Vic Socotra

Gentle Readers,

My apologies. The day-job and travel to the ate the Sunday Socotra, and a pal who is Going to the Show gave me some material I wanted to work up for my other part-time pro bono job. If you have not been following the events overseas with any great fidelity- it is summer, after all, I think the following is a nice appreciation of how some of our people- an increasingly small percentage of our nation- have been spending their summer break.

Cheers,

Vic

The Gold Standard:

Joint Intelligence Center Tampa Change of Command
26 July 2009

On the 16th of July, 2009, a momentous change of command ceremony was held at McDill AFB with profound significance for Naval and Joint warfighting. Recently selected for flag rank, outgoing JICCENT Commander CAPT Paul Becker is summoned to join the “Dream Team” of US military officers summoned to manage the decisive response to the Taliban in Afghanistan. He leaves JICCENT in the capable hands of CAPT Brett Heimbigner, USN , whose command will provide direct support to those operations.

Pictured above are the men and women of JICCENT, assembled before “The Vince,” the impressive new headquarters facility dedicated to the memory of one of the first military casualties of the Global War on Terror. LCDR Otis “Vince” Tolbert, USN, perished with six other naval intelligence personnel on watch at CNO-IP on 9/11. Former Director of Naval Intelligence Richard Porterfield once called them “Our magnificent seven.”

This Change of Command, following the hallowed traditions of the Naval Service, is set against the backdrop of a resurgent land war in once of the most inhospitable regions of the world. Marines, soldiers and Special Operations personnel of all services are carrying the war to a resurgent enemy, on the ground where the response to the attacks on America began.

Left to right: Rear Admiral (Select) Paul B. Beckeer, USN, General David Petraeus, USA, CAPT Brett Heimbigner, USN

Remarks by RDML (Sel) Paul Becker:

(Acknowledgements to distinguished guests, family and the men and women of JICCENT)

“…JICCENT isn’t just successful; it’s the “gold standard.” What makes this command “the gold standard” is our people … our people who exemplify three things, teamwork, tone and tenacity. I’ll discuss the three T’s later.

…There are two stories I haven’t yet shared that highlight some command and control issues for a first-time commander.

…The first occurred in literally my first weekend on the job. I was in this HQ and thirsty for a coke from a vending machine. I needed some quarters. I was in uniform, and went down to the watch floor and asked one of the sergeants if I could exchange a dollar bill for four quarters. He leaned back in his chair and responded, “Dude, sure thing …here-ya-go.” I mentioned quietly that I’m sure he could rephrase his response to the commanding officer. So I asked again, “Sergeant, do you have four quarters for a dollar?”

This time he was much more professional, stood at attention, then promptly responded, “Sir, no Sir!”

Now, fast forward about a year and half. I’m on temporary duty at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. I’m driving in a sedan on my way to a meeting, was a bit unfamiliar with the roads, and got the car stuck in the mud on one of the route’s soggy shoulders. As fate would have it, this same Sergeant, now a Staff Sergeant happens to be driving by. He dismounts his vehicle, walks over, and begins to laugh when asking, “Hey Boss, too bad, is that your car stuck in the mud?”

I called him in closer, handed him the stuck vehicle’s keys and told him, “No, Staff Sergeant, sorry, that’s your car!”

So, when in command, Brett, I’d caution you that the rolling stones got it right when they said, “you can’t always get what you want, but you get what you need.”

…General Petraeus, no song this time, I promise. Sir, I had the good fortune to learn from Admiral James Stockdale along my path and he turned me into a big fan of the ancient Greeks, especially the stoics, and they described a man of integrity who not only lived life, but one who lived life to his fullest performance. And contrary to the modern perception of integrity (the perception of one dimensional seriousness), the true man of integrity is one who integrates an easygoing nature, sense of humor, intellect, athleticism and reflects a thoughtful set of preferences for himself, his family and his nation.   So thank you for being JICCENT’s - and our Nation’s - exemplar of integrity.

And now to the men and women of JICCENT. I mentioned earlier you are intelligence’s “gold standard” organization.   But organizations don’t accomplish things. People accomplish things. And that’s why I’m just kvelling, Yiddish for bursting with pride, to be a part of the amazing team pictured on the cover of this program, a picture that highlights organizations don’t accomplish things, people accomplish things.

JICCENT officers, enlisted, active, reserve, government employees and contractors accomplish things by providing analytic effort, continuity and results against our nation’s very toughest problems. JICCENT people accomplish things in Tampa, and when serving in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, in Iraq, and throughout the CENTCOM AOR.

It is JICCENT people who accomplish things by gaining a comprehensive understanding of the issues so that we may develop comprehensive solutions.

And JICCENT people accomplish things with the Three T’s … teamwork, toneand tenacity.

First, Teamwork: JICCENT: our teammates, our partners, aren’t just under this roof. You’ve expanded our network through outreach to others within the U.S., with our coalition partners, and in our theater’s many combat zones. In modern warfare, no one wins alone. Our success depends on our networks, on our teamwork. And our teamwork has allowed us to share, learn and adapt our business practices to support all manners of operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq and against other threats in the region.

I was going to list many of those specific accomplishments but our disclosure and security office edited my speech and I can’t go into those details … but please know our teamwork has never been better.

Next, Tone: there are very few, if any, U.S.-based intelligence commands who work as hard as JICCENT. We laugh at the end every Friday with our standard farewell of, “Have a nice weekend, see you tomorrow!”

We work harder than others, because CENTCOM’s issues are harder than others. We work hard because our enemies keep changing … and as a result we must keep changing in order to win. And change is hard, and change is constant … and change can really test one’s tone.    And through this change, we never lose our cool with each other; we never lose our focus on professionalism and respect for our teammates. I’m always awed by how well you treat each other under the toughest of circumstances. Nothing speaks more to your character than the way you support each other and allow your calm and courteousness to be contagious … and that’s … good tone.

And now the Third T, tenacity: in the intelligence business it takes a lot of effort to gain a little understanding.   And JICCENT, you've provided CENTCOM and nation a lot of understanding. We achieve this understanding not because everyone is uniquely blessed with raw intellect, or technical know-how, or are steeped in regional experience (although there are some of you with all three), but we gain understanding more often than not because of our tenacity.

I never saw a JICCENTer take a knee, never saw a JICCENTer give excuses, never saw a JICCENTer take a day off when the mission was hanging in the balance.   Cal Ripken Jr. would be proud. Cal was the greatest not because of size, speed, or coordination, but because of his tenacity, because of his grit and resolve. Cal's Hall of Fame plaque describes why he was one of the greatest, and JICCENT's personnel are cut from the same cloth.

The opening two sentences of Cal’s plaque read: "arrived every day with an intense desire to achieve at the highest levels. His dedication and work ethic resulted in..." and what follows are just statistics. But at the core of Cal’s greatness, at the core of JICCENT's greatness, is that desire, that dedication and work ethic focused on achieving at the highest levels every day, never taking a knee, never taking a day off, never failing to meet mission. That’sTenacity.

So JICCENT, in closing I encourage you to re-dedicate yourselves to keep achieving at the highest levels. Because we are in a war with an enemy giving it their all to win; they are practicing their version of unlimited warfare.   Now in this war we have limits, rightful limits on the way we fight; limits on target sets, collateral damage, rules of engagements, etc.

But there must not be, there cannot be any limit on our dedication and obligation to achieve at the highest level; to understand and share knowledge of the enemy, to understand and share knowledge of the human terrain, to understand and share knowledge of our adversaries’ networks … and understand that JICCENT’s intelligence must not only be dedicated to war planning and to war fighting, but JICCENT intelligence must be dedicated to war winning.   So on this proudest day of my career, JICCENT, during my last few minutes in command, I want more than anything else to once again praise your valor, your commitment to intelligence excellence, your reinforcement of JICCENT’s reputation as “the Gold Standard,” and your tremendousTeamwork, Tone and Tenacity.

Thank you.

I will now read my orders. From: commander naval personnel command to CAPT Paul Becker, USN. Bupers orders #1983. When directed, detach from joint intelligence center central command in July 2009, for duty as directed in Afghanistan.”

After exchanging the customary salute acknowledging the transfer of Command, CAPT Becker reported his proper relief to General Petraeus, and CAPT Brett Heimbigner reported for duty. The new JICCENT Commander strode to the podium, and made these brief remarks of introduction in the tradition of the arriving Commander:

“Thank you all for joining us on this very special day. It is a privilege and honor to serve as the JICCENT Commanding Officer. I have much to be thankful for:

First, this ceremony is about the outgoing commander. RDML (Sel) Paul Becker has led JICCENT with unmatched effectiveness and great enthusiasm for its people and mission for two years. He is always quick to recognize the many whom are so talented and dedicated. Paul, thank you for your mentoring and support to all of us; I particularly appreciate you building this impressive new building for me. By the way, you should not be at all concerned about Gen McCrystal’s legendary appetite for intelligence and his incredible capacity to operate on little sleep for that matter.”

(Acknowledges the Heimbigner family)

“So much credit is due to all whom I’ve worked with over the years, but the intelligence departments of Attack Squadron 94 embarked on the USSEnterprise, Carrier Air Wing SEVEN embarked on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Navy Special Mission Unit and joint special operations command standout most prominently, probably because each one of those units deployed to the CENTCOM area of operations and engaged in combat.

A special thanks is due to the joint and interagency men and women of what is commonly known as “The Task Force” where I served as the J2 for countering al-Qaida in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and across al-Qaida’s extended network. Many JICCENT and interagency task force alums are amongst us today – a wild ride to be sure. The nation continues to lean hard on you and our conventional forces to yet again reverse our enemies’ momentum and set the conditions for stable security in fight after fight from the Konar in Afghanistan, through northern Iraq, into the tribal areas of Yemen and on to the pirate-infested waters off Somalia.

A special thanks to General Petraeus, General McChrystal and VADM McRaven whom I’ve had the honor to serve directly in Iraq and Afghanistan for thirty months; to witness and learn from men of such dedication and skill is humbling.   Their focus on, and dedication to, precision intelligence-driven operations will be highlighted by the historians who will study the successful leaders of this war.

Finally, and most importantly, to the men and women of JICCENT.   I know many of you very well from our time spent together forward. Our success, across the CENTCOM AOR and here at JICCENT headquarters is driven by our in-depth knowledge and analysis of the enemy, for which there is no substitute.   Because we know how evil our enemies truly are and how much commitment is required to defeat them, we bear an added weight of responsibility to press our collective and personal capabilities to the limit. JICCENT will first and foremost support the J2, Brigadier General Fogarty, and the commander of USCENTCOM, General Petraeus.

We will also enable the employment of other elements of national power at every opportunity to influence our potential foes behavior, but if those soft power efforts fail we will directly assist deployed forces to destroy our enemies through aggressive analysis, collection and targeting operations. Exposing and exploiting our enemies’ vulnerabilities twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, both forward and from JICCENT headquarters will be our standard operating procedure.

In closing, I challenge each of you to be more committed to developing new methods and tools to apply additional pressure to our foes through the use of intelligence and to raise our level of critical analysis.

For my part, I want to help each of you to better yourself in all aspects of your life for the sake of your family and friends, the command and our nation.

I look forward to serving as your Commander.”

(Ceremonial Cake Photo)

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