public support and has been echoed by opposition leaders. But many Israeli security chiefs have adopted a more nuanced approach to the agreement – the latest indication of a divergence between some in Israel’s defense establishment and the prime minister. . . . Now, in a fresh sign of a debate, the Israel Defense Forces has made public a 33-page overview of its strategic doctrine that raised eyebrows in Israel last week for barely mentioning Iran or its nuclear program.”

Hamzah: Bin Laden’s son’s debut. The Long War Journal’s Thomas Joscelyn reports, “In the months leading up to his death in early May 2011, Osama bin Laden was worried about the fate of his son Hamzah. Files recovered in the terror master’s Abbottabad compound show that he repeatedly discussed ways to prevent Hamzah from falling into the hands of al Qaeda’s enemies. Osama wanted his son to avoid Waziristan, where the drones buzzed overhead, at all costs. And he suggested that Hamzah flee to Qatar, where he could lie low for a time. Last week, more than four years after Osama’s death, al Qaeda released a lengthy audio message by Hamzah.”

Pentagon’s cyber-counterattack. Nextgov’s Aliya Sternstein reports, “The Pentagon has in mind a three-pronged counterattack against a decades-old form of cyber assault that continues to paralyze government and industry networks, despite its low cost of sometimes $10 a hit. Beginning next spring, military-funded researchers are scheduled to produce new tools that would quickly enable organizations to bounce back from so-called distributed denial-of-service attacks. A recovery rate of at most 10 seconds is the goal, according to the Defense Department.” See also, “The parfait approach to cyber defense: It’s all about the layers.”

CONTRACT WATCH

Lockheed’s laser upgrade. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “Electro-optics experts at Lockheed Martin Corp. are upgrading the laser targeting system of the U.S. Army AH-64E Apache attack helicopter under terms of a $21.7 million contract. Officials of the Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control segment in Orlando, Fla., announced the $21.7 million U.S. Army Lot 4 follow-on contract last week. The contract calls for Lockheed Martin to build Modernized Laser Rangefinder Designator (M-LRFD) kits, which will improve the principal targeting aid for the Apache that enables pilots to designate targets and establish target range for accurate weapon engagement . . . .”

Contracting for success. Federal Times contributor Michael P. Fischetti explains, “The federal government has been moving a long time toward a more results-oriented, performance-based mission approach—developing a strategic plan, setting clear objectives, defining necessary resources, precisely assessing progress, and accurate results measurement. The goal has been establishing a clear connection between agency priorities, strategic goals, and operational plans.”

Cloud competition. Nextgov’s Frank Konkel reports, “QTS, a national data center solutions company, has its eyes set on the growing federal market for cloud services. . . . In its acquisition of Carpathia – with its many government authorities to operate and partnership with virtualization behemoth VMware – QTS is not so subtly announcing itself as a big contender for future cloud services contracts.”

TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY

Neuromorphic chips. Wired’s Cade Metz reports, “Some researchers who got their hands on the chip at an engineering workshop in Colorado the previous month have already fashioned software that can identify images, recognize spoken words, and understand natural language. Basically, they’re using the chip to run ‘deep learning’ algorithms, the same algorithms that drive the internet’s latest AI services, including the face recognition on Facebook and the instant language translation on Microsoft’s Skype. But the promise is that IBM’s chip can run these algorithms in smaller spaces with considerably less electrical power, letting us shoehorn more AI onto phones and other tiny devices, including hearing aids and, well, wristwatches.” See also, “IBM unveils a ‘brain-like chip’” and “IBM Develops a New Chip That Functions Like a Brain.”

Robots and the Second Machine Age. The Atlantic’s Bourree Lam reports, “There is a great deal of anxiety about the rise of so-called robot workers, programmed to do all of the work needed, rendering us human workers obsolete. And not without reason: One grim figure in this conversation is an estimate that 47 percent of workers in the U.S. are now at risk of automation. But will the coming technological shifts create jobs too? And will those jobs be good ones? That’s the focus of a recent report by BSR, a non-profit that works with over 250 companies on sustainability.” Read BSR’s “Good Jobs in the Age of Automation.”

Navy’s unmanned fleet. Homeland Security News Wire reports, “The presence of unmanned systems in the maritime military domain is growing, and the U.S. Navy has decided to make several organizational, and conceptual, changes in order to deal with unmanned systems in a more holistic fashion. Rear Adm. Robert P. Girrier has been named the Navy’s first director of unmanned weapon systems, and Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced in April that he would appoint a new Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Unmanned Systems, ‘so that all aspects of unmanned — in all domains — over, on and under the sea and coming from the sea to operate on land — will be coordinated and championed.’”

A walk in the park. Quartz’s Mike Murphy reports, “When the robot uprising happens, you’ll have Google—or Alphabet, as its parent company is soon to be called—to thank for those robots’ ability to track through the world. Its subsidiary Boston Dynamics has taught its Atlas robot, which was the backbone for many of the robots at the recent DARPA Robotics Challenge, how to find its way out in the world.”

Server forensics. AP’s Jack Gillum and Stephen Braun report, “Now that federal investigators have Hillary Rodham Clinton’s homebrew email server, they could examine files on her machine that would be more revelatory than the emails themselves. . . . A computer server isn’t a marvel of modern technology. Just like a home desktop, the computer’s data is stored on a hard drive. . . . Running a server is akin to her messages being stored inside an office file cabinet. But while a file cabinet only yields the documents stored inside, a server can also offer information about the use of that data over time: Who had access to the filing cabinet? Did anyone try to pick the lock? Did the owner attempt to alter the files in any way? And who was given keys to the building in the first place?”

POTOMAC TWO-STEP

Industrialized terrorism. “Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Monday that Congress should reject the Iran nuclear agreement, suggesting the deal won’t prevent Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon. ‘It is Congress’s responsibility to determine whether this agreement will be in our national interest, will make the United States safer and will prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons program. I do not believe that it will,’ Corker, the influential chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee wrote . . . . ‘Rather than end Iran’s nuclear enrichment program, over time this deal industrializes the program of the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. …Congress should reject this deal and send it back to the president.’”

ACA behind Obama. “Dozens of arms control and nuclear nonproliferation experts have signed a statement endorsing the Iran nuclear deal, the latest salvo in a lobbying campaign battle ahead of a congressional vote next month on President Barack Obama’s landmark agreement with Tehran. The Arms Control Association, a nonpartisan group based in Washington, will release the statement Tuesday morning. It declares the deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief ‘a net-plus for international nuclear nonproliferation efforts.’”

OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS

Islamic State (Daesh) in Afghanistan: Spectre or Mirage? Afghan Zariza contributor Shrinivasrao Sohoni argues, “Unlike peoples of other nations in the region, Afghans are not easily frightened, not easily subdued and cowed, not easily dominated. Though riven with tribal feuds and inter-ethnic tension and conflict, they fight back, and fight hard against external aggressors. The masterminds of Daesh, Taliban, or any other such entity invented in the days ahead, even if a stupendously potent threat, will learn that lesson; and it will be a costly one.”

This Could Be the Change Iraq Has Been Waiting For.” Defense One contributor Jane Arraf argues The Arab Spring passed over Iraq after it started in Tunisia five years ago. Iraq’s dictator had already been toppled. These protests—broad-based and non-sectarian—reaffirmed their support for Prime Minister Abadi at the same time they demanded better government. With Iraq in danger of failing, it has given him a historic opportunity to help hold the country together.”

The boss you want.” Fast Company contributor Laura Vanderkam explains, “Managers are human and have their own quirks and foibles. They may have been promoted because they were good at what they did, but managing is an entirely different skill. The good news, though, is that over time you can likely turn the boss you have into the kind of the boss you want. Here’s how. . . .”

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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.