So much happened in 2021 in national security. After a year of pandemic setbacks, the defense industry had a lot of ground to cover. And cover they did. Despite two COVID-19 variants, vaccine mandates, Afghanistan withdrawal, and so many other challenges, the defense workforce has continued to adapt and thrive.
January 2021: CIA Recruiting Next Generation Employees and DARPA Wants a Genius Bar
The CIA steps up its recruiting game with a concerted effort to hiring the next generation of employees. Director Victoria Coleman wants to marry the Apple Genius Bar concept with DARPA in order to create a innovation storefront for the agency.
February: CIA Targets Next Generation with Recent Recruiting Tactics
Recent studies show a skeptical younger generation, so the CIA has turned up the heat to win over the next generation of recruits. The CIA has an updated its website and increased their social media game, hoping to get candidates to sign on to a year long vetting process.
March: CIA William Burns Talks Recruiting Strategy and Perspecta Contract Wins Lead to Hiring
President Biden’s CIA nominee William J. Burns easily moved through confirmation hearings. With three decades of experience in foreign policy, Burns received a welcome reception from all sides of the aisle.
April: Defense Contractors Making Plans to Leave Afghanistan on the Same Timeline as Troops
President Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan by September 11 impacts more than the military on the ground. As veterans and the American public sort through their thoughts on our country’s time in Afghanistan, contractors are also rapidly dealing with contract modifications and major logistics efforts.
May: Leaders Urging Early Return to Offices for Federal Workforce and Technica is Hiring
The reality of remote work in national security is only possible if employees, companies, and agencies work together towards a viable solution. As agencies and contractors alike make decisions on how to best fully reopen, the DoD has lifted all capacity limits and mask mandates for those who are fully vaccinated.
June: Contracting Fraud, Lockheed Hiring, and DARPA Blackjack Program in Next Budget
The DOJ charged the president of Montage, a worldwide construction company that has performed $220 million in contracting work for the U.S. government, supporting the DoD, DOJ, FBI, NASA, and others with defrauding the State department in a multimillion dollar scheme.
July: Defense Bill Could Change Fixed Price Contracts and Anduril Gets DIU Award
Legislation from Section 829 of the fiscal 2017 defense bill requires military contracting officers to reach for a fixed-price contract first. The attempt to overturn the initiative has been especially advanced by the Aerospace Industries Association, which in a memo to the Senate Armed Services Committee said, “Section 829 has added bureaucratic impediments to selecting a cost-type contract when appropriate. ”
August: Bad Hires Cost Money and BlueHalo Hiring in New Mexico with MaxQ Campus
As top performers share stories of feeling undervalued and overworked in the remote environment, it can make the new hires in the second half of the year a bit more important to get right the first time. The key is to invest in the hiring process.
September: Raytheon Expands in Texas and Huntsville Jury Sides with Whistleblowers Against Defense Contractor
A Huntsville jury deliberated and decided the defense contractor to be liable in three claims, finding their actions to be fraudulent in inducing the U.S. Army into contracts with Saudi Arabia, Costa Rica, and El Salvador. The verdict results in $100 million to the two former employees, the whistleblowers who brought the case to court.
October: OFCCP Increasing Scrutiny and Raytheon Hiring in Another State
The Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has its eye on federal contractors supporting construction projects for the government. The OFCCP Director Jenny Yang announced plans to get their construction contractor program back in full swing with reviewing compliance obligations under Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA).
November: Raytheon on a Hiring Spree in Northern Virginia with Remote, Hybrid, and In-Person Positions
Some contractors are hiring in anticipation of a mass exodus due to the January COVID-19 vaccine mandate deadline for federal contractors. That’s one strategy to take – especially for contractors in the defense industrial base, where many are expecting a major impact to production.
December: North Korean Hackers Impersonated Samsung Recruiters by Sending Fake Job Offers
North Korean state-sponsored hackers disguising themselves as recruiters from Samsung sent bogus job announcements and offers to employees at security companies residing in their southern counterparts. These organizations sell anti-malware software, and Google highlighted the situation in their first edition of its new Threat Horizons report, which is a newsletter that provides threat intelligence to those in the cloud.
