Rapid Fire: 2010-08-27

• Try Again: US Army cancels competition for development of the next-generation Ground Combat Vehicle IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) after review by Pentagon acquisition officials; revised rules for a more affordable program expected in 60 days.

• 10% Off Everything: US Defense Logistics Agency wants a 10% price reduction from contractors.

• Cyber Allies: The Pentagon unveils new cybersecurity strategy that includes a call for collective cyber defense among allies; not everyone is impressed.

• Yemen Bound: The Pentagon says it notified Congress that it plans to spend $155 million on 4 Huey helicopters, upgrades to 10 Russian-made Mi-17 medium transport helicopters, and 50 Hummers, as well as night vision goggles and transport aircraft for the Yemen Army to fight al-Qaeda.

• NATO special forces have killed 365 insurgent commanders in Afghanistan in the past 3 months, according to a report in Der Spiegel.

Decoding the UK’s Defence Dilemma

Guest article by Ian P. Wilson, Grant Thornton UK LLP

Given unprecedented fiscal pressures inherited by the new UK Government, there is an increasing recognition that the UK will have to reassess how it seeks to assert itself militarily. Given the poor condition of the country’s public finances, it is a widely-held view that the UK simply cannot afford to buy and support military assets to simultaneously project air, sea and land force capabilities on a global scale; nor can it expect to address several major conflicts while maintaining effective security at home.

As it proceeds with its promised 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), the new UK Government faces the dilemma of having to fund a fundamental realignment and upgrade of the country’s defence and security infrastructure, whilst seeking to reduce a record fiscal deficit. Inevitably, priorities will have to be determined and certain programmes will face cancellation or curtailment…

• 1. A Changing World
  
• 2. The Big Questions
  
• 3. Defence procurement priorities – our view
  
• Additional Readings
  

Safeguarding Your Security Clearance

By Evan H. Lesser, Co-founder and Managing Director, ClearanceJobs.com

With some economists predicting as much as half a decade until U.S. unemployment lowers to the historical norm of 5%, this will not be an equitable jobs recovery and in certain industries – some jobs are likely gone for good. Unlike the sectors hit hard by the recession, the U.S. defense, homeland security, and intelligence industry has been largely untouched by the economic slowdown. Bolstered by the largest line items in the Federal budget, the business of protecting the U.S. and our foreign interests is characterized by its tight labor pool. In particular, workers with active Federal security clearance remain in high demand. With more open jobs than qualified candidates to fill them, security-cleared professionals in the defense and intelligence industry remain in an enviable career position. Simply put, a security clearance opens more than just doors to classified information – it opens doors to a secure career.

However, just because a worker has received a security clearance does not mean they have the ability to maintain it. Periodic reinvestigations of clearance holders are designed to ensure cleared professionals remain suitable for access to classified information. If the results of a cleared worker’s reinvestigation are unfavorable, their security clearance can be revoked, leaving the worker without a job and a valuable career asset…