FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Trust me. Editor Lindy Kyzer writes, “You may be coming across as an untrustworthy recruiter, even if you don’t realize it. . . . Cleared candidates today have trust issues. And for good reason. When you find out that personal details from your sex life to your credit card debt were compromised, you start to get a little wary of any unsolicited communication.”
Love your job. Contributor Jennifer Cary advises, “We’ve all been there. You’re working full-time, going with the flow when all of a sudden you find yourself in a rut. You dread going to work each morning. Your coworkers start to irritate you. You buy lots of lottery tickets hoping to win big so you can quit your job for good. It’s normal to find yourself craving something different . . . .”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Soldier’s story: Command Sergeant Major Bennie Adkins. Yellow Hammer News’ Cliff Sims writes, “Every member of Adkins’ unit was either killed or wounded during the 48-hour ordeal detailed above. Two of the men he saved were able to attend the event. After the ceremony, Adkins’ thoughts quickly turned to the other heroes with whom he served. ‘This Medal of Honor belongs to the other 16 Special Forces soldiers with me,’ he said. . . .”
NATO loses. Foreign Policy’s Dan De Luce reports, “Russian tanks and troops rolled into the Baltics tomorrow, outgunned and outnumbered NATO forces would be overrun in under three days. That’s the sobering conclusion of war games carried out by a think tank with American military officers and civilian officials. ‘The games’ findings are unambiguous: As currently postured, NATO cannot successfully defend the territory of its most exposed members’ . . . .” See also, “Why the West, especially Europe, needs Russia.”
Jihadist hit in Afghanistan. The Long War Journal’s Bill Roggio reports, “The US is reported to have killed 18 Taliban fighters from Pakistan in an airstrike last night in an eastern Afghanistan area known to serve as a safe haven for several terrorist groups. The Taliban fighters who were killed are believed to belong to a group led by Sajna Mehsud, an al Qaeda-linked commander wanted by the US. Afghan officials said that the airstrike took place in the Afghan province of Paktika, which borders Pakistan’s Taliban-infested tribal agency of South Waziristan.”
Taking on ISIS in Libya. The New York Times’ Eric Schmitt reports, “President Obama is being pressed by some of his top national security aides to approve the use of American military power in Libya to open up another front against the Islamic State. But Mr. Obama, wary of embarking on an intervention in another strife-torn country, has told his aides to redouble their efforts to help form a unity government in Libya at the same time the Pentagon refines its options, which include airstrikes, commando raids or advising vetted Libyan militias on the ground . . . .”
CONTRACT WATCH
Brits buy Zephyrs. Defence Talk reports, “The British government is close to ordering two solar-powered high-altitude Zephyr surveillance drones from European aerospace giant Airbus . . . . The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced in a statement that the deal was worth £10.6 million ($15.2 million, 14 million euros), in the first ever order for Airbus Zephyr unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). . . . The Zephyr is a highly sophisticated UAV capable of flying for long periods at very high altitudes and can carry a payload of up to five kilograms (11 pounds).”
Navy’s transponder take. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “U.S. Navy avionics experts are priming BAE Systems to provide hundreds of identification-friend-or-foe (IFF) transponders for military aircraft including the F/A-18 Hornet carrier-based jet fighter-bomber. Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., sent a presolicitation Tuesday to the BAE Systems Electronic Systems segment in Greenlawn, N.Y., involving the AN/APX-111 Mode 5 combined interrogator transponder.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
ISIS’s WWW. Reuters’ Matt Smith reports, “Iraq is trying to persuade satellite firms to halt Internet services in areas under Islamic State’s rule, seeking to deal a major blow to the group’s potent propaganda machine which relies heavily on social media to inspire its followers to wage jihad. Social media apps like Twitter and Telegram are scrambling to limit Islamic State’s cyber-activities. So far that has proven to be a cat-and-mouse-game, with the group re-emerging through other accounts with videos showing beheadings and extolling the virtues of living in a caliphate.”
Cyber-defense budget. FierceGovernmentIT’s Molly Bernhart Walker reports, “The fiscal 2017 budget request that President Obama will deliver to Congress next week will include $582.7 billion for the Defense Department, said Defense Secretary Ashton Carter in a budget preview. That budget request will include nearly $7 billion in cybersecurity spending for the coming fiscal year and almost $35 billion over the next five years . . . . the proposal is a departure from past budget requests, which may have focused on spending to address a single challenge or adversary.”
Print a pistol. Wired’s Andy Greenberg reports, “For the last three years, the evolution of firearms has been playing out all over again in plastic form: Deadly, working guns that anyone can generate with a download and a few clicks on a 3-D printer have mutated from mere individual components to a single shot pistol to a reusable rifle. Now the 3-D printed gun community is approaching the next controversial milestone in that progression of printable ordnance: a semi-automatic weapon.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Regressive. “Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) spelled out the stakes of the 2016 presidential race on Wednesday, warning that electing another ‘progressive’ would boost the national debt and doom Social Security and other entitlement programs. ‘I believe we are one presidency away from losing control of the situation,’ Ryan told a room full of conservatives at Heritage Action’s annual policy summit.”
News Flash! “Some 81 percent of the nation, Democrats and Republicans alike, believe Washington is corrupt . . . .”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“Fear grows as Islamic State spreads.” Boston Herald contributor Peter Brooks argues, “It appears that the chance of the ‘caliphate’ creeping beyond Syria and Iraq in a worrisome way is growing. Acting with our allies now — before it gets worse — seems simple common sense.”
“Three Reasons the 2017 Defense Budget Won’t Be Enough.” Defense One contributor Justin Johnson argues, “America’s vital interests are threatened; our military is weak, and the new defense budget will be too low. There is bipartisan support for a stronger defense budget and ways to make it happen. But as is often the case, the responsible path is not the easy path. Congress should step up and increase defense spending responsibly.”
“Is it time for the United States to dump Saudi Arabia?” Reuters contributor Josh Cohen argues, “The United States long relied on Saudi Arabia as an oil supplier, a steadfast beacon of opposition to communism and a huge buyer of American arms. The Saudis, meanwhile, depend on the United States to protect their security. Despite these long-standing ties, Saudi Arabia now harms American national interests as much as it helps them.”
“Retrain your brain to focus.” Fast Company contributor Stephanie Vozza writes, “The secret to productivity isn’t getting more things done; it’s getting the right things done. It sounds simple, but the problem is that office workers are interrupted, or self-interrupt, about every three minutes . . . . Boosting productivity and focus requires working against the brain’s natural tendencies.”
