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(U) SID Leadership Visits USSTRATCOM
FROM:
Deputy Director for Customer Relationships
Run Date: 10/16/2003
(U//FOUO) Recently SID Director MG Quirk led a delegation from S1, S2, and S3 to visit one of
our newest customers, U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) . The purpose of our visit was
to gain a better understanding of the USSTRATCOM mission and to begin building a relationship
with this customer by exchanging information on their mission, their expectations for SIGINT
support , and NSA's capabilities to respond to their requirements for products and services. We
discussed these issues over the course of two days with Lt Gen Thomas Goslin, D/Commander
USSTRATCOM; RADM James McArthur, Director Global Operations; Brig Gen Kim McKenzie,
Director JFHQ-IO, RADL (s) Frank Drennan, Director Strike Plans, and several members of their
staffs.
(U//FOUO) It is not entirely true to say that USSTRATCOM - located on the former Strategic Air
Command (SAC) base in Omaha, Nebraska - is a new customer, since it assumed the missions
of some former commands. Changes to the Unified Command Plan, approved by SECDEF and
the President, disestablished USSPACECOM and created USNORTHCOM and USSTRATCOM on 1
October 2002. (See a related article for further background information.) In fact, one of the
most fascinating aspects of the visit was learning about the complex and multifaceted mission
that has been assigned to USSTRATCOM, a mission that demonstrates the virtual global nature
of today's targets enabled by a highly networked world.
(U//FOUO) USSTRATCOM's primary responsibility to provide national preemptive options to the
President and SECDEF will require an unprecedented level of global situational awareness. To
carry out its planning and coordination roles, USSTRATCOM will in effect be a virtual component
on the planning team of all other commands. During our visit, MG Quirk noted that
USSTRATCOM "has a unique assortment of missions with unique alertment requirements."
USSTRATCOM will continue to evolve its overarching, integrated operational concept and, on 4
January, report to the President and SECDEF on its status and readiness to fully assume these
missions.
(U//FOUO) Over the next few months, SID organizations will be working with USSTRATCOM
through the NCR
to improve lines of communication, examine the skill and
manning needs of the Cryptologic Service Group (CSG) serving USSTRATCOM, perform an
intelligence needs assessment with the Command, and develop mutually beneficial information
sharing and collaborative analytic activities. A USSTRATCOM survey team will visit NSA in the
upcoming weeks to look at analytic tools and also determine where it would be mutually
beneficial to integrate USSTRATCOM analysts into SID.
(U//FOUO) This highly successful visit resulted in both a better understanding of requirements
and capabilities on the part of both USSTRATCOM and SID and set in motion a range of actions
that will strengthen our partnership in achieving the desired SIGINT outcomes for this command
and our nation. If you have questions about USSTRATCOM, please contact Account Manager
or visit the NCR STRATCOM web site .
(U//FOUO) Note from SIGINT Communications: see also a related article from NSA/CSS
STRATCOM .
"(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