FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Recruiting watch. Contributor Maria Whitney writes, “Trends to be on the lookout for in 2016 include mobile platforms, social media, referral programs, and internet job boards. FierceWireless reported that online video streaming now accounts for 50% of all mobile traffic. Employers and candidates are taking advantage of the increasing number of digital tools available to render the company branding and candidate application process mobile-friendly.”
Resume refinements. Contributor Jennifer Cary advises, “The higher up your keywords are on your resume, the better. One way to move your keywords to a higher position is to replace your resume’s objective statement with job titles that match your career interests. Or if you feel like your skills are lacking a bit, keep the objective statement and include a list of skills you want to develop. This ensures your resume comes up in database searches even if you don’t have all the necessary skills just yet.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Demoting Petraeus. Military Times’ Andrew Tilghman reports, “The Pentagon is re-examining whether retired Army Gen. David Petraeus should be retroactively demoted for giving his biographer unauthorized access to classified information, defense officials say. While the Army officially determined last year that Petraeus should retain the status — and pension — of a retired four-star officer, that decision is now under review by Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s office . . . .” See also, “Pentagon May Demote David Petraeus.”
Taliban attack school in Pakistan. Reuters’ Mehreen Zahra-Malik and Jibran Ahmad report, “Islamist Taliban militants stormed a university in volatile northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least 19 people and wounding dozens as the army hunted for any gunmen still holed up on the campus . . . . the death toll could rise to as high as 40 as army commandos cleared out student hostels and classrooms.” See also, “Pakistani Army ends deadly attack.”
War toll in Iraq. Homeland Security News Wire reports, “A UN report . . . details the severe and extensive impact on civilians of the ongoing conflict in Iraq, with at least 18,802 civilians killed and another 36,245 wounded between 1 January 2014 and 31 October 2015. Another 3.2 million people have become internally displaced since January 2014, including more than a million children of school age. ISIS is holding estimated 3,500 slaves in Iraq. ISIS has abducted between 800 and 900 children in Mosul for military training children who refused to fight are killed.” Read the UN report.
Afghan soldiers getting better. Defense Media Activity’s Cheryl Pellerin reports, “Last year was the first year the Afghan national army was on its own in the fight against the Taliban, and the results were mixed — but the soldiers have improved in several areas, a spokesman for the Resolute Support mission said today. [U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Wilson] Shoffner said the role of the U.S.-led NATO Resolute Support mission, which began Jan. 1, 2015, is to train, advise and assist at the ministerial level and at the level of the Afghan national army. Shoffner said the Afghan soldiers did fairly well when they conducted deliberate, planned operations.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Veterans Affairs picks Blackberry. Crackberry’s Jared Dipane reports, “BlackBerry’s AtHoc division has scored yet another big contract, this time with the Department of Veterans Affairs to power its crisis communications. The deal, which is valued at $20 million, will have AtHoc assist the organization for multiple-year delivery of its emergency communications through pager, phone, fax and more. The system, which is known as VA-PAS is actively used by the VA for all types of crisis event management as well as its day-to-day operations.”
Tech trends in Fed contracting. Government Executive contributor Eric Gillespie reports, “The coming year in the federal contracting market highlights an interesting tension between the opportunities that new technology and big data bring, and the challenges of budget uncertainty and industry consolidation. Big data and cybersecurity are fundamentally changing the way both agencies and contractors do business. The landscape is further complicated by agency use of Lowest Priced Technically Acceptable awards and unprecedented merger and acquisition activity.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Air Force laser drones. Defense One’s Marcus Weisgerber reports, “Four years after the Air Force’s missile-zapping Boeing 747 went to its final resting place in the Arizona desert, the Pentagon is thinking anew about airborne lasers that shoot down ballistic missiles. This time, they’d be mounted on smaller, higher-flying drones.”
Cognitive electronic warfare. Also from Defense One, Patrick Tucker reports, “While the specifics of the jet’s electronic warfare, or EW, package remain opaque, scientists, program watchers and military leaders close to the program say it will be key to the jet’s evolution and its survival against the future’s most advanced airplane-killing technology.”
Password problems. The Telegraph’s James Titcomb reports, “One of the simplest ways to access someone’s online account is to guess a password, and hacking software tends to try the most common codes first. When a code is guessed, hackers also tend to try other online services the victim may use, such as banking, in an attempt to access other details.” See also, “Still terrible at passwords.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Deficits. “This year, for the first time since 2009, the budget deficit will increase – to $544 billion, up by $105 billion from last year, according to the government report. The reason is mostly because of tax cuts and spending increases that Congress passed last year, but also because of expected slower economic growth and some technical issues. Longer term, annual federal deficits will total $9.4 trillion over a decade – $1.5 trillion more than expected, the CBO reports.” Read the CBO report.
Lobby time. “Welcome to 2016: You are now free to lobby. That’s the state of play for a new crop of former House lawmakers and senior aides who, beginning in January, are permitted to contact their former colleagues on behalf of their new employers. Lobbying bans for members of the House who lost election or retired in 2014 have officially expired. Roughly one-third of the former lawmakers in that group have gone on to work for companies, universities, trade associations or firms that lobby the federal government.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“The Long Battle for Mosul: Is Iraq Ready?” National Interest contributor Daniel L. Davis argues, “Unfortunately, based on a decade of poor-to-disastrous ISF performance, the probability that Iraq’s military successfully holds Ramadi and follows up with a victory in Mosul is rather low.”
“In an Era of Cheap Drones, US Can’t Afford Exquisite Weapons.” Defense One contributor T. X. Hammes argues, “Like previous technological revolutions, this one will roll out over the next decade or two. There is still time to change direction to meet it — just as the prewar Navy ultimately began to invest heavily in aviation, and won, instead of lost, the coming war.”
“Stop worrying about what others think of you.” Fast Company contributor Lisa Evans writes, “We all want to be liked, but if you find yourself spending too much energy thinking about what others think about you, you may be creating an unhealthy pattern that can be debilitating to your success.”
