ST. LOUIS – Leaders from the Missouri National Guard and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) gathered at Jefferson Barracks on March 6 to celebrate the opening of a new Joint Reserve Intelligence Center.
“Armor and artillery are no longer the king and queen of battle,” said Army Maj. Gen. Steve Danner, the adjutant general of Missouri. “The front lines are here. No longer are we protected by two oceans – the world has changed, and technology has changed."
The ceremony included Army Maj. Gen. Francis McGinn, the mobilization assistant to the DIA director, and Air Force Col. Deborah Cricklin, the chief of the DIA joint reserve intelligence program, as well as reservists with the Air Force and Navy, who will train and operate from the facility alongside Missouri National Guardsmen.
"This ribbon cutting is not an end of our efforts, but marks a new beginning,” said McGinn.