AMCOM Operations Security Officer's Proactive Efforst Win National Award

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Redstone Arsenal's only Level III-certified Operations Security instructor has been put on notice by the Army for a national award recognizing his accomplishments in support of the Aviation and Missile Command and Team Redstone.

Paul Quintel, who has worked as the AMCOM OPSEC officer in the Force Protection Office since 2007, placed first in the Army-wide National OPSEC Awards Program competition for Individual Achievement. His nomination packet was submitted by AMCOM commander Brig. Gen. Douglas Gabram with assistance from AMCOM G-3 (Operations) division chief Bill Marrero.

"OPSEC plays a vital role in ensuring mission success and Mr. Quintel is the driving force behind a very proactive AMCOM OPSEC program," Gabram wrote. "His knowledge, attention to detail and ability to demonstrate to the workforce the importance of OPSEC, not only at work but in the home, has enabled AMCOM to protect not only the warfighters, but also those supporting them."

Quintel, who is known by many for the "Think OPSEC" purple scrubs that he wears and the purple OPSEC dragon doll that he carries with him to OPSEC training classes, often uses humor and real-life scenarios to teach the serious subject of OPSEC. Besides his Level III instructor credentials, he is also a credentialed Physical Security inspector, a certified Antiterrorism Level II officer and an Army-certified master instructor. He often provides training at other DOD organizations as well as in local schools.

"I was first nominated for this award in 2012 and I came in third place," Quintel said. "At that time, I was recognized as one of the top three OPSEC officers across the Army. Now, I'm recognized as the top OPSEC officer across the Army. Not everybody competes for the award, but of those who did I came out at the top.

"I couldn't have done that without the support of AMCOM leadership, the AMCOM OPSEC working group and the AMCOM workforce. This award represents a team effort across the board."

After the first competition, Quintel had an idea of what the judges were looking for and, with three additional years of experience and building the AMCOM OPSEC program, his leadership decided it was time to compete again.

In 2015, there were some over-the-top accomplishments for AMCOM's OPSEC program. I also had a lot more experience and, since I was Level III OPSEC certified, I was able to conduct two OPSEC Level II classes, so this was a good year to submit another nomination packet," he said.

Those over-the-top accomplishments include becoming qualified to teach and then teaching OPSEC Level II classes at Redstone, which reduced the number of instructors needed for the class from the Army's OPSEC Support Element. He also assisted with the development and production of an OPSEC video entitled "Why OPSEC?," performed more than 75 OPSEC reviews on information to be released to the public and developed local procedures to ensure new contract requirement packages contained the proper OPSEC standards.

Besides those 2015 accomplishments, since his first nomination in 2012, Quintel has also overseen an AMCOM OPSEC training program that has trained more than 8,000 employees, achieving 100 percent compliance with the annual training requirement, and has assisted in the planning and has co-chaired all three annual Team Redstone Operations Security Days and led the AMCOM OPSEC working group.

"I try to think outside-the-box to come up with ways to teach OPSEC so that our employees remember to be OPSEC aware," Quintel said. "OPSEC is something I'm very passionate about and dedicated to teaching others. It is so important to safeguard all information that is mission critical. That's a message I want to remind employees of at all times.

"This isn't my job. It's a way of life for me. I really enjoy what I do helping to change the mindset of AMCOM and Team Redstone employees so that they notice things and are aware of things. That's the first step in OPSEC."

Quintel is a retired Marine who served as an electronic technician/maintenance chief for Air Defense Weapons Systems.

"I worked on the HAWK missile systems. That gave me a great background for providing technical OPSEC reviews," said Quintel, who was also a certified master instructor for the HAWK system.

Before coming to AMCOM, he worked as an industrial security specialist for a defense contractor. In 2004, he was assigned by his employer to work in the AMCOM Force Protection Office. In 2007, he became a Department of the Army civilian, working for AMCOM as a security specialist.

Quintel stresses his accomplishments as AMCOM's OPSEC officer are possible only because AMCOM leadership supports his efforts at building the best OPSEC program in the Army.

"The key to the whole thing is that my leadership lets me do my job and to do my job better all the time. This award builds a reputation for AMCOM as a leader in Army OPSEC," Quintel said.