intelligence community joint duty assignment

U.S. Government Accountability Office

Intelligence Community Personnel: Strategic Approach and Training Requirements Needed to Guide Joint Duty Program

What gao found.

All of the Intelligence Community (IC) elements except for one are participating in the Joint Duty Program and the IC elements generally view the program as beneficial. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Defense Security Service, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, and 15 other IC components have identified an office or individual responsible for facilitating the program. However, the U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard), which ordinarily operates under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), does not participate in the program, even though the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 and IC guidance stipulate that the Joint Duty Program applies to the defined IC, which includes the Coast Guard’s civilian personnel in its National Intelligence Element. Coast Guard officials stated it delayed its participation in the program because it first plans to conduct a workforce study that will determine how the Coast Guard will participate, but it has not identified a timeframe for the study’s completion, and the position assigned to conduct the study is currently vacant. As a result, personnel in other IC elements may not fully understand the Coast Guard’s intelligence mission and Coast Guard employees may have limited opportunities to collaborate with other IC elements.

ODNI has not established a strategic framework to guide the implementation of the Joint Duty Program across the IC. GAO has noted in prior work the importance of having a strategic framework to guide program implementation. However, ODNI has not clearly defined the program’s mission, established performance goals, and measured progress toward achieving those goals. Further, program officials told GAO that they collected IC element data on joint duty rotations, but GAO found that they had not used these data to evaluate progress toward achieving program goals. In addition, although the Director of National Intelligence has emphasized the importance of the program, GAO found that the ODNI Joint Duty Program Office Chief position has experienced repeated turnover since the program’s inception. Specifically, five different people have served in the Joint Duty Program Chief position in the past 3 years. Further, ODNI officials stated that the Joint Duty Chief position had recently been downgraded from a Senior National Intelligence Service position to a General Schedule 15 position. Absent a comprehensive strategic framework that transcends turnovers in program leadership, program efforts are disjointed, and decision makers within ODNI lack the information they need to successfully manage the program.

ODNI also has not formally established professional training and education programs to support the Joint Duty Program, as directed in 2007 ODNI guidance. ODNI has identified three IC-related courses intended for personnel participating in the Joint Duty Program but has waived the requirement to complete these courses. Officials from nine IC elements expressed various concerns about the content and rigor of the three courses, such as that the courses could be duplicative of existing agency-specific training courses. Further, ODNI has not yet determined or documented the program’s training requirements in guidance and has not yet developed a plan and timeline for implementing the training. As a result, ODNI is not positioned to use the Joint Duty Program to foster the widest possible understanding of intelligence requirements, methods, users, and capabilities.

Why GAO Did This Study

In the years following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Congress enacted the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which gives the Director of National Intelligence the responsibility to establish a personnel rotational program (the Joint Duty Program) across the IC. The intended purpose is to facilitate IC personnel’s understanding of the wide range of intelligence requirements, methods, users, and capabilities. GAO evaluated the extent to which (1) IC elements are participating in the Joint Duty Program, (2) the ODNI has developed a strategic framework to help ensure the effective implementation of the Joint Duty Program, and (3) ODNI has established training and education programs to support the Joint Duty Program. GAO reviewed the Joint Duty Program’s legislative requirements and guidance, analyzed data on program participants, and interviewed program officials from the entire IC.

Recommendations

GAO recommends that DHS take steps to have the Coast Guard participate in the Joint Duty Program. GAO also recommends that ODNI develop a strategic framework to implement the program across the IC and that ODNI establish and document the program’s training requirements and develop a plan and timeline for implementing them. DHS and the Coast Guard agreed with GAO’s recommendation to the Coast Guard. ODNI generally agreed with GAO’s recommendations, but raised concerns about the findings on performance goals and the strategic framework. GAO continues to believe in the findings as stated in the report.

Recommendations for Executive Action

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AMC lauds joint duty training for civilians in intelligence community

Alabama, united states, story by lindsay grant  , u.s. army materiel command   funded news publication 2016">  .

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – Army Materiel Command is an active and proud participant in the Intelligence Community Joint Duty Program, which aims to promote an environment of information sharing, interagency cooperation and intelligence integration at all levels. As a testament to its commitment to the program, AMC has hosted a financial manager from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Jennie Loncon joined the Army Materiel Command team in July 2020 as a cloud project officer through the IC Joint Duty Program and is about to enter her third and final year of the assignment. “The cloud migration project was something more or less that I took on,” said Jennie Loncon, cloud project officer. “I knew from the interview process that I would be helping with budget, but my assignment has evolved since I’ve gotten here, which has been awesome.” In 2017, the federal government was mandated to move all IT systems to cloud-based software. Loncon has been assisting AMC subordinate units like depots and installations migrate their IT systems and has helped develop a new request service system for IT issues. This project not only expanded her knowledge of information technology, but also afforded Loncon the opportunity to take on a role in a pivotal mission. Loncon took the joint duty assignment to learn something new and grow as a federal employee. Participation in the program is also mandatory for government employees in the intelligence community to rise to the Senior Executive Service level of employment. Through this rare opportunity, she took on a role outside of her field at ODNI, finance. Katherine Coviello, AMC special advisor for materiel enterprise intelligence and security, has been an advocate of joint duty assignments during her time at AMC. She believes that the program helps intelligence agencies better integrate and collaborate, since participants have experience at more than one agency. Loncon is one of many participants in the program that Coviello has brought into the AMC enterprise to learn more about the Army’s contributions to the intelligence community. “I liken this program as to leaving your village and crossing the river,” Coviello said. “You get to learn new nuances to the intelligence community, AMC can incorporate best practices from your previous experiences and we will both be enriched.” Loncon was encouraged to build her work profile during her assignment with AMC by completing every level of Army Civilian Education System training. She recently completed the Advanced Course at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where she took classes alongside other Army Civilians to learn the principles of strategic leadership and how to be an effective Army Civilian. “I learned how to write reports and email in Army style, and what sorts of values are most important to the service while I was there,” Loncon said. “But I also learned how important civilians are to accomplishing the mission. As civilians, we have a lot of leverage to help us meet requirements to assist in the mission.” Coviello recommended that Loncon take CES courses to cultivate her experience and help her integrate Army values into her personal and professional career. She also believes the training, which teaches students how to solve complex problems and develop strategic leadership skills, differentiates candidates for federal civilian positions. While this was a rewarding opportunity for Loncon, she also brought her breadth of experience to the table to expand the knowledge of her classmates. The Army Management Staff College aims to foster a learning environment where students can share their experiences with each other and knowledge can be created alongside lasting bonds between federal professionals. “We have a diverse student body that improves the learning experience for every attendee of the course, which is where Jennie comes in,” said Jerome Hawkins, Director of CES Department of Enterprise Leadership at the Army Management Staff College. “Diversity of students is critically important to development. The more we can bring in students from outside the Army, the better it is for our classroom, because learning is no longer completely Army-centric.” Though she completed the courses virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions, Loncon still had the opportunity to network with her fellow students and learn from their unique experiences as federal civilians in different fields of expertise. Between completing the CES advanced course and taking on new responsibilities as the cloud project officer, Loncon credits her joint duty assignment for preparing her to one day work in a leadership role. “I’m getting a bit more responsibility than ever before because there’s so many different working elements at AMC at any given time,” Loncon said. “I would like to take on and guide a small team one day. The CES curriculum helped put all of my training in perspective for when I get to that level.” Loncon recommends that her colleagues from the intelligence community consider a joint duty assignment with the Department of Defense. This broadening opportunity allowed her to hone different skill sets and grow as a leader. “The DOD values their employees and I’ve enjoyed being recognized for my contributions to AMC,” Loncon said. “Throughout this experience, I’ve gotten to see how much leadership values their employees and encourages them to achieve something bigger than themselves.”

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This work, AMC lauds joint duty training for civilians in intelligence community , by Lindsay Grant , identified by DVIDS , must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright .

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