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(U//FOUO) You Can't Keep the NSC Waiting!.. A Day in the Life of a
GRSOC Analyst
FROM:
Deputy Chief, GRSOC Digital Network Intelligence Center
Run Date: 12/15/2003
(TS//SI) "The National Security Council is interested in a Qeshm Air
SERIES:
flight from Iran to Syria tonight that is probably carrying a load of
(U) A Day in the Life of...
weapons for the Hezballah. You need to cover the flight and report
everything you get. CIA is standing by to pass your reports to Ms.
Rice." The NSOC Senior Operations Officer was clear and to the
1. Office Manager:
point. He wasn't concerned that my duty day had ended and I was
Jack-of-All-Trades
on my way home. As the senior analyst in GRSOC's Iranian Military
2. The Life of An Exec
Division, J3O3, it was my responsibility to make sure the NSC got
3. Working as a Policy
what they wanted.
Analyst: One
Person's Perspective
(S//SI) I immediately grabbed the team chief working the Iranian
4. Data Flow Manager:
Air Force mission, who had the misfortune of working a little late,
The Data Fairy?
and we started developing our game plan to cover the flight. Since
5. Mathematician: An
the GRSOC collection manager was gone for the day, we placed a
Insider's View
conference call to the Overhead Collection Management Center and
6. NSA Linguists
discussed our collection needs. We had to cover all possible
'Panning for Gold'
frequencies, routes, and SIGINT tipping and reporting procedures
7. Plenty of Action on
for the flight, as well as coordinate with the Syrian shop within
the Action Team
GRSOC as they would cover the plane once it entered Syrian air
8. On The Collection
space. Our shift linguists and analysts were gone for the day so the
(Officer's) Plate
team chief would cover the collection and language work. I would
9. Sitting in the SOO's
man the shift reporting position and issue KLIEGLIGHTS (a timeChair
sensitive reporting vehicle) on the flight, tip NSOC and the Syrian
10. You Can't Keep the
shop, write the end-product reports and send email information
NSC Waiting!.. A Day
directly to senior officials at CIA to pass on to the NSC. The
in the Life of a
pressure was immense but I loved every minute of it. (Yes, we
GRSOC Analyst
covered the flight and gave the NSC exactly the information they
needed!)
(S//SI) Every day wasn't quite that intense, but each day did
present unique challenges. Since US military commanders and
adimistration officials were never quite sure how Iran, the third
member of the "Axis of Evil," would react to the US Global War on
Terrorism it was my responsibility to make sure any anticipated or
actual reaction to US forces was reportedly as quickly and
accurately as possible. In order to do this, I had to provide
technical and end-product reporting guidance to a team of military
and civilian analysts working at least two shifts - days and swings.
On the surface this seemed quite easy, but the fact that 75 percent
of our analysts were first term military members straight out of
technical training made it more challenging. Guidance had be
comprehensive enough to cover all required items but simple
enough for a junior analyst to understand in the middle of the
night during some high-interest activity. I would then have to
review their reporting and provide feedback that would correct any
problems yet not discourage their efforts.
(S//SI) I would also edit reports prior to release and often had to
assist the various teams by producing reports on a variety of topics
from an Iranian Air Force assessment of US airborne SIGINT
operations to the status of air defense weapons guarding the
nuclear facility under construction in the port city of Bushehr.
(S//SI) Working as an analyst at GRSOC gives you the opportunity
to fully experience the SIGINT process - GET IT, KNOW IT, USE IT.
There aren't many places outside of NSOC that have given me such
a personal and professional sense of accomplishment. If you're
looking for a challenge, I couldn't recommend a location better
than this one!
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108