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(U) They've Got Your Number
FROM: SIGINT Communications
Unknown
Run Date: 09/15/2005
(U) Property officers throughout SID have a tough job, but manage to manage SID's equipment.
(U) Do you remember the last scene from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when the US government
takes the ark "to be studied"? However, the ark ends up in a huge warehouse among thousands
upon thousands of boxes, never to be seen again. Well, the people in S02S1 are ensuring that
similar scenarios do not happen here at NSA.
(U//FOUO) The 10-man strong SID Property Office, led by
work hard all year round
to track, catalog, database and locate SID property. We're not talking desks and phones and
chairs. SID property is considered any piece of electronic equipment that has a price tag over
$5,000. In SID alone, that is almost 40,000 pieces. How do just ten people manage all that?
(U//FOUO) The answer is, "They don't." Supporting the Property Office are more than 190
property officers located throughout SID. The officers ensure that all property in their branch,
division or office is identified. It is a huge job for these officers and is mostly taken on as a
collateral duty - sometimes volunteering and sometimes being volunteered. The officers track
equipment from when it enters the NSA system until it is disposed of.
(U//FOUO) The job seems almost impossible. Millions of dollars worth of equipment enter SID
every year, not to mention the billions of dollars worth of equipment that are already in place
and must be accounted for. When you add to that the number of people in SID who move
offices, PCS or hate signing hand receipts and the number of reorganizations that occur, it is a
wonder equipment can be accounted for at all.
(U//FOUO) But account for it they do. In fact, the property office has made tremendous strides
in the last two years that would astound even the most cynical bean-counter. Just a couple
years ago in 2002, there were 1,228 missing items in SID worth more than $27 million dollars.
Millions of dollars just plain missing.
(U//FOUO) This year, however, the numbers have dropped dramatically. The property officers
throughout SID have reduced the number of missing items to just 128! From 1,228 missing
items to just 128. That adds up to $1.5 million dollars - still a lot, but a far cry from the $27
million in 2002. 99.75% of all SID property is now accounted for.
(U//FOUO) To achieve such stellar results takes a lot of hard, sometimes tedious, work and
close cooperation. Before being tasked with property officer duties, all personnel must first go
through training. In addition, there is a much closer engagement between managers and the
Property Office than in the past. The yearly inventory "kick-offs" and the ability to post
information to the Property Webpage have helped to save SID millions of dollars.
(U//FOUO) To reward these incredible results, the Chief of SIGINT Support,
planned an awards breakfast for SID property officers on 6 September. Each property officer was
given a Letter of Appreciation and a SID coin. Ms Karyn Vice, SID Chief of Staff, and Mr. Joe
Brand, Deputy for Operations and Support, spoke at the breakfast.
(U//FOUO) Ms. Vice emphasized the phenomenal statistics and the savings to SID and the
Agency. She also noted the need and importance of hand-receipting all SID property, especially
laptops and PDAs (personal digital assistants). Mr. Brand ended the morning by telling the
property officers that being a property officer, "Is not a thankless job. It is an outstanding job,
day in and day out. Your hard work gives DIRNSA the ability to say before Congress that NSA
can account for our property."
"(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