DEADLINE: JUNE 30, 2014

Welcome to the 2014 National Intelligence Writing Contest sponsored by AFCEA Intelligence (AFCEA) and the Naval Intelligence Professionals (NIP).

Both AFCEA and NIP are not-for profit associations.  We have joined forces for this writing contest to encourage thoughtful discussion of issues relevant in today’s intelligence and national security environment. 

2014 Topic                        
Developing, Mentoring and Leading Intelligence Professionals in the Midst of Change

Expansion:  Many forces are impacting the intelligence community: budget, aging workforce, technology, emerging issues to be examined and physical infrastructure lagging commercial advances.  Additionally, generational change in the workforce and differing levels of expectations are creating a “knowledge and experience gap” between older professionals and those just entering the workforce.  What are the factors in dealing with these changes?  What can professional organizations such as AFCEA and NIP do to help build a professional intelligence workforce in the current reality?  How can we work with the Intelligence Community on programs to enhance professional knowledge and tradecraft?  How can ideas like “reverse mentoring” (e.g., technology mentoring senior employees by younger members) be a tool in helping to modernize the total workforce?

Prizes 
First Place:           $3,000 and a three-year membership in AFCEA and NIP

Second Place:      $1,500 and a three-year membership in AFCEA and NIP

Third Place:          $750 and a three-year membership in AFCEA and NIP

(If an essay is co-authored, each co-author will receive one-half the monetary prize as well as a three-year AFCEA and NIP membership.)

Eligibility                         
The contest is open to everyone and can be approached from any relevant perspective: strategic, operational and/or tactical.

Deadline                             
11:59pm EST, June 30, 2014

Guidelines                   
Entries must be submitted via email to E-Mail.  The email subject line must say “NIWC Contest” and the body of the email must include the author’s name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, and the exact title of the submission.

There must be two attachments to the email.  The first is the author’s biography – consisting of no more than 50 words.

The second attachment is the entry itself which must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document.  The second attachment’s file name should reflect the essay’s title to the extent practical, but not the author’s name.  Submissions can be no longer than 2,000 words (inlcuding footnotes and captions for graphics), double-spaced, with a minimum of a 12-point font.  To ensure anonymity of the author during judging, the document must not include the author’s name on any page, but each page of the submission must show the exact title of the paper as a header.

Appropriate graphics or illustrations are permissible, but not required.  Graphics may be embedded in the entry or a placeholder inserted to mark the location of the graphic.  In either case, please send the graphic (photos or illustration in JPEG format; others (table/spreadsheet) in native format) as a separate attachment to enable proper viewing and formatting for possible publication.

Submissions will be evaluated based on originality, strength of argument and recommendations, adherence to the norms of spelling, grammar, and syntax, and clarity.  Entries must be unclassified original analytical and/or interpretive work not previously published or currently submitted for publication elsewhere.  Entries not fully complying with the following contest guidelines will not be considered.

Winners will be requested to submit a 3-5 minute video of themselves summarizing thier papers.  The videos will be posted along with the winning entries on the AFCEA and NIP websites.

Evaluation                        
A panel of intelligence professionals from the AFCEA Intelligence Committee and the Naval Intelligence Professionals will judge all entries and make the final selections. Entries will be judged without knowing the authors’ identities.

Permission to Publish 
Submission for the contest constitutes the author’s permission to publish.

Winning entries become the property of AFCEA and NIP and may be published in SIGNAL Magazine, the NIP Quarterly, or other sponsored journals. It is the responsibility of the author to meet any requirement for pre-publication security review prior to submission.

Notification            
Winners will be notified in writing not later than August 31, 2014.

Questions?           
703-631-6219

Good luck!

Vice Admiral Jan E. Tighe, Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/TENTH Fleet Information Warfare Community Leader, Chief Engineer, PhD

My friend Liz Wiseman (a Top 50 Thinker) found that great bosses share these MULTIPLIER characteristics:

1. The Talent Magnet attracts talented people and uses them at their highest point of contribution
2. The Liberator creates an intense environment that requires people’s best thinking and work
3. The Challenger defines an opportunity that causes people to stretch
4. The Debate Maker drives sound decisions through rigorous debate
5. The Investor gives other people the ownership for results and invests in their success

By any measure of the 5 characteristics above, we have to give credit to Vice Admiral Tighe as a MULTIPLIER.  Multipliers do exactly that – “multiply”.  They multiply the talent around them to get the best from their people.  VADM Tighe sees intelligence in abundance throughout the Information Dominance Corps (Sailors, civilians and contractors) and believes it exists in multiple forms – up and down the chain of command. 

This cautionary note from Liz: Although people love—love—love—to work for multipliers, these leaders are not necessarily the type to come up and give you a big hug. These leaders can be tough, demanding bosses. They ask people to do hard things and they expect people to do great work. People who work for them say that although they are exhausted, they are also exhilarated. They say, “I would work for this person forever.”

Stand by for exhaustion and exhilaration.  It will be worth it. 

OPNAV N2/N6 industry program is HERE.

“Steve Farber, a fellow devotee of leadership and superb public speaker will frequently ask his audience:  “How many of you have ever received a note from someone expressing sincere appreciation for something you did?”   Most in the audience will raise their hands.  “And how many of you still have that note?”  Again, most will keep their hands up.  He goes on to ask how long the members of the audience have kept the notes.  “Five years?”  “Ten years?” “Twenty years?”  Many hands remain even as Steve asks “Twenty-five years.”  But the record is forty years, and when Steve asked his respondent if he remembered what the note said, the person reached into his pants pocket and pulled the note from his wallet. After forty years, he still considered it one of his most prized possessions.   

How many of us have kept a similar note?  And for those of us who have, what is our opinion and feeling about the person who wrote it? 

These are not rhetorical questions.  The ability and willingness to express sincere appreciation is one of the most valuable skills of leadership communication.  People will tend to willingly follow others who make them feel good about themselves. 

It sounds simple, yet the expression of sincere gratitude is rare…witness the significance of those notes.   It is simply not easy, and frequently not considered important to convey real appreciation in our world where convention rather than authenticity rules most of our communication.”

When is the last time you demonstrated “authentic appreciation” for your Sailors?  If it hasn’t happened in the last 24 hours, you are behind the power curve. 

Because the job itself is cloaked in secrecy, information about the Cryptologic Technician rate can be hard for the general public to find.

If you conduct and internet search on Navy intelligence you won’t find anything about cryptology but rather about our intelligence specialist,” said Chief Cryptologic Technician (Interperative) Steven Barbee, NRC enlisted information dominance corps branch lead. “Many recruiters do not know anything themselves about the CT ratings or the jobs associated with these ratings. Barbee explained that although the type of work may appear to be like a James Bond movie, he added, “nope, we are Sailors just like all of our shipmates; no laser watches or shoe guns or cool cars are issued to us!

Navy Cryptologists are charged with analyzing encrypted communications, deciphering foreign languages, jamming the radars of enemies, and maintaining the equipment and networks necessary for top-secret intel.

You can “like” cryptology and technology on FaceBook HERE.

Check out Project Architeuthis HERE.

You can read the entire letter HERE.

Does this mean NPC can’t do its job?  Or they just need help doing it right?

The budding Navy writer at sea.

My friend, Shipmate and writer Lieutenant Commander Christopher Nelson has an article in this month’s PROCEEDINGS magazine over at http://www.usni.org.

Head over HERE and read it.  Membership in USNI is required to read the entire article.

We need more Sailors to write about their Navy experience.  If it’s not written down, the history is lost.  We can’t allow that to happen.

Do as Admiral Stavridis implores us to do – “Read – Write – Publish and be Heard”.

Share it.

Don’t know if it’s a great idea?  Share it anyway.

Be generous.  Share a lot.

Don’t be afraid.

If it turns out to be a stupid idea, say it was mine.  No harm done.