Tuesday’s Top Ten & Congrats Aliya Sternstein

FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM

Degrees that matter. Contributor David Brown: “Computer science, mechanical engineering, medicine: if you hold one of those degrees, you’re probably not too worried about your long term job prospects—especially if you have a security clearance. The same cannot be said for every college major, however. . . . Here are six degrees everyone thought were useless, but are actually pretty handy.”

Active recruiting. Contributor Maria Whitney: “In today’s hiring market, successful recruiters adopted the ‘active’ approach to build a robust talent network.  The days of passive recruiting, which consisted of posting a job then waiting for candidates to apply, are long gone. . . . Keep these few key concepts in mind and integrate them into your daily routine to help build your talent network.”

THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT

Spetsnaz in Syria. War on the Rocks’ Mark Galeotti reports, “As Syrian forces push their advantage against the Islamic State, it is increasingly clear that there are Russians on the ground with them. Some are Spetsnaz special forces, there for recon and forward air control, but others are mercenaries, working for a shadowy outfit in St. Petersburg. Increasingly, the Kremlin is waking up to the potential advantages of outsourcing combat missions to private contractors . . . .”

Balikatan 2016. Stars & Stripes reports, “Thousands of U.S. and Philippine troops, along with Australian defense forces, began annual drills Monday to prepare to quickly respond to a range of potential crises, including in the disputed South China Sea. . . . A highly mobile rocket system that has been deployed in hot spots such as Afghanistan will be used during the Balikatan, or Shoulder to Shoulder, exercises for the first time . . . .” See also, “War Games Begin” and “Maritime tension simmers.”

ISIS threatened in al-Rai. Reuters’ Suleiman Al-Khalidi reports, “Syrian rebels were closing in on a town near the Turkish border held by Islamic State on Tuesday after seizing numerous villages from the group in the area . . . . A sustained rebel advance near the Turkish border would erode Islamic State’s last foothold in an area identified by the United States as a priority in the fight against the group.”

Al Qaeda kills: Syria and Somalia. Defense Media Activity’s Terri Moon Cronk reports, “A U.S. military airstrike on a senior al-Qaida operational meeting in northwestern Syria resulted in ‘several enemy killed,’ possibly including the terrorist organization’s leader . . . . [T]he Defense Department has confirmed that al-Shabab senior leader Hassan Ali Dhoore was killed in a March 31 U.S. military airstrike in Somalia.” See also, “Pentagon confirms US targeted veteran al Qaeda leader in Syria.”

CONTRACT WATCH

DHS seeks network security services. Federal Times’ Aaron Boyd reports, “The Department of Homeland Security released the final request for proposals for its $395 million contract to support the agency’s network security services. The Next Generation Security Operations Center (NextGen SOC) contract will enable DHS components — namely the Office of the CIO, National Protections and Programs Directorate and Science and Technology Directorate — to buy cybersecurity tools and support services to secure the department’s internal networks.”

Contracting-out IT. Also from Federal Times, contributor Rutrell Yasin reports, “Giving over control of IT systems to a contractor can be a hard transition, but a few best practices can help lessen any unease agency IT managers might feel. Consider these . . . .”

TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY

Cyber command? Nextgov’s Aliya Sternstein reports, “U.S. Northern Command says it is the main Pentagon support arm that fends off foreign hackers in the United States, a position at odds with policies and some top brass who say Cyber Command plays the lead in addressing stateside cyberthreats from abroad when asked.”

Panama papers. Time’s Rishi Iyengar reports, “With more than 2.6 terabytes of data comprising more than 11.5 million documents, the release of Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca’s records this week represents one of the largest data leaks in history—bigger than both the intelligence records revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden three years ago and the U.S. diplomatic cables made public by WikiLeaks in 2010.” See also,” Panama Papers probes opened,” “Key figures implicated,” “It’s all the CIA’s fault” and “Data Leak Implicates Several World Leaders.”

Dirty drones. Homeland Security News Wire reports, “ISIS terrorists are planning to use drones to spray nuclear material over Western cities in a lethal ‘dirty bomb’ attack. Security experts are worried about jihadists buying simple drones, which are widely available, and use them to carry radioactive material into the centers of large cities in attacks which would kill thousands and contaminate large sections of cities, making entire areas uninhabitable for years.”

Army’s Multi-Mission Launcher (MML). Scout Warrior’s Kris Osborn reports, “The U.S. Army attacked a flying drone target with a Hellfire missile fired from a truck-mounted launcher designed to protect ground troops from enemy rockets, mortars, artillery fire, cruise missiles and aircraft . . . . With ISIS rocket fire killing a U.S. Marine at a firebase in Iraq recently, this emerging ground-based troop protection is the kind of system which could quickly make and operational difference for forces in combat situations.”

POTOMAC TWO-STEP

Dream weavers. “On the eve of the Wisconsin primaries, top Republicans are becoming increasingly vocal about their long-held belief that Speaker Paul Ryan will wind up as the nominee, perhaps on the fourth ballot at a chaotic Cleveland convention.”

Slip sliding away. “Senate Republicans are returning to Washington with time running out on their hopes of getting anything done in the second year of their majority. A wild presidential primary has overshadowed the Senate’s work, and big-ticket items such as the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal and criminal sentencing reform have been shelved. That means Senate Republicans planning to tout their majority’s accomplishments will have to lean heavily on their 2015 record.”

OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS

The NSA must adapt to survive the Digital Age.” The Christian Science Monitor contributor David Shedd argues, “The technology revolution affecting friends and foes alike is a fundamental change that NSA has recognized and is prepared to leverage that revolution to its benefit. NSA21 has a long but exciting road ahead in shaping the destiny of America’s security.”

Similarity Between Snowden Leak and Panama Papers.” The Intercept contributor Glenn Greenwald argues, “The key revelation is not the illegality of the specific behavior in question but rather the light shined on how our political systems function and for whose benefit they work. That was true of the Snowden leak, and it’s true of the Panama Papers as well.”

Rebuild America.” US News contributor Mortimer Zuckerman argues, “Infrastructure spending could put more than 13 million Americans to work in decent paying jobs, many of them in sectors of the economy that haven’t fully recovered from the recession, like construction. Moreover, infrastructure jobs are jobs that cannot be shipped offshore or outsourced overseas. Make America great now.”

THE FUNNIES

Hi-tech scouts

Grim rhymes

Off shore

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Ed Ledford enjoys the most challenging, complex, and high stakes communications requirements. His portfolio includes everything from policy and strategy to poetry. A native of Asheville, N.C., and retired Army Aviator, Ed’s currently writing speeches in D.C. and working other writing projects from his office in Rockville, MD. He loves baseball and enjoys hiking, camping, and exploring anything. Follow Ed on Twitter @ECLedford.