FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Cyber careers. Contributor Charles Simmins writes, “The Federal Government is very open about its need for more cyber specialists in all its departments and agencies. Competition with the private sector for qualified applicants is intense and the government has a disadvantage. Until now, the pay scales and the benefit packages that the government can offer are not at all what candidates may be offered in Silicon Valley. . . . [T]here are 10,000 openings across the entire government. The various agencies, however, are using new authority and new appropriations to try to fill these empty chairs.”
College choices. Contributor Ron Kness advises, “Most veteran students only have a maximum of 48 months of GI Bill benefits if they are eligible for two or more GI Bills . . . . With a finite number of months of entitlement, it is important to maximize their benefit. Part of getting the most ‘bang for your buck’ is choosing a school that will get you to your end goal – getting a respectable job in your chosen career field without racking up a lot of student loan debt. . . .”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
China’s new stealth fighter. The Diplomat contributor Shannon Tiezzi reports, “China’s fifth-generation stealth fighter jet – has entered the mass production stage. . . . According to the U.S. Department of Defense’s 2015 report on military developments in China, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force is pursuing two separate stealth fighter programs (the J-20 and J-31) ‘to improve its regional power projection capabilities and strengthen its ability to strike regional airbases and facilities.’ The J-20 is expected to have a top speed of Mach 2.5 and a combat range of around 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) . . . .”
Military kids molested. AP’s Richard Lardner, Eileen Sullivan, and Meghan Hoyer report, “In total, the children of service members, or military dependents, are sexually assaulted hundreds of times each year . . . . The abuse is committed most often by male enlisted troops, according to the data, followed by family members. The figures offer greater insight into the sexual abuse of children committed by service members, a problem of uncertain scale due to a lack of transparency into the military’s legal proceedings.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Joint Enterprise Licensing Agreements. Federal Times’ John Edwards and Eve Keiser report, “An emerging contracting type, the joint enterprise licensing agreement, could help cash-strapped defense agencies cut costs without sacrificing much capability. Defense Department agencies are increasingly using the mechanism . . . . JELA involves several DoD organizations merging their requirements for a specific project or service into a single agreement that is carefully tailored to meet all of their needs.”
DC-DC conversion. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “Aegis Power Systems Inc. in Murphy, N.C., is introducing the LMA501 DC-DC converter for military and other rugged power electronics applications that must operate in harsh environments. This power supply delivers high power capability and high efficiency in a low-profile, easy-to-mount layout.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Hacks ahead. Wired’s Kim Zetter reports, “Hackers are nothing if not persistent. Where others see obstacles and quit, hackers brute-force their way through barriers or find ways to game or bypass them. And they’ll patiently invest weeks and months devising new methods to do so. There’s no Moore’s Law for hacking innovation, but anyone who follows cybersecurity knows that techniques get bolder and more sophisticated each year. The last twelve months saw several new trends and next year no doubt will bring more. . . .”
Virtual too-reality. Wall Street Journal contributor Jack Nicas reports, “Developers struggled for years to make virtual reality realistic enough to be worth buying. Now, as a wave of new virtual-reality devices and content hit the market, some people wonder what will happen if the technology gets too realistic. . . . Researchers say that while the long-term impact of virtual reality is unknown, the technology could affect users’ outlook and viewpoints more than other once-new technologies — such as televisions, the Internet or mobile phones — because it creates more lifelike experiences and often makes users active, rather than passive, participants.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Bureaucratic bowels. “Nearly 4,000 regulations are squirming their way through the federal bureaucracy in the last year of Barack Obama’s presidency — many costing industry more than $100 million — in a mad dash by the White House to push through government actions affecting everything from furnaces to gun sales to Guantanamo. . . . Much of this work will be carried out in the coming months by career bureaucrats working in the bowels of federal agencies, but the cumulative effect adds up to something larger: A final-year sprint by a president intent on using executive power to improve the lives of American workers and consumers . . . .”
Congresolutions. “There is always something to complain about in Washington, but occasionally an opportunity arises to change something in a positive way. Just as some resolve to quit smoking at New Year’s and others to lose weight, so Congress should resolve to fix what the U.S. government is doing wrong; (losing weight would be a pretty good idea for the feds). Here are a few of the big changes that Congress should tackle in 2016 . . . .”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“’Now Is the Time To Invest in our Defense.’” Defense News contributor and NATO secretary-general argues, “In the last couple of years, our world has become more dangerous. But in the same period, NATO has adapted to make sure we are still able to keep our countries and our people safe. This is what we are determined to do as we prepare for our summit next July in Warsaw.”
“A Muslim cleric’s lasting legacy of peace.” Christian Science Monitor’s Editorial Board argues, “Peaceful means to achieve a social good against a ruler’s violent misrule cannot be done for the sake of expediency but as an expression of patience, love, and strength.”
