FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM
Cleared compensation. Contributor Sean Bigley advises, “One of the lesser known aspects of security clearance law is the availability of reimbursement for denied, revoked, or suspended security clearance applicants who are subsequently granted a clearance. You read that correctly: If your clearance was denied, revoked, or suspended, then subsequently granted/reinstated, you may be entitled to cold, hard cash as compensation.”
Extreme jobs. Contributor David Brown writes, “If you hold a security clearance, there’s a good chance you’ve heard rumors that the world is an unstable place, and that terrible things are happening everywhere. Where American forces operate, however, American contractors operate, and that means jobs.”
THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT
Spec Ops raid Shabab. The New York Times’ Mohammed Ibrahim reports, “Somalia — Only days after American aircraft struck a Shabab training camp in Somalia, American Special Operations forces and Somali troops carried out a raid against Shabab fighters . . . . The commandos landed a few miles outside the village before advancing on the base, killing 19 militants in the operation . . . .”
Extending Afghanistan. Washington Post’s Missy Ryan reports, “President Obama’s nominee to head U.S. Central Command said on Wednesday he would recommend extending the U.S. mission in Afghanistan if local forces don’t improve their record against the Taliban and other militants. . . . Votel said he would recommend change to Obama’s departure plan if a review by the incoming commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John “Mick” Nicholson, concludes that Afghan forces aren’t making enough progress.”
Tehran ready to fight. Reuters’ Parisa Hafezi reports, “A senior Revolutionary Guards commander has said that Iran’s ballistic missile programme will not stop under any circumstances and that Tehran has missiles ready to be fired . . . . The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) maintains an arsenal of dozens of short and medium-range ballistic missiles – the largest in the Middle East, according to the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.”
Pyongyang provocation. Reuters’ Jack Kim and Ju-Min Park report, “North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Thursday in defiance of a U.N. Security Council resolution, as South Korean and U.S. forces conducted massive war games. The North also announced on Thursday it has scrapped all agreements with the South on commercial exchange projects and would ‘liquidate’ South Korean assets left behind in its territory.”
CONTRACT WATCH
Call for contract manager. Nextgov’s Frank Konkel reports, “The General Services Administration is looking for someone to lead the largest IT acquisition vehicle in government. . . . In fiscal 2016, IT Schedule 70 will be a conduit for an estimated $15.2 billion in business volume for IT services and products among 4,700 qualified industry partners and myriad federal agencies. Everything from cloud services to desktop computers are purchased by agencies across the federal spectrum.”
Jet fighter common operating picture. Military & Aerospace Electronics Editor John Keller reports, “U.S. Air Force researchers are reaching out to industry to find companies able to design an advanced version of the 5th to 4th Gen Gateway that enables jet fighters of different generations to share a common picture over different tactical data links. Officials of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., issued a sources-sought notice on Tuesday (TBD0001) for Increment II of the 5th to 4th Gen Gateway.”
TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY
Drone prophecies. The Daily Beast’s Adam Rawnsley reports, “[A] declassified report from the CIA’s analytical arm shows that the agency was predicting a wave of drone proliferation as far back as the mid-1980s, at a time when the iconic Predator drone was only a glint in Langley’s eye. The 1986 intelligence assessment, ‘Remotely Piloted Vehicles in the Third World: A New Military Capability,’ prepared by the CIA’s Office of Global Issues, shows that the trickle of unmanned technology into the developing world first began decades ago.”
Cyber-future war. Defense One’s Patrick Tucker reports, “For a look at how cyber will play into armed conflict, look at the Dec. 23 attack on the Ukrainian energy sector. This was no simple hack involving celebrity emails or embarrassing personal information but a highly coordinated and complex cyber-physical assault that knocked out power to more than 225,000 people … in a war-torn country … in the dead of winter.”
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Here comes the judge. “President Obama is expected to name his replacement for the-late Justice Antonin Scalia as early as next week, just before the Senate leaves for its spring recess. . . . The short list of nominees has been winnowed to Chief Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia; Judge Sri Srinivasan of the same court; U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson who serves in Washington, D.C.; Judge Jane Kelly of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis; and Judge Paul Watford of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.”
Ain’t that tweet. “Whatever you can think of as the worst tweet that would be possible to send, it wouldn’t be as bad as what showed up on the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s Twitter feed this afternoon. The NRSC’s been sending out a stream of criticism about Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Everything was going according to plan until this tweet. . . .”
