FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Transition talk. Contributor Jennifer Cary offers, “There’s nothing I can do about promotions, moving to a new location or deployments. And from what I understand, many spouses feel the same way as their service member transitions out of the military. Whether it’s a transition because of retirement or one that occurs after a few years of service, it’s a stressful time for both parties. But while spouses are generally along for the ride, it doesn’t have to be that way when it comes to transitioning. Here are some ways to support your service member as they hang up their uniform for the last time.”
Got clearance? Editor Lindy Kyzer explains, “It all comes down to the adjudicative criteria and whether or not the federal government deems you trustworthy based on the judgement of adjudicative personnel. Having a security clearance, in turn, means an individual is eligible to access classified information. Eligibility standards are higher for SCI (Sensitive Compartmented Information) and SAPs (Special Access Programs). The adjudicative criteria, however, are the same. But because the investigation process is more lengthy and stringent, expect a deeper investigation into your personal conduct, credit history, and more. Generally, only U.S. citizens are eligible to obtain a security clearance.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
ISIS: Slugging it out in Syria. Reuters’ reports, “Syrian troops and militia fought fierce battles with Islamic State fighters in Syria’s northeast overnight, war monitors and state media said on Wednesday, as both sides vie for control of territory near the Iraqi frontier. . . . The surrounding Hasaka province, the country’s northeastern triangle bordering on Turkey and Iraq, is a strategic area because it links up Islamic State-held land in Syria and Iraq.” See also, “International coalition united against ISIS, but not everyone wants the same thing.”
Body counts: here we go again. Reuters reports from Paris, “More than 10,000 Islamic State fighters have been killed since the international coalition started its campaign against the militant group nine months ago in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday. Speaking after the coalition met in Paris, he said there had been a great deal of progress in the fight against Islamic State but that the group remained resilient and capable of taking the initiative.” See also, “Islamic State shows off ‘spoils of war’ from recent battles near Fallujah.”
Star wars. National Defense Magazine’s Stew Magnuson reports, “A potential conflict on Earth that escalates into space has prompted the Air Force to find an extra $5 billion to spend on offensive and defensive systems to protect national security satellites. . . . The two primary space rivals mentioned most often by officials are China and Russia. Threats may come in the form of GPS or satellite communications jamming, cyber attacks on ground infrastructure or, even more alarming to the military, kinetic weapons such as anti-satellite missiles or killer spacecraft.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Future Fighting Vehicle (FFV) program awards. Defense News’ Joe Gould reports, “From the ashes of the US Army’s canceled 70-ton ground combat vehicle, the Future Fighting Vehicle (FFV) program has begun to sprout — at least concepts for it. The Army has awarded two contracts of more than $28 million each to BAE Systems Land and Armaments and General Dynamics Land Systems to develop design concepts for the FFV. The work is due Nov. 28, 2016. The effort is meant to inform whether the Army will produce an entirely new vehicle or a potential replacement for the BAE-manufactured Bradley fighting vehicle, or lead to a third round of improvements for the Bradley.”
$1.7 billion sale to Japan: Hawkeyes. Jane’s Defence Weekly’s Marina Malenic reports, “The US Department of State has approved sale to Japan of four Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft . . . . The deal, worth approximately USD1.7 billion, includes the aircraft, 10 engines (eight installed and two spares) and four APY-9 radars, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a notification to Congress. Tokyo would use the E-2D to provide AEW&C situational awareness of air and naval activity in the Pacific region and to augment its existing 13-aircraft E-2C Hawkeye AEW&C fleet . . . . The E-2D would enter service by 2019, eventually replacing the E-2C.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Naval strike reach. Defense Industry Daily reports, “he US Navy is beginning to acknowledge a growing problem that threatens its freedom of the seas: its strike reach is shrinking and aging, while potential opponents’ attack reach is expanding and modernizing. As new designs replace older planes, US carrier aircraft range is shrinking to 1950s levels. Meanwhile, its anti-ship and land attack missiles are generally older, medium-range subsonic designs like the Harpoon Block I, which are vulnerable to air defenses.”
Russia’s Internet Research Agency. New York Times’ Adrien Chen reports, “The agency had become known for employing hundreds of Russians to post pro-Kremlin propaganda online under fake identities . . . to create the illusion of a massive army of supporters.”
Freedom Act. Defense One contributors Dustin Volz and Lauren Fox report, “The Senate Tuesday passed comprehensive surveillance reform that will revive the lapsed spy provisions of the Patriot Act, easily earning final passage after weeks of high-stakes brinkmanship. . . . The bill’s passage is the crescendo of nearly two years of start-and-stop bipartisan, bicameral work to pull back the government’s post-9/11 surveillance powers that began shortly after the disclosures by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.” See also, “With passage of USA Freedom Act, Congress tweaks security-privacy balance” and “Obama signs bill to end NSA phone data collection.”
Beyond the torture report. Reuters’ David Rohde reports, “The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency used a wider array of sexual abuse and other forms of torture than was disclosed in a Senate report last year, according to a Guantanamo Bay detainee turned government cooperating witness. Majid Khan said interrogators poured ice water on his genitals, twice videotaped him naked and repeatedly touched his ‘private parts’ – none of which was described in the Senate report. Interrogators, some of whom smelled of alcohol, also threatened to beat him with a hammer, baseball bats, sticks and leather belts, Khan said.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
On economics. “Marco Rubio finally sold his money-pit of a home in Tallahassee on Tuesday, freeing the presidential candidate from a nagging financial liability and allowing him to distance himself from his scandal-plagued co-owner, former Rep. David Rivera, Florida Republican sources familiar with the transaction tell POLITICO. Rubio and Rivera closed on the home with an as-yet-unnamed buyer who purchased the home for $117,000 — $8,000 less than the asking price and $18,000 less than the two men paid for it in March 2005 when they both served as state legislators . . . .”
McConnell’s fall. “The Senate on Tuesday rejected attempts by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to moderate some of the House-passed reforms to federal surveillance programs, and then passed the House bill over McConnell’s objection. Obama quickly signed the bill into law Tuesday evening. After missing the deadline for extending these surveillance authorities on Sunday, the Senate finally approved the House language in a 67-32 vote. McConnell and his Republican colleagues made up most of the ‘no’ votes.”
OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS
“Why Has America Stopped Winning Wars?” The Atlantic contributor Dominic Tierney argues, “The shift from conflicts between countries to conflicts within countries triggered an era of American military failure.”
“Iraq losing equipment to Islamic State at staggering rate.” Reuters contributor Peter Van Buren explains, “The impact of all these heavy weapons falling into Islamic State hands is significant for American foreign policy goals in the Middle East. A report prepared for the United Nations Security Council warns that Islamic State possesses sufficient reserves of small arms, ammunition and vehicles to wage its war in Syria and Iraq for two more years. And that presumes the United States won’t be losing more tools of war to Islamic State, thanks to the Iraqi army.”
ICYMI: “What ISIS Really Wants.” The Atlantic contributor Graeme Wood explains, “That the Islamic State holds the imminent fulfillment of prophecy as a matter of dogma at least tells us the mettle of our opponent. It is ready to cheer its own near-obliteration, and to remain confident, even when surrounded, that it will receive divine succor if it stays true to the Prophetic model.”
