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(U) CANSLOW Can't Slow Down!
FROM:
Deputy Liaison Officer - CANSLOW
Run Date: 12/20/2004
(U//FOUO) From August through December 2003, SID today published a series of articles on
Second Party SIGINT Cooperation. Canada's Communications Security Establishment (CSE) had
its turn in the limelight on August 27 (see article) . However, the CSE article had a glaring
omission: it didn't say anything about us! We're the Canadian Special Liaison Office , better
known as CANSLOW, and we're right here at NSA HQ, on the seventh floor of Ops 2B -- next
door to the UK Liaison Office .
(U//FOUO) Articles about NSA's Second Party partners often start in the past, with a historical
overview of the partnership. While we value CSE's shared history with NSA and believe that
there is much to learn from it, CANSLOW's focus is on the future. The Chief of CSE has made
CANSLOW accountable for the health of the CSE-NSA partnership, and that means not just
keeping it alive and well today, but ensuring that it continues strong and productive for years to
come.
(U//FOUO) But what is a healthy partnership? Another article in last year's SID today series
mentioned "the continued effectiveness of cryptologic collaboration." Effective collaboration is
definitely part of our healthy partnership, but we think there's even more to it. NSA is CSE's
most important cryptologic partner, and we in turn want NSA to view CSE as an important
partner -- not just historically, or anecdotally, but in real, current, and practical terms.
CANSLOW is working with CSE HQ to develop a partnership framework which will entrench a
corporate culture of always seeking opportunities to make valuable, tangible contributions to
NSA.
(U//FOUO) And how does a liaison office keep a partnership healthy? In many ways, it's like
keeping a person healthy. Just as a good doctor will know as much as possible about the person,
CANSLOW gathers information on the most bilaterally relevant activities and plans at both NSA
and CSE, through research and contact with subject-matter experts on both sides of the border.
That's a tall order for a team of six! Currently our office comprises Senior Liaison Officer (LO)
Michael Doucet, four Deputy LOs (
,
LtCol
and
), and our office administrator
.
(U//FOUO) We divide the load based on our respective expertise in SIGINT, INFOSEC, and
enabling corporate functions. LtCol
is a recent addition to our team as CANSLOW's
first-ever military liaison officer, allowing us to greatly increase our knowledge and
understanding of the military aspects of our partnership. However, we still see room to improve,
so over the next few months we will be taking a fresh look at our organizational structure,
staffing, and division of effort, with a view to evolving a more strategically-focused CANSLOW.
(U//FOUO) Of course, CANSLOW may be the partnership's "general practitioner", but we don't
pretend to be the expert authorities on all business lines. Just as your family doctor might
consult with other physicians or even refer you to a specialist, CANSLOW is part of a network of
CSE people and organizations who all have a part to play in keeping the partnership healthy. In
fact, CSE employees and managers are encouraged to establish and maintain peer-to-peer
partnerships with their NSA counterparts, and CANSLOW then supports them in these
partnerships in myriad ways.
(U//FOUO) Another example of the team approach to partnership health is the annual
NSA/CSE SIGINT bilateral , which this year was held at NSAW on 15-16 November. The bilat
brings our respective SIGINT leaders and counterpart managers together to discuss SIGINT
issues that both agencies have identified as priorities, while CANSLOW plays a supporting role helping with advance preparations, attending the meetings, and tracking follow-on actions. A
report on this year's NSA/CSE SIGINT bilateral will be posted on SID today soon.
(U//FOUO) There is much more going on in CANSLOW, but as a final example of how a liaison
office keeps a partnership healthy (and to put this medical analogy out of its misery...),
everyone needs to eat, and CANSLOW applies this prescription for health quite literally to our
bilateral partnership! One of our most pleasant duties is to host hospitality events, which we see
as an opportunity to thank our good NSA partners for their support and contributions. Even if
you've never had a chance to attend one of our events, our door is always open, we'd love to
hear from you, and you never know what kind of Canadian delicacies (see somewhat-related
article) we might have in the office on any given day!
(U) The Canadian and CSE flags.
"(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