Personal Narrative: My NGA Experience

I attend the Electronic Systems Center for Hanscom Air Force Base bi-weekly Integrated Project Team meeting, and as the NGA FMS representative, I facilitate decision-making recommendation and issue resolutions specific to geospatial requirements for international partners. I implemented major improvements in the authorization of 3rd party co-produced data, resulting in the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation HQ, adopting my procedures as the standard in handling NGA requests for the sharing of Australian produced data. I am an active member and participant of the IA Employee Council, and have coordinated 3 team building events and the IA Veterans Day event. Additionally, I drafted the IA FY15 Diversity and Inclusion Activities and Accomplishments, for the Director of
IA’s contribution to the NGA FY15 Management Directive-715 report. I provided outbriefs to the military departments and international partners in the process and benefit of obtaining NGA GEOINT. I educated the forum in understanding the importance of engaging NGA early in the acquisition stages of security cooperation programs, resulting in the timely coordination for the release of GEOINT well in advance of program need.
As an advocate for NGA GEOINT, I drafted correspondence leading to the successful revision of Defense Security Cooperation Agency policy, to include GEOINT as a critical component on their document checklist. This ensured military departments and defense agencies to coordinate in advance with NGA for materials and services requiring GEOINT. I briefed the NGA International Affair’s $6.6M GEOINT acquisition strategy to the U.S. Air Force leadership, detailing the deliverables timeline to satisfy validated geospatial requirements in support of the Royal Saudi Air Force $29.4B major weapon acquisition. I planned, prioritized, and managed projects containing GEOINT requirements for 25 programs, comprising of 12 countries, and financial obligation of $11.1M. In collaborating with the U.S. Air Force Program Manager, I accompanied the mission planning team to Saudi Arabia to meet with the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) regarding their F-15 Fleet Modernization Program
(FMP). During my visit I briefed RSAF engineers and a military forum regarding the compatibility of NGA data standards to support the unit-level mission planning for their fleet of 174 F-15 aircraft. Due to my hard work and success in supporting the RSAF F-15 FMP, the International Affairs KC included my contribution in their Top 5 FY-15 Accomplishments, and considered it as one of the Top 3 for the NGA Strategic Program Brief. I completed the Internal Control Program requirements for the Director of International Affairs/NGA FY16 Statement of Assurance to the Secretary of Defense. I evaluated and documented mission-essential processes and key internal control operational activities, to identify areas of risk associated with workforce procedures, for corrective action planning and resolution. I was instrumental in initiating a process improvement change by the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. This procedural change ensures the protection of NGA Limited Distribution data at all times. I attended the U.S. Pacific Command Capabilities Development Working Group (CDWG) and engaged with security cooperation representatives and service components from 10 countries in one-on-one discussions pertaining to GEOINT items of interest. During the CDWG I identified country security cooperation plan lines of effort requiring geospatial equities, and defined requirements NGA could support via its bilateral agreements. This action helps increase partner capacities, to improve interoperability and coalition building of allied forces within the PACOM AOR. I reviewed and evaluated requests for military departments and supporting civilian organizations, requiring geospatial foundational data to support platform capabilities of partner nations purchasing the F-35 aircraft. Additionally, I revised a memorandum for the F-35 Joint Program Office to utilize NGA Limited Distribution data in support of F-35 foreign partner training and demonstrations. I developed and streamlined the process of leveraging existing NGA international relationships to support foreign partner GEOINT requirements for the F-35 aircraft. Additionally, I recommended the strategy of engaging with F-35 partner nations, to consider the foreign sharing of its data with all foreign partners procuring the F-35 aircraft from the U.S. government. To date, two of the eleven purchasing countries has agreed to allow other F-35 purchasing countries to utilize its data, promoting the foreign sharing concept. I attended the 2016 U.S. Air Force LOAD Symposium on behalf of the Office of International Affairs. During the meeting, I addressed the panel expressing the importance of considering NGA as a key stakeholder, in all DOD security cooperation programs pertaining to GEOINT lines of interest. The panel agreed to add NGA as a key stakeholder, and now involves NGA in the participatory process of defining partner nation requirements, in furtherance of GEOINT contribution to U.S. and allied national security objectives.