FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Post-9/11 GI Bill changes. Contributor Ron Kness writes, “Legislative changes currently being discussed on the Hill could change the rules allowing service members to transfer Post-9/11 GI Bill educational benefits to immediate family . . . . Act now to lock in Post-9/11 GI Bill MHA benefits for your dependents at the current or future authorized rate. Not doing so could result in thousands of dollars lost if the bill is approved and signed by the President.”
Resume review. Contributor Ashley LaGanga advises, “There’s a problem that plagues many military to civilian candidates: Translation. It’s particularly challenging when the reader of your resume is unfamiliar with the military way of life. You can interpret those camouflaged acronyms, ranks, and course titles in a way that civilian employers will understand exactly what you have to offer. Here are three places on your resume on which you may need to elaborate. . . .”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Syria cease fire collapsing. Reuters’ John Davison and John Irish report, “A senior official from Syria’s main opposition group said on Monday that a fragile international attempt to halt nearly five years of fighting was in danger of collapse because of attacks by government forces. The cessation of hostilities drawn up by Washington and Moscow faced ‘complete nullification’ because Syrian government attacks were violating the agreement . . . .” See also, “Russian warplanes sit idle.”
Focus Mosul. New York Times’ Helene Cooper and Matthew Rosenberg report, “Recent gains against the Islamic State in eastern Syria have helped sever critical supply lines to Iraq and set the stage for what will be the biggest fight yet against the Sunni militancy, the battle to retake Mosul . . . . But military officials cautioned that the fight for Mosul could last many months, requiring Iraqi forces unproven in urban warfare to advance street by street through the explosives-laden terrain of Iraq’s second-largest city, with more than one million people.” See also, “US will expand, improve support for Iraq’s Mosul operation” and “Battle for Mosul Has Begun.”
Training Libyans. Homeland Security News Wire reports, “British Special Forces have been quietly deployed to Libya for the purpose of helping build an army to fight ISIS militants who have been increasing their presence in the country. The British commandos are working alongside U.S. Special Forces in and around the city of Misrata on north-west Libya to check the progress of jihadist militias.”
French SpecOps in Mali. The Long War Journal’s Caleb Weiss reports, “According to jihadist social media accounts connected to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), al Qaeda’s official branch in North Africa, French forces conducted two separate raids on al Qaeda figures in Mali in recent days. The attacks left one commander of AQIM and two fighters from AQIM’s Katibat al Murabitoon dead.”
Shifting winds in Iran. The Christian Science Monitor’s Scott Peterson reports, “Hard-line factions in Iran suffered unexpected defeats in the first major electoral test for President Hassan Rouhani since he struck a nuclear deal, boosting prospects for his outreach to the West and bid to ease social restrictions. Election day Friday was a humiliating day for hard-liners as Iranians voting in twin contests loosened the factions’ decade-long grip on power.”
Questioning Airborne. Army Times’ Kyle Jahner reports, “The airborne jump may have been the most visually stunning and logistically impressive element of Trident Juncture: hundreds of soldiers in the U.S. travel across the ocean and reach foreign land — on time, without an airstrip, and armed with M4s. . . . But some consider this tactic to be impractical, disconnected from modern war and an unnecessary expense, if not a virtual suicide mission in a real war.”
CONTRACT WATCH
More Army radios. DoD Buzz’s Brendan McGarry reports, “The U.S. Army has awarded three companies with contracts to manufacture more battlefield radios for soldiers. The service on Monday announced General Dynamics Corp., based in Falls Church, Virginia; Harris Corp., based in Melbourne, Florida; and Rockwell Collins, based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; received agreements to build more of the so-called manpack radios. The value wasn’t specified.”
Raytheon wins missile contract. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “Missile designers at Raytheon Co. will provide the U.S. Navy with shipboard air-defense missiles under terms of a quarter-billion-dollar contract modification announced Friday. Officials of the Raytheon Missile Systems segment in Tucson, Ariz., won a $270.5 million contract option to build the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6). The shipboard missiles order brings the value of the total contract to $573.2 million, Navy officials say.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Stellarwind revealed. New York Times’ Charlie Savage and Eric Lichtblau report, “The Obama administration on Monday made public a previously classified letter from 2002 about the Bush administration’s secret program that allowed the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans’ international communications without court orders. The release of the 22-page letter . . . adds to the historical record of one of the most controversial pieces of the Bush administration’s response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001: The surveillance and bulk data collection program known by the code name Stellarwind.” See also, “How The Bush Administration Argued Legal Loopholes for NSA Snooping.”
SecDef to Silicon Valley. Defense News’ Aaron Mehta reports, “As the Pentagon steps up cyber operations against the Islamic State group, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is heading to Silicon Valley this week to meet with leaders from the technology industry. Although not directly related, the timing of Carter’s trip – shortly after the Pentagon appears to have stepped up cyber operations against the group commonly known as ISIS or ISIL – is symbolic in some ways, as Carter has made it clear he believes the commercial tech community in the US is vital for the Pentagon’s future.”
Hack surge forecast. Nextgov’s Frank Konkel reports, “A new report on the state of the Internet suggests that the last quarter of 2015 was a busy one for distributed denial-of-service attackers, particularly those originating from China. . . .” Read “Q4 2015 State of the Internet – Security Report.”
Apple wins one. Reuters’ Julia Harte, Julia Edwards, and Julia Love report, “The U.S. government cannot force Apple Inc to unlock an iPhone in a New York drug case, a federal judge in Brooklyn said on Monday, a ruling that bolsters the company’s arguments in its landmark legal showdown with the Justice Department over encryption and privacy. . . . U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein in Brooklyn ruled that he did not have the legal authority to order Apple to disable the security of an iPhone that was seized during a drug investigation.”
Cyber-responsibility. Nextgov’s Aliya Sternstein reports, “The commander of the military’s cyberspace troops warned Monday that more corporate heads will roll as companies continue to overlook security holes. But at federal agencies — and, still, in many private firms — bosses have been slow to take the blame for hacks.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Let’s talk. “President Barack Obama is due to meet face-to-face Tuesday with the Senate Republican leaders vowing to block his Supreme Court nominee – no matter who it is – with the hope of keeping the seat open for a Republican president to fill next year.”
Cursed. “Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid warned Monday Sen. Chuck Grassley’s decision not to hold a hearing for President Obama’s eventual Supreme Court nominee would taint Grassley’s record in the Senate forever. . . . ‘history will never forgive this unprecedented mistake. History will never forget this misstep by Grassley.’”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“How tech companies can help fight terrorism.” Quartz contributor Yaya J. Fanusie argues, “Silicon Valley has become renowned for innovation, but it could one day become a byword for something even more important: keeping America and the world safe.” See also, “Pentagon to tap private industry for background check IT system.”
“Here Be Dragons.” Lawfare contributor Henry Farrell argues, “There are two big reasons why cybersecurity debates are terrible: cybersecurity is highly technical across multiple dimensions, but it is also a topic that inspires high passions. The first problem means that different kinds of expertise—computer science, legal reasoning, strategic thinking, civil liberties activism—regularly collide with each other, and the crashes can be ugly. The second leads to clashes over ethical positions.”
“Peace message in Iran’s election.” The Christian Science Monitor’s Editorial Board argues, “The regime’s conservatives still hold much of the power in Iran, but their legitimacy has now been badly tarnished. Rather than resort to street demonstrations, reformist voters were able to outsmart the regime by using the limited competition within a constrained electoral system.”
