washington business
Does the rise of the importance of technology concern
you? We know how to fight battles on land, but the rules
of cyber warfare are more vague.
It’s a challenge and opportunity at the same time. The international
norms involving nation state cyber activities have not yet been fully developed, and given America’s unique capabilities, I think our
nation is in a position to help lead
development of those international
norms. One of the reasons we’re so
engaged is frankly, the centers of
excellence right here in the state
of Washington. We’re an IT-rich
environment when you take a look
at the civilian employment of our cyber warriors, it’s Cisco, Microsoft, Intel, Siemens, you name it, it’s the smorgasbord of the players
in the Washington information technology economy.
How have you seen security threats since Sept. 11 change?
What do you anticipate?
The threats have dramatically altered. None of them have completely been removed. But the fact is, we’re no longer protected by
oceans and the continental United States is really part of a global
field of engagement for the people who would do us harm. For the
We’re an IT-rich environment when you take a look at the civilian
employment of our cyber warriors, it’s Cisco, Microsoft, Intel, Siemens,
you name it, it’s the smorgasbord of the players in the Washington
information technology economy.
Hopefully that will translate into civilian jobs, too.
It works both ways. We’ve seen National Guardsmen develop
skills through their unit affiliation that are in high demand by
the Washington private sector, and we also draw upon people
whose skills were developed in the private sector that we need
for military operations.
How do you think the families and employers are holding
up after so many years now of heightened service?
We don’t see any waning of support, frankly, from families or
employers. Employers are like every individual taxpayer. They
have an eye not only on their corporate bottom line, but also on the
national bottom line. The cost savings of relying upon the National
Guard and reserve components is absolutely staggering. After 20
years, the average active duty airman, for example, draws an average annual compensation package of $80,000 a year. The average
citizen airman, same status, same years of service, draws about
$10,000 a year.
What can employers do to help National Guard and
Reserve?
There are a number of employers who continue to maintain their
company insurance benefits for the members while they’re activated.
Reserve component members can transfer to tri-care assistance, but
quite often that means a child with special needs or a family member
with long-term care arrangements with a very specific medical provider have to change for the period that the member is activated, so
there are very serious family impacts and personal medical impacts
from changing from an employer provided to a government provided
health care plan. And quite often that’s just for a period of six months,
but for a family you can imagine how traumatic that would be. So
employers who do that have my undying gratitude.
first few years after the 9/11 attacks and after the formation of the
Department of Homeland Security, the focus was on al-Qaida and
the centrally planned operations against the United States that were
most often characterized in the public’s eye by al-Qaida … And so
there has been a metamorphosis from a centrally planned campaign
against the United States from a distance far from our shores, to a
philosophical network of organizations and small clusters of actors
and even individuals. That’s much more difficult to monitor and
interdict. And most recently, homegrown violent extremists being
generated within our prison systems based upon a terrorist or terrorism ideology, or the American citizens initially traveling abroad
to engage in Jihad abroad, now they’re being encouraged to stay in
the United States and act in the United States. Their movement to
Yemen and Somalia and other locations for training allows them
to be detected. If they remain in the United States, they’re far less
likely to come under scrutiny until they act.
When you look back on it now, can you describe what it
was like in the first year following the 9/11 attacks?
What stands out is the return on our investment in early engagement and early preparation. I became adjutant general in September
1999 and within a couple of months, we dealt with the World Trade
Organization riots. Shortly after that, Gov. Locke gave a green light
to form a statewide committee on terrorism. We began meeting
monthly with a broad community of public and private sector representatives. We began meeting in April 2000, so by the time the
9/11 attacks occurred, our state had nearly a two-year head start
for creating a network of parties necessary to respond appropriately. In February of 2000, I was privileged to lead a discussion at
the National Governors Association of homeland security advisers
from all of the states and territories. And the critical vulnerabilities that we had identified in Washington state were embraced by
all other states and kind of became the national list of things our
nation needed to