FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
GI Bill options. Contributor Ron Kness explains, “Veterans thinking about using their GI Bill education benefits should plan out their education goal and then explore how to best reach that goal using their GI Bill benefits. The options in this article are only four where one GI Bill may be more advantageous than another. There are several more.”
First impressions. Contributor Jillian Hamilton writes, “Your cover letter may be directed toward a recruiter, but at other times it will go in front of a program manager – especially if you’re in the final phase of review before interview candidates are selected. In that case, your cover letter could be the thing that gets you the interview and leads to the job. Follow these ten tips to help you stand out to the PM. . . .”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
PLA transformed. Defense One contributor Lincoln Davidson reports, “China’s military reforms, which have sped up since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, are making steady progress and the latest change in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was a big one. On December 31, 2015, the Central Military Commission formally overhauled the organizational structure of the PLA, establishing three new organizations: the Army Leading Organ, the Rocket Force, and the Strategic Support Force.”
Voice of the Caliphate. AP’s Lynne O’Donnell reports, “The so-called Khorasan Province has battled Afghan forces and the Taliban alike, carving out an enclave in Nangarhar, a rugged eastern province bordering Pakistan. It has adopted the media strategy of its mother organization in Syria and Iraq, including the production of grisly, professionally made videos showing battles and the killing of captives. But in impoverished Afghanistan, where few have access to the Internet, radio could prove more effective at recruiting fighters and silencing critics.” See also, “Islamic State’s obsession with al Qaeda and the Taliban.”
Counterinsurgency complications. Defense News’ Jen Judson reports, “It remains to be seen how projects designed to spur economic growth in Afghanistan by a now-defunct Pentagon task force will turn out in the long run — like making carpets, raising goats for cashmere and tapping into compressed natural gas — but for the moment it appears that the money wasn’t well spent. . . . The Task Force for Business and Stability Operations projects in Afghanistan — the TFSBO — was created in 2009 to address economic revitalization efforts in Iraq. In 2010, the task force began similar work in Afghanistan.” See also, “A-29s Finally Begin to Arrive in Afghanistan.”
Shoring-up Egypt. The Intercept’s Sharif Abdel Kouddous reports, “CIA director John Brennan wrapped up a two-day visit to Cairo this week where he held meetings with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and security officials to discuss regional developments and terrorism. . . . Brennan is looking to strengthen counterterrorism ties with Egypt, which has long cooperated with the United States. Egypt was the first, and for years the most common, destination for the U.S. extraordinary rendition program, the controversial policy whereby terror suspects are captured and flown to third-party states to be tortured by foreign intelligence agencies.”
West bank land grab. Reuters reports, “Israel confirmed on Thursday it was planning to appropriate a large tract of fertile land in the occupied West Bank, close to Jordan, a move likely to exacerbate tensions with Western allies and already drawing international condemnation. . . . The United States, whose ambassador angered Israel this week with criticism of its West Bank policy, said late on Wednesday it was strongly opposed to any move that accelerates settlement expansion.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Centralized tech buys. Nextgov’s Mohana Ravindranath reports, “A federal effort to consolidate Salesforce-related contracts may be the first step toward centralizing more government technology purchases . . . . General Services Administration awarded six companies spots on a blanket purchase agreement to sell Salesforce integration and support services to the government. The BPA represents an attempt to eliminate redundant Salesforce-related services across federal agencies by unifying the system through which they’re purchased.”
General Tool building USS JFK. Modern Machine Shop reports, “General Tool Co. (GTC; Cincinnati, Ohio) has been selected by General Atomics (GA; San Diego, California) to deliver $48 million in hardware for the U.S. Navy’s future aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, the second of the navy’s Ford class of aircraft carriers. GTC is a defense and aerospace subcontract manufacturer providing welding, machining and assembly services.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Killing Litvinenko. New York Times’ Allen Cowell reports, “A high-profile British inquiry into the poisoning of Alexander V. Litvinenko, a former K.G.B. officer turned critic of the Kremlin, concluded in a report released on Thursday that his murder ‘was probably approved’ by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and the head of the country’s spy service.” Read The Litvinenko Inquiry.
Drone problems. Washington Post’s Craig Whitlock reports, “A record number of Air Force drones crashed in major accidents last year, documents show, straining the U.S. military’s fleet of robotic aircraft when it is in more demand than ever for counterterrorism missions in an expanding array of war zones. Driving the increase was a mysterious surge in mishaps involving the Air Force’s newest and most advanced ‘hunter-killer’ drone, the Reaper . . . .”
Mind controls. DARPA reports, “A new DARPA program aims to develop an implantable neural interface able to provide unprecedented signal resolution and data-transfer bandwidth between the human brain and the digital world. The interface would serve as a translator, converting between the electrochemical language used by neurons in the brain and the ones and zeros that constitute the language of information technology. The goal is to achieve this communications link in a biocompatible device . . . .”
End of the world (as we know it). BBC’s David Shukman reports, “Humanity is at risk from a series of dangers of our own making, according to Prof Stephen Hawking. Nuclear war, global warming and genetically-engineered viruses are among the scenarios he singles out. And he says that further progress in science and technology will create ‘new ways things can go wrong’.” See also, “Why Stephen Hawking believes the next 100 years may be humanity’s toughest test.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Friends of Bill. “Bill Clinton is getting nervous. With polls showing Bernie Sanders ahead in New Hampshire and barely behind, if at all, in Iowa, the former president is urging his wife to start looking toward the delegate-rich March primaries — a shift for an organizing strategy that’s been laser-focused on the early states.” See also, “Clinton calls in the heavy hitters.”
Lost faith. “Sen. John McCain, once an ally in President Obama’s effort to close the terrorist detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, has tired of White House delays, and says he’s no longer sure the administration can deliver any plan that can win support. . . . But now, he says the administration has lost all credibility with him because they haven’t lived up to previous promises on the timing of the plan’s submission to Congress.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“The Diplomat-in-Chief Hits a National Security Trifecta.” Defense One contributor Joe Cirincione argues, “If Barack Obama were a Republican, Congress would have already named an airport after him.”
“It’s Russia’s turn to learn that stealth warplanes are hard to do.” Reuters contributor David Axe explains, “Instead of counting on a new stealth jet to outfit its fighter squadrons, the Russian government is buying heavily upgraded versions of older planes — an approach the Pentagon has dismissed as wasteful. It could, however, help Russia maintain its aerial edge.”
“Repelling terrorist attacks on youth.” The Christian Science Monitor Editorial Board argues, “Youth in the Islamic world need more support, and can be enlisted to counter terrorist groups – rather than being recruited by them.”
