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(U) Farewell from the S2 Technical Director
FROM: Jack Israel
Unknown
Run Date: 07/26/2004
(U//FOUO) Note from SIGINT Communications: Jack Israel sent the following note to the
Analysis & Production (S2) workforce on last week:
(U//FOUO) It's with a heavy heart that I want to inform you that I am leaving NSA after 25
years of service. I have been offered the job of Chief Technology Officer at the FBI, and it is an
opportunity I just could not pass up. In 25 years, one develops an enormous number of solid
friends and professional acquaintances, and my hope is that these relationships will endure
beyond this transition.
(S//SI) As many of you know, my passion as Technical Director for Analysis & Production for the
past 3 and a half years has been to build the stature of that position to positively influence the
corporation. Many often think that technical folks, subject matter experts, TDs, TLs or whatever
the appellation of the day is, do not have much authority or control. But I want to testify that
serving in all of those roles at one time or another in my career at NSA, you have more authority
and control than you think.
(S//SI) I've tested boundaries that I thought were there, and each time found out they were
only in my mind. I've been enabled to conquer significant language and analytic problems early
in my career, have a major impact on a critical new collection capability mid-career, and play a
key role in driving corporate solutions to problems late in my career. This isn't a checklist about
me, but a testament to the impact technical leaders can have anywhere when they put their
minds to it.
(C//SI) As I leave NSA, I would challenge you continue to test those "boundaries," and provide
leadership on the hard problems facing the agency. Don't shy away from them. If you don't take
the lead on solving information overload problems, complex analytic and language tasks, or
something like exploiting the Internet, nobody else will. Step into these hard challenges and fill
the gap. I'll be watching from a distance and rooting for your success.
God Bless,
Jack Israel
"(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