FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Disability advantage. Contributor Jillian Hamilton explains, “The United States Department of Labor recently released a video encouraging applicants and employees to voluntarily self-identify their disability. DOL maintains that self-identifying plays an integral role in protecting equal employment opportunity. . . . new pressures on government contractors to hire more disabled workers and veterans mean self-identifying a disability is to everyone’s benefit.” Watch: “Disability Inclusion Starts With You.”
ManTech’s coming. Editor Lindy Kyzer asks, “Looking to expand your career potential but don’t want to waste your time? ManTech- Mission, Cyber and Intelligence Solutions is hosting an invitation-only cybersecurity hiring event for qualified cyber and IT professionals. The events are being held on Wednesday, January 20 in McLean, Va. and Thursday, January 21 in Herndon, Va. Who should attend? Both active and passive qualified cyber professionals.” See also, “Recruiting Passive Candidates.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Beating ISIS. Defense Media Activity’s Cheryl Pellerin reports, “Delivering a lasting defeat to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant must be a global effort, and coalition partners and others must step up their contributions to the escalating fight, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said [Wednesday] at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Such a lasting defeat also must be achieved and sustained by motivated and capable local forces, the secretary said, and reach beyond the military campaign to enable political stability in the region.”
Iran behaving . . . The Christian Science Monitor’s Howard LaFranchi reports, “On Wednesday, Iran freed 10 American sailors. Just hours earlier, it had reported disabling its nuclear reactor in Arak – a key step in the landmark nuclear deal reached last summer with the United States. At first glance, the two occurrences might seem unrelated. But both United States and Iranian officials are underscoring the role that the nuclear negotiations – and the related turn in US-Iran relations – played in the release of the sailors after only 24 hours in detention.”
Paralyzed in Syria. Defense News’ Aaron Mehta reports, “The US has backed itself into a corner by insisting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad be removed from power before the Obama administration will work with Russia and Iran to fight the Islamic State group, former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said. . . . Russia and Iran have said they are willing to join with the US in fighting ISIS, but not at the expense of Assad, a longtime regional ally for both nations. The US continues to insist that no serious discussions on working with those two nations can occur until Assad is removed.”
Warthogs fight on. Defense One’s Marcus Weisgerber reports, “The Air Force is shelving its immediate plans to retire the A-10 Warthog attack plane, which has become critical to the U.S. bombing campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria . . . . Air Force officials say they still need to retire the A-10 to make room for newer warplanes, but that the calculus for its sunsetting has been thrown off by commanders’ demands for the Warthog now.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Cayuse Warriors to Afghanistan. The Diplomat’s Franz-Stefan Gady reports, “The Afghan Air Force (AAF) has placed an order for 12 more MD530F Cayuse Warrior light attack helicopters fitted with a so-called Enhanced Mission Equipment Package (EMEP) for the 2016 fighting season, MD Helicopters, Inc. announced . . . . MD Helicopters already delivered 12 MD530F Cayuse Warrior aircraft to the AAF for the 2015 fighting season and has also converted five unarmed MH-6 Little Bird helicopters into MD530F light attack gunships . . . .”
Call for airborne sensor ISR. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “U.S. Air Force intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) experts are asking industry for new ways to design electro-optical and radar airborne sensors to detect and pinpoint mobile and hidden targets. Special forces and ISR officials of the Air Force Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, issued a sources-sought notice Tuesday (FA8620-16-R-4006) for the Airborne Sensors for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance project.”
Call for public safety broadband. Nextgov’s Mohana Ravindranath reports, “The federal government’s vision for a unified national public safety broadband network, primarily for use by first responders, is one step closer to reality. FirstNet, the group leading that effort, posted a much-awaited request for proposal seeking tech partners to provide the infrastructure for that system, including radio access network services, deployment and maintenance. The network is intended to stretch across 56 states and territories; FirstNet has a $7 billion budget authority and is pledging up to $6.5 billion for these task orders.” Read the RFP.
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Navy’s mini-subs. Defense One’s Patrick Tucker reports, “Currently, U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, is testing a couple of different versions of a mini submarine for commandos: the 31-foot ‘Button’ 5.60 by General Dynamics and Giunio Santi Engineering of Italy and the S351 by Submergence Group out of Connecticut and Britain’s MSUBS. . . . They’re piloted by humans and directed by sonar. The Button has a speed of 60 nautical miles at 5 knots.”
Clapper hacked. Motherboard’s Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai reports, “One of the ‘teenage hackers’ who broke into the CIA director’s AOL email account last year hasn’t given up targeting government intelligence officials. His latest victim is the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper . . . . A group of hackers calling themselves ‘Crackas With Attitude’ or CWA made headlines in October, hacking into CIA Director John Brennan’s email account and apparently getting access to several online tools and portals used by US law enforcement agencies. The hackers’ exploits prompted the FBI to issue an alert warning government officials of their attacks.” See also, “Teenage hacker breaks into personal e-mail of James Clapper.”
Cyberattacks ahead. Fast Company’s Steven Melendez reports, “ISIS is likely to launch a cyberattack on a major corporation this year, security firm PKWare predicted this week. . . . In its annual list of computer security predictions, the company also anticipated that hackers—not necessarily related to terrorist groups—will target systems related to law enforcement, health devices, and the electric power grid, and even breach the network of a U.S. presidential election campaign.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Oh, Nikki. “Facing backlash for her criticism of Donald Trump the night before, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) on Wednesday said she has differences of opinion with several other Republican presidential candidates. Haley told reporters that she also disagrees with Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) position on immigration, which she termed ‘amnesty,’ as well as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s previous support of Common Core. ‘You know, I have disagreements with other presidential candidates,’ she said. ‘You know, Jeb Bush passed Common Core, and Marco Rubio believes in amnesty, which I don’t. There’s lots of things.’”
Cyberstrategy. “The White House policy on cyber deterrence submitted to Congress in December is ‘wholly lacking any new information,’ the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee said on Tuesday. ‘The administration has not demonstrated to our adversaries that the consequences of continued cyberattacks against us outweigh the benefit,’ said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. ‘Until this happens, the attacks will continue, and our national security interests will suffer.’”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“Solving the Geometrical Problem of Terrorism.” US News contributor Daniel M. Gerstein argues, “For the leaders and operational elements, intelligence and the use of force should be targeted to capture or kill, while the communications goals should be to deter or deny. For operational supporters or sympathizers, however, the goals should be more subtle. Working within communities, outreach and education campaigns can help shape the narrative, alter allegiances and impede radicalization.”
“The Right Way to Fight Boko Haram — and How the U.S. Should Help.” Defense One contributor Sarah Chayes argues, “If [Nigerian President Muhammadu] Buhari gets this approach right, if he makes significant and visible attention to underlying grievances — including anticorruption — central to his anti-Boko Haram campaign, his could be a model for counterterrorism efforts everywhere.”
“Air Force’s New Acquisition System.” Also from Defense One, contributor Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James writes, “Ultimately, we can only make a difference with the support of our industrial base and the public. I encourage you to think carefully about issues you see as barriers to achieving affordability and superiority for our 21st century Air Force – and then share them with us.”
