FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Cleared recruiting. Editor Lindy Kyzer advises, “Today the government is directly warning clearance holders to avoid sharing their details online, and everyone is more cautious about who they connect with. For recruiters sourcing positions, that means a great employer profile is now a must-have. Wondering what details you should include? Here are the must-have data points. . . .”
Coast Guard cleared. Contributor Ashley LaGanga writes, “The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is competing talent for its intelligence division, announced RDML Steven Andersen, USCG at this year’s Intelligence & National Security Summit. . . . RDML Andersen is aggressively trying to do just that with USCG intelligence division, which is staffed by roughly 1,200 professionals. However, clearance-holders might have overlooked USCG opportunities in the past.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Turkey shoot. Reuters’ Tulay Karadeniz and Maria Kiselyova report, “Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border on Tuesday after repeated warnings over air space violations, but Moscow said it could prove the jet had not left Syrian air space. It was the first time a NATO member’s armed forces have downed a Russian or Soviet military aircraft since the 1950s and Russian and Turkish assets fell on fears of an escalation between the former Cold War enemies.” See also, “Jet shot down near Turkish border.”
Brits gird for war. The Telegraph’s Michael Wilkinson reports, “Isil and al-Qaeda terrorists are trying to obtain chemical and nuclear weapons a Government security review has warned, as David Cameron said MPs could vote on air strikes in Syria within a week. . . .”
US road to war. The Christian Science Monitor’s Anna Mulrine reports, “Already, French airstrikes have hit Raqqa, Syria, the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed capital. Hollande’s goal in coming to the United States is to knit together a robust international coalition for a war against the Islamic State. He will fly to Russia later this week. What the US role in such a coalition might look like is a matter of debate.”
Busting ISIS’ bank. Reuters’ Yeganeh Torbati and Brett Wolf report, “U.S. military planners have relied in part on an unconventional source of intelligence: access to banking records that provide insight into which refineries and oil pumps are generating cash for the extremist group . . . . The intent is to choke off the Islamic State’s funding by tracking its remaining ties to the global financial system. By identifying money flowing to and from the group, U.S. officials have been able to get a glimpse into how its black-market economy operates . . . .”
China: in to Africa. The Hill’s Kristina Wong reports, “China is establishing its first military base in Africa, according to a top U.S. general, providing yet another sign of its growing reach beyond the Asia Pacific. ‘They are going to build a base in Djibouti, so that will be their first military location in Africa,’ U.S. Army Gen. David Rodriguez, the commander of U.S. Africa Command, recently told defense reporters.”
Ghostrider down. Sputnik News reports, “The US Air Force (USAF) has lost one of its brand-spanking-new AC-130J Ghostrider Gunships, which had to be scrapped after a test-flight went horribly wrong: the crew lost control and ‘momentarily inverted’, losing approximately 5,000ft (1,500 m) of altitude. No one was killed during the crash, but the asset suffered $115 million worth of damage.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Contracting by category. Government Executive’s Timothy W. Cooke reports, “The White House-driven category management initiative offers important new opportunities for procurement professionals. For the first time, for example, they have a chance to specialize in and master specific categories of spending, in addition to being jack-of-all buyers. Category management of more than $270 billion in annual spending on commonly purchased goods and services requires skills not yet gathered in any existing federal position description, nor taught in federal procurement training institutions.”
Japan gets Global Hawks. Defense News’ Lara Seligman reports, “The US Department of State has approved a potential sale of three Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned surveillance systems to Japan. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible foreign military sale on Nov. 19, according to a DSCA statement. The deal for three Block 30 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft, including three Enhanced Integrated Sensor Suites and 16 navigation systems, is worth up to US $1.2 billion.”
MK 18 Kingfish increases. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “Officials of the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Indian Head Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division in Indian Head, Md., are asking Hydroid to increase quantities for the procurement of additional MK 18 family of system assets. The Navy’s MK 18 UUV is a variant of the Hydroid REMUS 600, which Hydroid developed originally developed through funding from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in Arlington, Va., to support the Navy’s UUVs with extended endurance, increased payload capacity, and greater operating depth.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Gene drive: bioterrorism’s Red Mercury. Quartz’s Akshat Rathi reports, “On Thursday (Nov. 19), a special agent from the FBI met with researchers in Washington, DC to talk to a scientific panel about the risks of a powerful new genetic technology: ‘gene drive.’ It allows scientists to, essentially, hijack the process of evolution, spreading a new gene through a population with incredible speed. And while it was developed with peaceful uses in mind, such as eradicating mosquitoes to end malaria, it could be used for ill too—it’s cheap and easy enough to master that bioterrorists could get their hands on it.” See also, “Scientists create malaria-blocking mosquitoes.”
Surface-Enhanced Raman Sspectroscopy (SERS). Homeland Security News Wire reports, “Australian and Italian researchers have developed a smart sensor that can detect single molecules in chemical and biological compounds — a highly valued function in medicine, security, and defense. The researchers from the University of New South Wales, Swinburne University of Technology, Monash University, and the University of Parma in Italy used a chemical and biochemical sensing technique called surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), which is used to understand more about the make-up of materials.”
GuardBots take the beach. Defense One’s Patrick Tucker reports, “Establishing a beachhead on enemy-held turf is historically one of the most dangerous jobs in warfare, just ask Achilles. But the robotic age may make it slightly less so. . . . The GuardBot is a robot ball that swims over water at about 4 miles per hour and then rolls along the beach, at as much as a 30-degree incline and 20 miles per hour. . . .”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Get going, people. “The Obama administration thinks the U.S. is contributing enough to the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State, and hosted a meeting of 59 ambassadors of the 65-nation coalition fighting the Sunni terrorist group at the State Department on Monday to prod them to do more.”
Nice suit. “A former Republican staffer on the House Select Committee on Benghazi is suing the panel and Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) for what he claims is wrongful termination and defamation of character. The lawsuit from Bradley Podliska follows his claim earlier this year that the GOP-led committee is inappropriately focused on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a charge that Democrats used to attack the panel’s credibility in the days before her testimony last month.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“Islamic State’s Achilles’ heel: Its Sunni identity.” Los Angeles Times contributor Max Boot argues, “In Iraq, Sunnis need to be offered a Sunni regional government, akin to the Kurdish regional government, with its autonomy protected by its own militia and ultimately guaranteed by the United States. If Baghdad won’t go along, the U.S. should bypass Baghdad and directly arm and train the Sunni tribes. In Syria, Sunnis need to be offered a future in which they won’t be terrorized by Assad and Shiite militias.”
“The right way and the wrong way to defeat ISIS.” The Hill contributor Lanny Davis argues, “There are two ways to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS): One is to defeat it militarily — but that will never be sufficient. We and the rest of the civilized world must also win the battle of ideas.”
“Is ISIS Rational?” Defense One contributor Shadi Hamid argues, “ISIS has preferences, all other things being equal, even if we don’t quite know how those preferences play out in practice.”
“A great impression at your new job.” Fast Company contributor Gwen Moran writes, “The anticipation of starting your new job is over. You’ve met with your new boss and are settled in to your new workstation—and you feel like a fish out of water. Worse, you’re concerned that not knowing exactly what you’re doing is making a bad impression on your new colleagues. After all, shouldn’t you hit the ground running? . . . To get off on the right foot in your new job, take a deep breath and try the following steps.”
