Partnership Between F-35 Joint Program Office, DCSA Takes Flight

Photo By Tony Trigg | In August 2021, a meeting was held between the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), at the DCSA Irving Field Office in Irving, Texas, to discuss common security interests related to the F-35 Lightning II program. DCSA, F-35 JPO and AFOSI leaders identified potential ways to strengthen oversight and support of the F-35 Lightning II program throughout its acquisition life cycle at the meeting - part of an initiative between the DCSA Irving Field Office and the F-35 JPO to take a more holistic and collaborative security oversight approach to resolve the program’s complex security challenges and confront the current threat environment.  

UNITED STATES

05.17.2022

Courtesy Story

Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency

By Darren Denard, DCSA Industrial Security Directorate, and John Rhodes, F-35 Industrial Security Manager

In August 2021, a meeting was held between the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO), and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), at the DCSA Irving Field Office in Irving, Texas, to discuss common security interests related to the F-35 Lightning II program.

The August meeting was part of an initiative between the Irving Field Office and the F-35 JPO to take a more holistic and collaborative security oversight approach to resolve the program’s complex security challenges and confront the current threat environment.

All three government entities have security cognizance roles at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company (LMAC), the primary manufacturing site of the F-35 in Fort Worth, Texas. LMAC is the prime contractor, with principal partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems.

The F-35 JPO has been delegated with security oversight for the F-35 Program from the Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA) for foreign industry partners.

Over the years, DCSA Irving and the JPO have cooperated on common interests to provide government oversight for LMAC through teleconferences, but the August 2021 meeting was the first time these representatives from DCSA Irving and the JPO met in person. The Irving Field Office attendees included Jennifer Norden, Field Office Chief; Tyrone Baker, Information Systems Security Professional Team Lead; and Darren Dennard, Senior Industrial Security Representative (SISR). The Central Region leadership also supported this meeting via teleconference: Regina Johnson, Regional Director; William Vaughan, Authorizing Official; Matt Blakley, Assistant Regional Director; and Jessica Quigley, Senior Regional Action Officer. Representing the JPO were Robert Proud, JPO Deputy Security Director; John Rhodes, JPO Industrial Security Manager; and Aaron Garcia, AFOSI Program Security Officer – Counterintelligence.

The meeting at the field office was productive in identifying potential ways to strengthen oversight and support of the program throughout the program’s acquisition life cycle. The visit to the field office was followed by two more days of discussions at the LMAC facility in Fort Worth.

During the visit, Rhodes recognized DCSA would greatly benefit from experiencing the larger international footprint of the F-35 manufacturing environment.

In September 2021, Dennard, the DCSA SISR assigned to LMAC, accompanied Rhodes and his team on a visit to the F-35 Final Assembly and Checkout Facility (FACO) in Cameri, Italy. Dennard spent a week observing as Rhodes, his team, and DTSA representatives worked with the Italian Ministry of Defense and the Italian National Security Authority to get this facility in compliance with security requirements as a certified FACO for the F-35 Program. The trip provided Dennard with a greater understanding of the F-35 Program and the role of LMAC in the program.

Since returning from Italy, Rhodes has accepted an invitation to participate as an observer during the next DCSA security review scheduled at the LMAC Fort Worth site this year. Further, with the assistance of the Irving Field Office, the JPO Security Team is actively pursuing similar collaborative relationships with other DCSA Field Offices with F-35 cognizance.

* To see additional Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency articles in the April edition of the Gatekeeper Magazine, go to: https://bit.ly/36f2vuE

• Date Taken: 05.17.2022
• Date Posted: 05.17.2022 16:36
• Story ID: 420932
• Location: US