Our
enterprise supports the Defense Department and its mission partners.
Over the decades, DISA has been engaged
in every mission the Department has undertaken. These engagements have become
increasingly interagency and international, and our partnerships have increased
to reflect this.
This is the story of one DISA civilian
who recently returned from a voluntary deployment in support of the DISA
mission.
Vijay Kumar, an Electronics Engineer
assigned to the Operations Directorate, recently returned from a 14-month
deployment to Afghanistan.
Kumar's longevity with the agency (He
has worked at DISA for 12 years.) and his expertise as a systems engineer at
the DISA Cyber Command Field Office — serving as a liaison engineer supporting
DISA programs, applications, and tools — made him a match for this deployment.
"I wanted to help the Afghans as
much as I could," said Kumar when asked about his reason for volunteering.
Kumar was selected for the assignment
under the Ministry of Defense Advisors (MoDA) Program, which is designed to
forge long-term relationships that strengthen partner states' security
ministries.
While deployed, Kumar's mission was to
advise and guide the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) on information
technology (IT) and network infrastructure. This included developing an Afghan
National Security Forces Network (ANSFNet), which will improve the deployment
and management of the communication networks supporting the Ministry of
Interior, Ministry of Defense, National Directorate of Security, and
Presidential Information Coordination Center.
"Our goal was to deliver a simple,
sustainable, and robust communications infrastructure," said Kumar.
"Afghan National Security Forces Network cornerstone capabilities include
reliable, secure, and adequate voice communications for all ANSF personnel and IT
connectivity down to the provincial-level. It also provides a core suite of IT
services and applications that will enhance operational effectiveness and a
sustainable, standardized communications infrastructure to reduce operations
and maintenance costs."
Working approximately 90 hours a week —
without breaks on weekends or holidays — a typical day for Kumar consisted of
formal or informal meetings with his Afghan counterparts, developing action
plans and capabilities to manage and maintain the ASNF networks. His daily
routine often included late night wrap-up meetings with senior leaders, during
which the strategic road map was reviewed, daily successes were noted, and the
plan to further Afghan infrastructure development was refined.
As a result of Kumar's deployment, the
ANSF were successfully transitioned to manage their own network operations
center. In order for the Afghan forces to function independently in the
information technology and network operations field, they received a
significant amount of training and education from Kumar and his team members.
Kumar and his team also developed and
published an ANSFNet Network Expansion Plan that defines desired ANSFNet
long-haul IT communication objectives (e.g. bandwidth, uptime, latency, etc.),
conforms planned point of presence locations, and identifies additional
requirements.
"My deployment not only affected
the way I now approach my work at DISA, but changed my view on life
altogether," said Kumar. "[My deployment was] not a flashy job. We
had to blend in and work effectively behind the scenes to promote Afghan
ownership. When making recommendations, we had to be practical and
flexible…"
The opportunity provided Kumar with
firsthand experience of the hardships deployed military and civilian personnel
face, and with it, a greater appreciation for the sacrifices they have made
"I am grateful [to] our founding
fathers […] and also to those who sacrificed their lives for this country, both
in the military and civilian world," said Kumar.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment