INDUSTRY INTERVIEW: SAIC
Interview with
Stuart Shea, President
Intelligence, Security and Technology Group
SAIC
Q: Tell us about your current role and your organization.
A: I serve as the president of SAIC’s Intelligence, Security and Technology Group. In that role, I lead a team of nearly 12,000 scientists and engineers committed to solving some of our nation’s most daunting national security problems. Their deep domain expertise and mission focus centers on critical challenges facing the intelligence community and the Department of Defense.
Q: What do you think are among the most critical national security issues facing the U.S.?
A: Three national security imperatives are at the forefront: cyber-security, space superiority and counter-terrorism. We are increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks that could have catastrophic effects on critical physical infrastructure and severely damage our country’s economic, military and strategic interests. The attacks are increasingly more prevalent and sophisticated. At the same time, international events, like China’s test of an anti-satellite ballistic missile that destroyed an aging weather satellite, heightened public awareness about space access and space superiority. Our dependence on satellites for navigation, communications and global economy could be broadly damaged by disruptions of space assets. Finally, the global war against terrorism continues. Countering terrorist threats, preventing terrorist acts and curbing the influence of terrorist organizations will continue to demand attention of our nation’s best and brightest.
Q: What does SAIC bring to the table on these national security imperatives?
A: SAIC’s hallmark is smart people who constantly want to push science and technology to its limits to create innovative solutions that solve our customers’ mission-critical problems. We define our success by our customer’s successes. To that end, we invest in our people, in research and development, and in the critical technologies needed to solve their toughest challenges.
Q: Could you please cite some specific examples?
A: Absolutely. SAIC leads the systems engineering and integration effort necessary to develop, operate and maintain the U.S. global positioning system. We provide services such as integration management, program certifications and risk management for the Global Positioning Systems Wing, a joint service effort directed by the Air Force.
On our nation’s borders and at sea, SAIC’s Biometrics at Sea program is helping the Coast Guard with identity management, and the Biometrics Automated Toolset is supporting identity management with our deployed forces. As a result, officials can verify identities and identify terrorists and other persons of interest by using technology to recognize fingerprints, face and iris characteristics.
Everyday, warfighters on the battlefront are receiving fully integrated, timely intelligence, thanks to an SAIC technology solution and support for the Distributed Common Ground System-Army system.
Here’s another great example: SAIC has a key role in delivering hundreds of the lifesaving mine resistant ambush protected vehicles to warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is a top DoD priority, and our teams have been working around the clock to get the job done. It’s hard work, but our employees know it is helping to save the lives of soldiers against IEDs.
Q: To what do you attribute SAIC’s success in these programs?
A: In every example I’ve provided, and in many others, our employees appreciate how incredibly valuable what they are doing is to our national security, whether it’s developing a technology, conducting training or inspecting damaged vehicles coming back from the battlefront. They’ve taken our customer’s mission as their own. What they do matters. We see that characteristic in every program in which SAIC is involved.
Q: Along with a successful career in industry, you’ve been instrumental in promoting the intelligence tradecraft as the founder of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation [USGIF] and the highly successful GEOINT Symposium. Tell us about that.
A: I count myself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to lead the USGIF for almost five years. USGIF has become the defining catalyst that has brought government, industry, academia and professional organizations together to promote the geospatial intelligence tradecraft. With that success, the time had come to bring on board a full-time president to help enable USGIF to lead the GEOINT community into the future. Earlier this year, I stepped aside as USGIF president, but continue to serve as chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors. Keith Masback, who has more than 20 years in military and government service in various aspects of intelligence and national security, was named as president. This step is a very important and exciting one for USGIF, and we are elated Keith is taking the reins to continue to promulgate the tradecraft and guide the community.
Q: Any last thoughts?
A: Like many other companies, SAIC personnel are deeply embedded with our troops and reservists supporting operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and other hazardous locations around the world. Our employees play a key role in helping our government and military leaders conduct their critical missions. Let us always remember the bravery and sacrifices of our armed forces as they work selflessly in the name of freedom. ♦
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