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Outback Steakhouse has pledged $1 million to Operation Homefront, a nonprofit organization that provides emergency and morale support for active troops, veterans and their families. The public can help the restaurant chain meet its obligation by dining at Outback restaurants in the United States during the month of March and ordering off the "Red, White and Bloomin'" menu.

Jack Stem has joined Dell Perot Systems Government Services Division, Fairfax, Virginia, as vice president for Defense Department sales.

With some of this basic knowledge out of the way (refer to Part 1), you may want to know that it has been estimated that 75% of the IC budget eventually flows towards the military. Keep in mind that if you break down the IC into civilian and military, then we're talking the following agencies: NSA, MCIA (USMC Intelligence Activity), DIA, NGA, NRO, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and the USAF. Obviously, the entire Army is not an intelligence agency, but others in this list are entirely absorbed into the IC. Interestingly, the NSA just recently became labeled as a combat agency, moving away from Combat Support Agency (CSA). This was an upgrade on several levels. And realize that there are plenty of joint commands where a security clearance is absolutely in use, for instance, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), to name just a few. Most space related organizations operate at SECRET or above.

The U.S. Army has announced the Apps for the Army (A4A) challenge, a three-month outreach to the service’s active duty, National Guard and civilian employees that will award as much as $2,000 to the top entries.

I'm a fan of all things Discovery: Animal Planet, TLC, and of course the Science and Military channels. So I'm particularly excited about the Discovery News iPhone application.

Brig. Gen. Russell J. Handy, USAF, has been named director, Air Component Coordination Element, U.S.

NATO is transitioning its satellite communications infrastructure from an ownership- and capability-based “bent pipe” arrangement to a more fluid, service-led approach. The challenge for the alliance now is in making plans and provisions for that new capability, which aims at providing a guaranteed ability to obtain the required services to meet collaborative communications needs in space and on the ground.

Researchers are pursuing advances in radio antenna technology to build communication equipment into body armor and to offer more capable and efficient methods for countering roadside bombs. Virtual modeling techniques incorporating developments in materials science currently are testing and verifying prototype equipment before physical testing begins. This combination of cutting-edge research and simulation has rapidly matured these antenna technologies and prepared them for initial operational evaluations.

Strategic efforts to access top executives’ computers and to steal source code and intellectual property are taking cybercrime beyond simple financial theft. Criminals and foreign organizations are launching more sophisticated and targeted phishing and malware attacks, resulting in more prevalent infiltrations in 2009. Cybercriminals often target social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, and use an individual’s personal data to fool friends and colleagues into revealing valuable personal and corporate data.