WASHINGTON – On Nov. 7, two extraordinary groups of people will be honored at Defense Intelligence Agency Headquarters. Four heroes will be inducted into the DIA Patriots Memorial and three former employees will receive the agency’s Torch Bearers Award.
DIA will add four names to its Patriots Memorial, which commemorates DIA employees and others who have died in service to the United States and commemorates their exceptional sacrifice in support of DIA’s mission. Four soldiers will be recognized during the ceremony: Sgt. Sherwood Baker, Pennsylvania Army National Guard (ARNG); Sgt. Don Clary, Kansas ARNG; Sgt. Lawrence Roukey, U.S. Army Reserve; and Sgt. 1st Class Clinton Wisdom, Kansas ARNG.
Baker and Roukey were killed April 26, 2004, in Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom while serving as members of an Iraq Survey Group (ISG) mobile collection team that was conducting a critical field inspection in an anti-coalition forces area. Under dangerous conditions, they provided security for ISG personnel charged with inspecting a suspected chemical, biological and nuclear weapons facility. Both soldiers died when a massive explosion occurred at the facility being inspected.
Clary and Wisdom were killed Nov. 8, 2004, in Baghdad during Operation Iraqi Freedom while serving as members of a personal security detail for a convoy that included the head of the ISG and several DIA analysts. When a vehicle driven by insurgents charged the convoy, Clary and Wisdom repeatedly positioned their vehicle in between the ISG chief’s car and the approaching one. Both soldiers were killed when the suicide bomber detonated his vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. Because of their actions, none of the members of the ISG were seriously harmed.
The Torch Bearers Award is the highest honor the agency can bestow on a former employee and recognizes their exceptional contributions to the agency’s mission. DIA is proud to announce the three 2013 Torch Bearers being recognized for service, excellence and teamwork, respectively.
Helen Allgeyer distinguished herself during a dedicated career as a production analyst. She was among the first of approximately 250 civilians transferred from the military services to DIA, where she became the chief of the Production Center’s Action Control and Assignment Branch. Allgeyer’s contributions to planning and directing intelligence production, integrating the agency’s capabilities with the military services and the combatant commands, and identifying the role of technology to produce accurate and accessible information remain as relevant today as when she established the framework.
Robert DeGross distinguished himself as an educational adviser and special assistant to the commandant, dean, and the first civilian deputy commandant and provost of what is now the National Intelligence University. He spearheaded the school’s efforts to revise its curriculum, and obtain congressional degree-granting authorization and institutional accreditation. DeGross also established joint intelligence training facilities at five combatant commands; developed the first strategic plan for general intelligence training; established an online training center; and expanded career development opportunities for DIA personnel.
Bruce Rossing’s outstanding leadership drove much of DIA’s support to military forces deployed worldwide from the mid-1980s through 2000. As an active duty Navy commander, he became the principal architect and implementer of the highly successful Research Crisis Support Center that laid the foundation of how defense intelligence responds to emerging crises.. As a civilian, his work across established national agency lines to provide quality useful intelligence led to many of the procedures adopted by the Joint Intelligence Centers and Joint Analysis Centers.
The diverse accomplishments and sacrifices of these seven individuals brings honor to their country, to their colleagues, and to themselves.