Friday Finale & This Time Last Year: Carter’s Confirmation, Software Defined Networking, Contracting Agility
FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Double-secret probation. In-house counsel Sean Bigley advises, “If you’ve received a preliminary security clearance denial but subsequently won your case, you may have been surprised to learn that your victory is seemingly ‘conditional’ . . . Such determinations, which typically arise in Department of Defense Guideline ‘F’ (financial) cases, aren’t really conditional. Instead, these determinations essentially amounts to security clearance probation. It’s a nuanced difference . . . .”
Trust me. Editor Lindy Kyzer explains, “Cleared candidates get it – many employers are limited in what they can reveal about the position up front. But even from your initial correspondence, a candidate should know the location of the opportunity, a basic job title and cursory description of duties. You build trust by communicating value-added information.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Nuclear budget. Defense News’ Aaron Mehta reports, “With the release of President Obama’s budget request on Feb. 9, the Pentagon is preparing itself to have to make hard choices – ones that could irrevocably change the fundamental strategic picture for the United States. The nuclear deterrent’s need for an expensive recapitalization has been brewing for years. But in recent months, the official line from top Pentagon officials has changed from confidence that needs will be met to one of more urgency.”
Turning point in Syria. Vice News’ Sam Heller reports, “With a healthy assist from the Russian air force, the Syrian military and its allies cut a key rebel supply line to Turkey on Wednesday, dealing a serious blow to the rebels in the country’s north and getting closer to creating a chokehold that could turn the course of the war. Regime forces and militias in two Shi’ite towns seized the midpoint of a strip of rebel territory running north of Aleppo, Syria’s largest city and economic hub, to the Turkish border.” See also, “Northern Aleppo countryside ‘totally encircled,’” “Syrian government closes in on Daraa,” “Russia and Turkey trade accusations over Syria,” and “Russia accuses Turkey of preparing to invade Syria.”
Deterring Russia. National Interest contributor Dave Majumdar reports, “Senior U.S. defense and foreign policy officials are increasingly focused on a resurgent Russia and the threat it might pose in Europe. Over the past two years, Russia has behaved aggressively in Ukraine and stepped up its bomber and submarine patrols. . . . Here are five NATO weapons that will be used to deter Russian aggression in Europe. . . .”
Korean rockets. AP’s Eric Talmadge reports, “According to many experts, the North’s rockets look a lot more like what the North says they are – space launch vehicles, or SLVs – and they aren’t necessarily helping Pyongyang get that much closer to having a reliable, long-range missile capable of dropping a nuclear weapon on the United States any time soon.”
ISIS infiltration. Reuters reports, “Islamic State militants have slipped into Europe disguised as refugees, the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency (BfV) said on Friday, a day after security forces thwarted a potential IS attack in Berlin. Hans-Georg Maassen said the terrorist attacks in Paris last November had shown that Islamic State was deliberately planting terrorists among the refugees flowing into Europe.”
Fem fatale. The Long War Journal’s Caleb Weiss reports, “The Islamic State West Africa (ISWA), which is formerly known as Boko Haram, has exploited more than 100 women and girls as suicide bombers since June 2014, according to data compiled by The Long War Journal. The majority of these suicide bombings have occurred in Nigeria, however, the violence has spread to other countries.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Anti-terror tech. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “Navy researchers are asking for industry’s help in developing a variety of new anti-terrorism technologies and prototype systems for fighting international terrorism. Officials of the Navy Engineering Logistics Office in Arlington, Va., issued a solicitation this week (16-Q-4531) for the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office Broad Agency Announcement. . . . Navy researchers are interested in a wide variety of enabling technologies ranging from biometrics, compact robot, close air support, defensive computer tactics, encryption, to laser Doppler vibrometry.”
Contracting variety. Daily Press’ Hugh Lessig reports, “Hampton Roads defense contractors won a variety of work in January, from ship maintenance to transportation to environmental work. Here’s a rundown of significant awards in January . . . .”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Spy budget. Nextgov’s Frank Konkel reports, “Since a peak funding level of $80.1 billion in 2010, the 17 agencies within the intelligence community have been forced to operate with declining dollars, down to some $66 billion in fiscal 2015. . . . the IC’s overall budget may be on the uptick, but its spending on information technology won’t be.”
Two-factor tricks. Homeland Security News Wire reports, “Security experts have long endorsed two-factor authentication as an effective safeguard against password attacks. Most methods of compromising this verification process are complex, requiring the malicious actor to be in control of both channels—the one generating the one-time passcode and the channel through which the user completes the verification. But what if two-factor authentication could be cracked not by computer engineering but by social engineering?”
Battlefield brilliance. Defense One’s Patrick Tucker reports, “A new microchip could change life on the battlefield for U.S. troops by bringing the massive data crunching power of multi-computer neural networks — a dream of the 1970s and 80s — into handheld devices. The chip, announced by a team of researchers from MIT and funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, could enable a smartphone-sized device to perform deep-learning functions.”
Cyber-threat warning. Federal Times’ Aaron Boyd reports, “The cyber threat is real, James Clapper, director of national intelligence, told midshipmen during a speech for the Naval Academy’s Cyber Lecture Series on Jan. 29, and has surpassed terrorism as the No. 1 threat facing the nation.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Contempt of Congress. “Former drug executive Martin Shkreli smirked and brushed off questions about drug prices then tweeted that lawmakers were imbeciles on Thursday, when he appeared at a U.S. congressional hearing against his will. . . . Wearing a sport jacket and collared shirt rather than his usual T-shirt, he responded to questions by laughing, twirling a pencil and yawning.” See also, “Shkreli: Gowdy ‘conniving’ at hearing.”
Three-second rush. “The Senate’s only female combat veteran said on Thursday that she believes the administration is rushing to open all combat positions to women, a move that could actually harm female troops in the long run. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, stressed that the implementation needs to be done deliberately and methodically to ensure any issues that arise can be dealt with effectively.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“Kissinger’s Vision for U.S.-Russia Relations.” National Interest contributor Henry A. Kissinger argues, “The danger today is less a return to military confrontation than the consolidation of a self-fulfilling prophecy in both countries. The long-term interests of both countries call for a world that transforms the contemporary turbulence and flux into a new equilibrium which is increasingly multipolar and globalized.”
“Panic in the Kremlin as Russia’s economy sinks further.” Reuters contributor William Pomeranz argues, “The negotiations over Ukraine are no sure thing. The United States, the European Union and Russia will have to do both hand-holding and arm-twisting to bring the respective parties to the table. If no deal is reached, however, and the economy continues to tank, Putin will have to stop the emergent signs of panic from spreading. If the government loses its head in this crisis, the Russian people are bound to follow. That is Putin’s worst-case scenario.”
“The Rise of ISIS in Southeast Asia.” Defense One contributor Joshua Kurlantzick argues, “The archipelago’s porous borders, notoriously corrupt immigration checkpoints, and open society all allow militant groups to come and go with impunity. Yet Indonesia’s open society has helped inoculate the country against the possibility that militant groups inspired by the Islamic State will gain large numbers of followers.”
“Lessons for Syria from Colombia.” The Christian Science Monitor Editorial Board argues, “Colombia’s peace process could still be bumpy as it plays out this year. But the hard part – of cold hearts warming to others in need – may be over. Syria has a long way to go to reach such a point. But as the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said at the London conference, those at the negotiating table must come to a point that they ‘don’t create more misery.’”
“The Pentagon’s Pricey Culture of Mediocrity.” Other Words contributor Dan Grazier argues, “The Pentagon chief and Congress need to act now to change this “up or out” system before we end up saddled with even more expensive and ineffective weapons systems — and there’s nobody left with the moral courage to call them out on it.”
