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(S) OEF/OIF Lessons Learned Conference Recap
FROM:
Customer Gateway
Run Date: 10/15/2003
(C) NSA hosted the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) Operation Enduring
Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) SIGINT Lessons Learned Conference from 9
through 11 September. Attendees represented CENTCOM, CENTCOM components, Special
Operations Forces, the Army Technical Control and Analysis Element (ATCAE), the Service
Cryptologic Elements, GCHQ, Integrated Broadcast Special Support Office (IBSSO), CIA, DIA,
Menwith Hill Station, Denver Mission Ground Station, Gordon RSOC, and many organizations
here at NSAW. Total attendance for the three days was over 270 personnel.
(S) The purpose of the conference, captured in
(SIGINT collection manager
at CENTCOM's Joint Intelligence Center) opening remarks was to highlight SIGINT operations
through the eyes of many national-tactical players across the "extended enterprise" and assess
and document what NSA did well - as well as identify areas where things could have been done
better.
was followed by
from NSA's Office of Information Management
who welcomed CENTCOM and the other participants and highlighted two major themes from
the Tiger Team Review of the NSA-submitted lessons learned:
the value of collaboration during the campaign and
the many new initiatives developed to support the war efforts.
(S) The format of the conference was a series of briefings by participants at all levels
highlighting the various roles SIGINT played in both campaigns, focusing discussion on what
was done right and what still needed attention. It was obvious by the lively discussion and
debate that there was a great deal of passion for the topics that surfaced. In terms of overall
success themes in SIGINT support for the warfighter , the conference identified the value
of:
the GEO Cell,
continuous interaction using tools such as ZIRCON (mentioned several times as being
critical to success),
making the warfighter smarter about what NSA can and cannot do, and
the warfighter making NSA smarter about their operations and key information needs,
SIGINT herding,
the federated SIGINT operations (national-tactical integration and embedding analysts
forward for the critical expertise in military operations to know where and when to apply
SIGINT),
advance planning for Overhead assets,
Quick Reaction Capability (QRC) packages,
the CENTCOM Theater Coordination Collection Architecture,
the value of GRSOC as a model for RSOC warfighter support operations, and
what was characterized as the "best (SIGINT) planning to date."
(S) Among the issues mentioned in the "needs improvement" category were:
database access by tactical assets,
relevant SIGINT product in a coalition environment (NOFORN, tearline, and SIPRNet
issues),
exploitation of HF,
advanced training,
modernization of the threat warning architecture using web-based capabilities,
National SIGINT Requirements Process (NSRP) and the RFI management process,
the tardy introduction of Info Work Space, and
the need for national connection to SIGINT airborne assets.
(U//FOUO) Mr. Charles Berlin, SID Chief of Staff thanked all attendees for the outstanding
discussion and pledged that NSA would continue working to improve warfighter support.
"(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