My Favourite Tipples from a US military information professional
Jinfo Blog

By Lee Ann Benkert

Abstract

My Favourite Tipples are shared by Lee Ann R. Benkert, the resource centre manager at the US Air Force's National Security Space Institute. Her research focuses on space launch, satellite communications and navigation, space policy and cyber threats and she shares online sources in these areas.

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Successful military professionals stay sharp by being cognisant of what's happening in their field and across the world. One of my tasks is keeping them well informed of breaking news, policy developments and rapidly evolving technologies. Here are my go-to sources for defence news and insight:

• IHS Jane's: British publishing company with unrivalled depth of detail. Their online database of military satellite systems is top notch and makes them my primary subscription resource for global defence news, intelligence and analysis.

• Inside Defense: News coverage of United States Department of Defense programmes, procurement and policy. Value-added features: exclusive interviews, links to primary sources (e.g. reports, memos, budgets), news alerts and an uncluttered interface.

• Fifth Domain: Great open-source news coverage on cyber security and cyber defence. Includes US Congressional policy decisions, evolving threats and cross-sector partnerships.

• Google Alerts: An effective, time-saving "pull" tool and an excellent way to get alternative news sources on my radar. The time saved in scanning the email alerts far outweighs the time it takes to comb the internet.

For fun:

• ProofreadNOW.com blog: This blog is an educational and entertaining read for pedants who take pleasure in the minutiae of grammar. A recent post titled "How to Write About Yourself for Bios and Profiles" is well worth the read for authors and public speakers.

An article in Jinfo which I found particularly interesting:

• I enjoyed Colin Smith's "Insider knowledge - researching Russia". He provides a wide array of government, economic and news resources useful for gaining insight into the Russian Federation. He also includes an interesting table ranking usage of homegrown social networking sites against Facebook and Twitter. This article is a great jumping-off point if your work involves international relations.

Contribute Your "My Favourite Tipples"

Would you like to share your "My Favourite Tipples" with the Jinfo audience? For contributor guidelines email catherine.dhanjal@jinfo.com or visit the Publish with Jinfo page.

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