FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Trip tips. “Travel for pleasure is always fun, but traveling for business can get a little tricky. Suddenly, you have to worry about what to pack, if you can have wine with dinner and how you’re going to get yourself and your coworkers from point A to point B. Lucky for you, we’ve put together five business travel tips that will take you from, ‘how do I get through this trip?’ to ‘why don’t I do this more often?’ in no time.”
Federal work study. “Based on need, the Federal Work Study (FWS) program provides part-time paid employment to undergraduate, graduate and professional part-time or full-time students looking for ways to help finance their post-secondary education (and secondly to gain some work experience). . . .”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Zawahri calls for AQ unity. “Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri urged rival jihadist fighters in Syria to unite or risk death but again decried fellow Sunni Muslim militants Islamic State as “extremists” in an audio recording . . . . As successor to Osama bin Laden, Zawahri has the allegiance of al Qaeda branches in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. But the group’s dominance is being challenged by Islamic State, which controls territory in Syria and Iraq and followings in Libya and Yemen.” (Reuters) See also, “Al-Qaeda about to establish an emirate in Northern Syria” and “Zawahiri discusses al Qaeda’s goal of building an Islamic emirate in Syria.”
The brutal fight for Aleppo. “Aleppo is one of the biggest strategic prizes in a war now in its sixth year. Through much of the conflict, it has been divided into government and rebel-held zones. Aleppo’s surrounding area is also strategically important because it encompasses valuable supply routes into neighboring Turkey.” (Vice News)
Confused about rules of engagement. “As the Taliban insurgency gathers strength, avoiding enemy fire has become increasingly difficult for advisers, who have been acting as consultants rather than combatants since NATO forces formally ceased fighting at the end of 2014. In the heat of the battle, lines can be blurred, and the problem is not exclusive to Afghanistan: questions have arisen over the role of U.S. troops in Iraq after a U.S. Navy SEAL was killed by Islamic State this month.” (Reuters) See also, “U.S. Role in Afghanistan Turns to Combat Again, With a Tragic Error.”
Haqqani network shores-up the Taliban. “A shadowy, Pakistan-based militant faction is on the rise within the Taliban after its leader was appointed deputy and played a key role in unifying the fractured insurgency. The ascendency of the Haqqani network, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, could significantly strengthen the Taliban and herald another summer of fierce fighting in Afghanistan.” (The New York Times)
CONTRACT WATCH
F-35 full speed ahead at Lockheed Martin. “As green-skinned, half-assembled F-35 Joint Strike Fighters take shape, this massive factory that once cranked out thousands of World War II bombers is preparing to get real busy again. F-35 production is slated to hit full steam in 2019, and Lockheed Martin is reshaping its final assembly line to get ready.” (Defense One)
Raytheon Silent Knight radar system looking good. “U.S. Special Operations experts needed special terrain-following radar to enable military aircraft to infiltrate enemy territory by hiding in mountain passes, valleys, and in bad weather. They found their solution from Raytheon Co. Officials of U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., announced a potential $49.5 million contract this week to the Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems segment in McKinney, Texas, for continued low-rate initial production of the Silent Knight radar system.” (Military & Aerospace Electronics)
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Marcel Lettre on intel, integration, and transitions. “With Congress revisiting how Pentagon units share authority under the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act, the intelligence agencies under the next presidential administration should likewise review their own unity of effort to become more agile and able to integrate, the top Defense intelligence official said . . . . ‘The integration of intelligence of the past 15 years is a journey that is not finished,’ said Marcel Lettre, undersecretary of Defense for intelligence . . . . ‘I hope the new administration finds clear progress from the last 15 years and takes it on with a mantle of seriousness, or even sees an opportunity to redouble the effort.’” (Government Executive)
Israel’s combat robot. “Imagine an intuitively trained special missions operative endowed with 360-degree vision who works alone or in packs to breach high-risk safe houses and bunkers, ready to shoot to kill within a second of an officer’s command. That’s exactly what General Robotics Ltd., a high-tech firm tucked away in this rural community south of Tel Aviv, has developed with its trademarked Dogo, a 12-kilogram, pistol-packing killer robot for close-quarter combat and counterterrorism operations.” (Defense News)
Syndicated hacking. “The cyber threats we face constitute a state of emergency, particularly as attackers are pooling their efforts and establishing well-funded, organized crime syndicates. We are no longer fighting lone-wolf hackers working from basements. We are fighting an aggregate of organized attackers that want one thing – our data.” (Venture Beat) See also, “The Military is Building an Engine to Uncover the Humans Behind Hacks.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Encrypted Congress. “Both the House and Senate have begun formally discussing encryption legislation, but there is already significant divide over the issue. The measure that would appear to have the best chance of making to the floor for a vote is ‘dead on arrival’ in the Senate, according to one expert. While in the House, lawmakers are merely in the discussion stages and may not ever introduce a bill.”
Mixed messages. “The White House’s references to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign as having a ‘dustbin of history-like quality’ and comparing ‘The Donald’ to a ‘circus barker’ have been retired ahead of Trump’s victory in Indiana and ascension to likely nominee last week. White House spokesman Josh Earnest has changed course several times in responding to Trump since he launched what originally seemed like a novelty campaign. But as the possibility of Trump landing on the November ballot drew closer to reality, Earnest reverted to his original stance on Trump: Ignore him.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“Why the battle for Aleppo could decide the Syria war.” “Taking back Aleppo . . . would deliver a perhaps fatal blow to those — including many elements of the United States government — who want Assad gone. It might leave the door open for the next U.S. president — whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump — to do a reluctant deal and perhaps build a de facto alliance to target Islamic State.” (Reuters)
“On Cruise Missiles and White Elephants.” “The next decade is likely to see continued tensions with Russia, which demands modernization programs that can keep pace. The United States would do well to approach this problem wisely, and not invest in redundant systems of dubious utility. With this in mind, we should look very critically at the [Long Range Stand-Off Missile]. Such a decision might decide the fate of conventional deterrence in Europe.” (War on the Rocks)
“Things Managers Should Never Say.” “When poor leaders make it into the general and flag officer ranks, it can really be destructive to the military profession and unit effectiveness. It’s no different in the civilian world where people are even less likely to point out that the emperor has no clothes for fear of losing their job. . . . People who habitually say these things or act in this manner can send organizations hurtling in the wrong direction unless there was a very strong team . . . .” (Fast Company)
