In a highly secure room within the Washington National Guard's Information Operations Readiness Center, a space closed to those without the proper clearance, a public celebration highlighted a major milestone and accomplishment. With the opening of a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility within the IORC, the Washington National Guard became a national leader in information sharing.
"The concept of this SCIF and building go part and parcel. Around 1998-1999, Washington state leaders of the information operations, intelligence, and IT communities, and others came together to define what was needed to leverage the talent within information operations and associated units," said Col. Gerald Dezsofi, commander, 56th Theater Information Operations Group. "This is a major milestone in capacity, as well as the first Joint Reserve Intelligence Center location with two SCIFs in the nation."
State leadership and Col Deborah Cricklin, chief of the Joint Reserve Intelligence Program and Integration Office, gave the final approval in July of 2017 for the expansion of secured networks and communications from the Camp Murray Joint Reserve Intelligence Center to the Information Operations Readiness Center Annex.
"This building and the SCIF facility is a chance for us to pay tribute and say thank you to all our intelligence and cyber professionals in the Washington Army National Guard," said Maj. Gen. Bret Daugherty, the adjutant general, Washington National Guard. "The work you do is important."
With the changing landscape of information and intelligence, the Washington National Guard's 341st Military Intelligence Battalion citizen-soldiers need to stay on the front line. More is asked of intelligence professionals than ever before. Combatant commanders want to ensure the most accurate and timely intelligence for their soldiers on the ground, and that the mission can be accomplished anywhere in the world.
"The JRIC infrastructure provides a 'train as you fight' environment utilizing the same systems as parent commands and enables analyst-to-analyst integration across the intelligence community," said Dezsofi. "This allows operational intelligence to be transferred in near real time to supported commands and warfighters, amplifying the value of reach back. The benefits of this collaboration is that reserve military intelligence assets remain trained and ready, giving the supported commands a force multiplier and strategic depth to deal with new and emerging missions."
Along with the dedication ceremony of the SCIF, the Washington National Guard's Camp Murray JRIC was named the "Small JRIC of the Year" by the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Each year since 2002, the Joint Reserve Intelligence Program, Defense Intelligence Agency, has awarded the "Director's Award for Joint Reserve Intelligence Center of the Year." This award recognizes outstanding contributions made by the JRICs in support of reserve intelligence operations and training.
"As (Brigadier General Jeremy Horn) says, relevance equals retention," said Dezsofi. "The JRIC concept alleviates cold starts, leaving no military intelligence soldier or airman at rest, while ensuring continuity of effort in support of today's warfighter."
Social Sharing