FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Good matches for good jobs. Editor Lindy Kyzer reports, “If you want to obtain a defense industry job, you need to impress hiring managers. Here’s what Fulcrum is looking for in a candidate. ‘When somebody applies for a position, it always has to be a good match. For them, for the company, for the hiring manager, for the customer,’ said Nettie Stevens, recruiter with Fulcrum. ‘We don’t just want to put a butt in a seat. There has to be a good match. We want everybody happy.’”
Love your job. Contributor Jennifer Cary writes, “It’s normal to find yourself craving something different after five, 10, 20 years of working in the same position. But—despite what you’re currently thinking—quitting isn’t your only option. Before you opt for a permanent vacation, consider rekindling the love for your job . . .”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Korea tensions. AP’s Hyung-Jin Kim reports, “South Korea warned on Wednesday of ‘searing’ consequences if North Korea doesn’t abandon plans to launch a long-range rocket that critics call a banned test of ballistic missile technology. The South’s rhetoric about unspecified harsh consequences comes less than a month after the North’s defiant fourth nuclear test and as diplomats at the U.N. work on strong new sanctions against Pyongyang. North Korea on Tuesday informed international organizations of its plans to launch an Earth observation satellite on a rocket between Feb. 8 and 25 . . . .” See also, “Japan says will destroy North Korea missile if threat to territory.”
Zika transmission. Reuters’ Jon Herskovitz reports, “The first known case of Zika virus transmission in the United States was reported in Texas on Tuesday by local health officials, who said it likely was contracted through sex and not a mosquito bite, a day after the World Health Organization declared an international public health emergency. The virus, linked to severe birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil, is spreading rapidly in the Americas, and WHO officials on Tuesday expressed concern that it could hit Africa and Asia as well.” See also, “WHO calls Zika virus ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’” and “Sexually-transmitted Zika case confirmed.”
MoH for SEAL Byers. Navy Times’ Meghann Myers reports, “A senior enlisted SEAL will be the first sailor in a decade to receive the Medal of Honor, for a mission to rescue an American civilian hostage in Afghanistan in 2012 . . . . Byers’ actions were so clearly beyond expectation, even for a Navy SEAL, that the Navy had no hesitation in nominating him for the Medal of Honor . . . .”
Drafting women. Military Times’ Leo Shane reports, “The Army and Marine Corps’ top uniformed leaders both backed making women register for the draft as all combat roles are opened to them in coming months, a sweeping social change that could complicate the military’s gender integration plans. Both services, along with the Navy, have begun work to open all military jobs to any service member after a decision by Defense Secretary Ash Carter in December to lift all gender-based restrictions on combat and infantry roles.” See also, “Marines’ shifting approach to women in combat.”
CONTRACT WATCH
F-35 failures. Defense One’s Patrick Tucker reports, “The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the most expensive military program in the world, is even more broken than previously thought. The jet can’t tell old parts from new ones, randomly prevents user logins, and trying to eject out of it will likely result in serious neck injury and maybe death. A Pentagon office is warning that the plane is being rushed into service.”
Tevi Group wins Mosul dam. Trade Arabia reports, “Italy’s Trevi Group has won a bid to make urgent repairs to Iraq’s Mosul hydro-electric dam, close to territory held by Islamic State (IS) militants, and expects to sign a contract in coming weeks . . . . The 3.6-km-long dam has suffered from structural flaws since its construction in the 1980s, and any collapse would unleash a wall of water down the heavily populated Tigris River valley.”
How Oshkosh won the JLTV. Defense News’ Jen Judson reports, “The Pentagon’s chief weapons tester released a report this week that sheds light on how three separate offerings for the Army and Marine Corps’ Humvee replacement fared in tests with Lockheed Martin and Oshkosh vehicles meeting force protection requirements while AM General’s fell short. . . . Oshkosh beat out Humvee-maker AM General and defense titan Lockheed Martin on the largest Army contract award in recent years that could be worth up to $30 billion.”
Lockheed delivering THAAD. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “Missile defense experts at Lockheed Martin Corp. will provide 20 missile defense rocket interceptors to protect against incoming ballistic missile threats under terms of a $198.2 million contract modification . . . . THAAD is designed to shoot down short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase using a hit-to-kill kinetic warhead. The missile relies on the kinetic energy of the impact to destroy the incoming missile.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
NSA transformation. Washington Post’s Ellen Nakashima reports, “The National Security Agency, the largest electronic spy agency in the world, is undertaking a major reorganization, merging its offensive and defensive organizations in the hope of making them more adept at facing the digital threats of the 21st century . . . . In place of the Signals Intelligence and Information Assurance directorates — the organizations that historically have spied on foreign targets and defended classified networks against spying, respectively — the NSA is creating a Directorate of Operations that combines the operational elements of each.”
New weapons for new wars. Defense One’s Patrick Tucker reports, “Smarter smart bombs, mini railguns, and swarming robot boats to watch man-made islands are a few of the key technology areas that Defense Secretary Ashton Carter sees as vital to U.S. military superiority in the next decade. In a preview of the Pentagon’s upcoming 2017 budget request, Carter said military research and development spending would rise to $71.4 billion from last year’s $71.3 billion request.” See also, “Carter Previews FY2017 Defense Budget Request” and “Funding Reflects Challenges of Threats From Insurgents up to Near-Peer Nations.”
BlackEnergy cyberattack. FierceGovernmentIT’s Molly Bernhart Walker reports, “The Homeland Security Department on Monday issued an update to its ongoing investigation of the ‘BlackEnergy’ malicious code, recovered from the networks of a power company in western Ukraine that suffered an outage in December. The cyberattack on the Ukrainian power grid revived concern about BlackEnergy, but the malware is not new . . . . BlackEnergy is a sophisticated malware campaign that has been ongoing since at least 2011. It targets industrial control systems and observers have identified it on Internet-connected human-machine interfaces in the United States.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Pardon me? “President Bill Clinton once had the opportunity to save his daughter’s future father-in-law from spending five years behind bars, according to never-before-revealed White House files. But the asked-for reprieve never came. . . . Mezvinsky would not be formally indicted until March of 2001, but records . . . show Mezvinsky and his then-wife — ex-Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky (D-Pa.) — pleaded with the former president for a presidential pardon to head off the looming federal case.”
%ucket List. “Republican leaders in Congress left a Tuesday meeting at the White House with a very short list of ideas on how they and President Obama can cooperate with each other during Obama’s last year in office. In addition to tackling the appropriations measures that fund the federal government, lawmakers said Obama and Republicans agreed to work together on legislation aimed at helping eradicate the mosquito-borne Zika virus, and a proposal to curb the spread of opioid abuse in the U.S.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“A Golden Age for Pentagon Waste.” US News contributor William Hartung argues, “It’s time for Congress, the president and the presidential candidates of both parties to speak out about Pentagon waste, and put forward concrete plans for reining it in. Otherwise, our era may have the dubious distinction of being the golden age of Pentagon waste.”
“Faster transformation in government.” Nextgov contributor Chris Steel writes, “While government transformation can’t happen quickly enough for most, many agencies are still struggling with where to focus their efforts. For 2016, we are predicting seven key agency transformations . . . .”
“Exude confidence.” Fast Company contributor Lisa Evans writes, “If you’ve just been promoted, or if you’re facing a challenging new assignment, it’s common to feel a twinge of self-doubt. But walking into a presentation or leading your first staff meeting with your head hung low is hardly the impression you want to create.”
