Photo By Christopher Gillis | Army Maj. Chris McLean, DCSA Reserve Integration Office (RIO) officer-in-charge, is...... read more read more
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Did you know that the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) – a DOD agency comprising more than 8,000 government civilians and defense contractors – is supported by military reservists on active duty who have joined their active duty Air Force counterparts to make an impact across the agency?
Who are the reservists, where and how are they supporting the agency, and what are their perspectives about DCSA’s mission and impact on national security?
The current military team at DCSA includes the following reservists on active duty: Army Lt. Col. Jason Miller, senior contract specialist at the Office of Acquisition and Contracting; Army Maj. Remilekun Bankole, senior contract specialist at the Program Executive Office; Army Maj. Chris McLean, Reserve Integration Office (RIO) officer-in-charge; Virginia Army National Guard Capt. Nicholas Rivera, a 508 compliance officer at the Diversity and Equal Opportunity Office; Army Master Sgt. Vida Kwarteng, non-commissioned officer-in-charge and executive assistant at the Background Investigations Directorate; Army Sgt. 1st Class Travis Kelly, RIO non-commissioned officer-in-charge; Army Sgt. 1st Class Jenifer Valega, an analyst at the Counterintelligence and Insider Threat Directorate’s Counterespionage Branch; Air Force Staff Sgt. Clement Addo, a cyber-specialist at the Office of the Chief Information Officer; and Army Sgt. Adrianna D’Baron, executive assistant at the DCSA Director’s Office.
Now, let’s find out about their reserve support to the agency along with some of their perceptions and points of view that have developed since starting on active duty at DCSA, bearing in mind that some reservists are fairly new to the agency while others are well into their three-year tours.
“We are able to improve the DCSA mission by finding solid military personnel for numerous mission areas,” said McLean. “These service members often bring substantial civilian-world experience and at a lower cost than government or contractor choices.”
McLean and Kelly’s RIO mission to facilitate reserve support requires coordination with agency leaders and the military services to develop full-time orders approved for reservists to support DCSA requirements. At that point, they advertise and find reservists who are interested and motivated to do so. Moreover, their coordination to integrate military reserve and National Guard support in the agency includes reserve drills – often two day stints – as well as annual training orders which normally run from two to three week assignments.
“Being at the foundational level means that we can ensure that the DCSA military force is relevant and impactful,” said McLean. “We ensure that reservists can bring agency knowledge back to their units and that DCSA can learn from a variety of other agency and military experiences. This has been the best job that I have had – one in which I get to build something not only lasting, but that can pivot with new program experiences.”
The reservists who volunteered for DCSA orders coordinated by McLean and Kelly reflected on the impact they are having on DCSA and how the agency impacts their careers.
• “It’s exciting being part of building a newer agency,” said Miller, an acquisition and business advisor who develops acquisition strategies at DCSA to provide customers contract solutions tailored to their requirement and funding in accordance with the federal acquisition regulation.
“My experience in Army program offices and writing requirements for an Army signal command allows me to understand and relate to our customers,” said Miller, in his second month at DCSA. “These orders are an excellent opportunity to broaden my professional experiences that will add to the skill set for my civilian position with the Army.”
• “As a warfighter, my first and foremost responsibility is to serve and protect, which is in line with DCSA’s mission considering the footprint we cover as an agency,” said Bankole, who coordinates activities for the DCSA program executive officer while supporting the chief of staff's strategic vision for the agency. “Guided by the U.S. Army values, I am aligned with the unwavering integrity and passion DCSA gives to the American people. DCSA is open to new ideas and it’s great to see that my perspective, background and experiences are welcomed to strengthen diversity, which births great ideas with no boundaries. This cultural innovation influences a high level of willingness and ability to be more agile in problem-solving and providing results.”
Bankole supports and assists with management cost, schedule, design, development and testing at DCSA. His goal is to deliver innovative enterprise enabling services, operations and business information technology systems that efficiently fulfill DCSA's mission.
“Working with DCSA is a high calling knowing how it affects the citizens of the United States of America,” he said. “It is very rewarding to contribute to this cause and it will be an honor for any warfighter to join the team of the national gatekeepers who create security against foes who are foreign and domestic, thereby making the country safe.”
• Rivera, a former enlisted infantryman who became a military intelligence officer expert in personnel security, joined DCSA as a new addition to the Diversity and Equal Opportunity Directorate as the 508 compliance coordinator. Rivera – who deployed to Iraq and Kuwait and in his civilian capacity served as a Norfolk, Va., police officer – is focused on creating a foundation for accessibility and inclusion for persons with disabilities to eliminate barriers in information and communication technology.
• “I ensure that all administrative actions, as well as taskers, are complete and all products are presented at the highest standards on behalf of the Background Investigations (BI) Directorate,” said Kwarteng, who serves as executive assistant to the BI director in support of the BI Executive Secretary Team’s administrative functions.
“I’ve learned to take a different approach in requesting information or input,” Kwarteng recounted. “The military approach is extremely direct and that can be taken a different way in a more civilian-lead organization. My DCSA tour of duty has certainly helped in expanding my range of professionalism. This opportunity allowed me to see another area of contributions toward defense that I was completely unaware of, and how it directly impacts our national security.”
• “I’m impacting DCSA network operations by managing real time network security solutions while making decisions on projects that affect the daily operation of DCSA,” said Addo, a cybersecurity specialist who sets up new background investigation sites; works on network devices; monitors network outages; manages network projects; secures DCSA network devices and manages projects.
“While performing my duties at the agency, I’ve been enlightened on how to continue paying attention to details on simple information that is taken for granted,” said Addo. “I’m learning more on how to manage people and projects’ processes.”
• "Building the Reserve Integration Office for DCSA is a once in a career opportunity,” said RIO senior enlisted advisor Kelly, who supports DCSA by leveraging military reserve and national guard talent during drill, annual training and full time orders. “I am honored to be part of something that will long outlast my time in uniform.”
Kelly served in Korea and Fort Bliss, Texas, as a senior intelligence analyst and security manager. While in the Army Reserve, he was a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist instructor and a career counselor. As a civilian, he held several positions supporting the personnel vetting mission, including a DCSA position as a Federal Background Investigator Training Program instructor.
• “I love working for DCSA and the opportunity to provide critical administrative assistance to the front office,” said D’Baron, an information technology specialist who currently assumes the duties and responsibilities of the DCSA chief of staff’s executive assistant. As one of the first activated reservists in DCSA, D’Baron acts as a liaison between the agency and the U.S. armed forces.
• “The opportunity to use all the skills acquired from both my reserve training and civilian experience to better serve our nation has been not only rewarding but vital,” said Valega, recently assigned as a special agent to the Counterespionage Branch. “As a reservist on active duty at DCSA, you get to be a part of the mission to safeguard the U.S., its workforce and trusted civilians from our nation’s adversaries and their attempts to compromise sensitive national security information and technologies. DCSA truly is an agency with purpose and a place where you can learn from your supervisors and peers alike, which is something individuals in this profession should always seek out.”
Valega is responsible for providing counterespionage and counterintelligence functional services to the national DCSA enterprise. She conducts an array of counterintelligence services, to include pre-briefs and debriefings for foreign travel; incident assessment activities; awareness and reporting; and collection in order to deter, identify, disrupt, exploit and neutralize foreign intelligence entities attempting to conduct intelligence activities against DCSA information, operations, facilities, systems and personnel.
| Date Taken: | 09.13.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2022 13:39 |
| Story ID: | 429204 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 493 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Military Reservists Positively Impact DCSA's National Security Mission, by John Joyce, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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