Security Clearance Careers Podcast

Veteran suicides are still occurring at a higher rate than that of non-Veteran U.S. adults, and it is the second-leading cause of death for post-9/11 veterans, accounting for over 20% of all deaths.The Army, the largest military service, is most affected. Almost 50 service members died by suicide in the first three months of 2023 compared to 37 service members in the first three months of 2022.September is Suicide Awareness month, so the Security Clearance Careers Podcast hosts Michael Hudson of ClearForce. Established in 2015, ClearForce is a people risk analytics company that combines software, data services, compliance, and workflow automation to build safe and secure organizations. Their Resolve™ platform and continuous evaluation solutions help public and private sector organizations mitigate people risk associated with mission critical initiatives for insider threat, workplace safety, cyber security, SAFETY Act, trusted workforce, and suicide prevention.

The 2023 Career Development Convention provides the resources and connections needed for successful employment and professional development. This completely free professional resource day for Veterans, military spouses, and transitioning service members features a job fair, vendors, headshots, video profiles, and networking to help you advance your military transition and career. ClearanceJobs sat down with Jon Meadows and Jesse Sieff, the creative professionals behind this unique networking event, to discuss the importance of personal branding in your job search and what military veterans, spouses, and employers can expect from the event.

It’s National Insider Risk Awareness Month, a month where companies and government agencies step out and look to step up their insider risk understanding. ClearanceJobs chatted with Dave Komendat, the former Chief Security Officer at Boeing, currently the president of DSKomendat Risk Management Services, and recently named as an advisor for SIMS Software, a leading security information management system supporting the national security community and commercial sector in addressing insider risk.Insider threats are nothing new, and Komendat spent a career addressing security from a variety of levels. He learned the important art of not just understanding risk, but being able to convey it to the C-suite – which is a critical aspect of developing a successful security program. For too long, security was a stove-piped function without the proper crossover into other key company functions, like IT and human resources. Komendat talks about making the shift and other practical considerations for security programs and officers today.

“The great thing about AI is that it is not human.” -Michael GibbsCustomer facing roles. Architects. Engineers who have irreplaceable communication. Sales reps. Business development leaders. Cloud security professionals. The goal is to evaluate your current job and truly recognize if AI could do it – or if it requires that human touch.The Security Clearance Careers Podcast hosts Cloud Computing and IT Security Expert Michael Gibbs, who is the CEO of Go Cloud Careers. In 2013, after a successful career with Cisco Systems, he founded Go Cloud Careers, an educational organization focused on helping individuals achieve their dream technology career.

Is there truly a rise in poppyseed related security clearance issues? Or is this another case of poppyseed subterfuge? A military memo from earlier this year warned service chiefs of the military branches of a rise in positive drug tests related to poppyseed consumption, noting some were being contaminated in harvest with morphine and codeine. Poppyseeds already have trace amounts of opium alkaloids which could cause a false positive. Security clearance legal correspondent Sean Bigley and ClearanceJobs' Lindy Kyzer weigh the risks and possibilities of a poppyseed positive drug test.

Host, Katie Keller is joined by a familiar voice, Jill Hamilton, Sr. Editor of our news site, and the newest addition to the content queendom at ClearanceJobs: Phoebe Wells, PR and Partnerships Manager. Today is September 11, so as we hit the 22 years after the attacks in 2001, Jill and Phoebe talk about their own experiences during those events. The events are commonly known as 9/11, and consisted of four coordinated Islamist suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States. That morning, 19 terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners. The first two planes crashing into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, with the hijackers aiming the next two flights toward targets near Washington, D.C.. The third team succeeded in crashing into the Pentagon, and the fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania. The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people. 

CUI and confused - Sean Bigley, legal correspondent and Lindy Kyzer, director of content, discuss the wacky world of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and why it's creating a lot of confusion for many in the cleared community. A moniker without a policy framework in many cases, too many individuals have taken to slapping a CUI designation on just about everything. Learn why that's not helpful.

Chrissy McGarry is the Chief Operating Officer of Second Front Systems, a software company that accelerates delivery of technology to U.S. warfighters. We all know working in this space that the government is slow to innovate, but this innovative company works in around innovative technologies, and if not more important, innovative people. So today we’re going to talk about how their company grew, AI, and the business of hiring technical people. McGarry gives a rundown on their product, Game Warden, and how it gets tech to warfighters faster. She also tells us about the journey from start-up to 100 people at Second Front, how the business of hiring technical people these days is tough to say the least, industry issues she is seeing in the HR or recruitment functions, and artificial intelligence (AI). Second Front and other companies signed on to this letter to bring about change in DoD software acquisition. We also unpack the content of the letter and why it’s critical to our industry.

If you work in national security, you need to stay in the know on the changing government contracting landscape. Enter GovBrew, a free newsletter written by those in the know, to give you the news you need to know. Lindy Kyzer with ClearanceJobs chats with Shane Prosser, co-founder of GovBrew and co-founder and CEO of FalconTek. Prosser is a U.S. Army veteran who leveraged his security clearance to land a job working in national security, and then went on to co-found a company with his brother, Chad Prosser. The GovBrew newsletter was born out of their own efforts to gather the critical business intelligence they needed to be successful.