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- Welcome to Beyond the Beltway,

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where we take a behind-the-scenes look

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at DIA's outreach to our community,

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our country, and the world.

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(traditional Middle Eastern music)

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Here at DIA, we're charged
with providing intelligence

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on foreign militaries and
operating environments

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to prevent and decisively win wars.

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The Beyond the Beltway series

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explores how our presence
outside Washington

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enables us to play this crucial role

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in our national security.

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The DIA Forward Element
Afghanistan, or DFEA,

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is the agency's deployed
presence in Afghanistan.

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In this episode of Beyond the Beltway,

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we'll visit DIA elements in

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Bagram, Kabul, and
Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan,

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supporting Operation Resolute Support,

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and Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

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(traditional Middle Eastern music)

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- Well first and foremost,

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our job is to provide direct support

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to the commander of Resolute Support,

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so our role here is to
protect the homeland,

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and at the time we are now,
it's a very interesting time,

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'cause our job is also
to create the conditions

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for negotiated peace settlement,

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so those are two well-defined roles,

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and using all the core functions of DIA,

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we have an opportunity to
make a very measurable impact,

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directly supporting the
warfighter here in-theater,

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and that's a little bit different

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than some of us get to do
back at DIA headquarters.

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- [Narrator] Deployed DIA
officers support operations

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through analysis, technical
collection and exploitation,

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information systems, counter intelligence,

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logistics support, and human
intelligence collection.

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- Working in a deployed environment

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is high-stress, high-demands.

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You really challenge yourself
in terms of what you know,

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and what you think you're capable of,

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but you really find out what
you can push yourself to do

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and what you can push yourself to learn

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in a short amount of time,

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and I think that makes you
feel stronger as an analyst,

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and more excited, and willing
to take on bigger risks.

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- [Undisclosed Personnel] I
think it's a once-in-a-lifetime

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opportunity to support mission,

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and to be able to
contribute your skillset.

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And one of the things
that's fulfilling about it

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is the immediate time-sensitive
ramification of intelligence

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that we collect,

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and then have immediate operations develop

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as a result of that.

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I think that is very satisfying.

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- [Narrator] Mission
support officers provide the

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full spectrum of logistic
support during deployments,

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from shipping of necessary
equipment and gear issuance,

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to travel and facilities management.

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- Logistical support is key,

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because we're basically
the hub here in Bagram

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for anyone coming in or going
out to their assigned mission.

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We're key to ensuring that

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everything flows as it's supposed to.

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- But, every year need is out here,

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logistically we will provide that for you.

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When it's time to leave,
we gather all those

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things up, ship it to
where it needs to go to,

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turn it in, get rid of it,

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if it needs to be disposed of,

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and we clear the area.

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- You are here at the tip of the spear,

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you get to see the mission.

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In my role here as the
J1 Chief, I'm the advisor

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to our colleagues and our employees,

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whether they're civilian or military,

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from customer service, payroll issues,

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family matters, emergency
leave, things of that nature.

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One of the additional
things that we do here,

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in the J1, is we continue to ensure that

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officers continue to grow professionally

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within their careers.

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So, thinking about just
because you're being deployed

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doesn't mean that you
put your career on hold.

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This is a stepping stone

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to be able to move forward in your career

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and have a larger aspect
of what the agency does,

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not only just back there at DC,

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or wherever your location
might be, but globally.

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- [Narrator] Deployments can
be fulfilling experiences

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that challenge and develop DIA officers.

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All agency personnel
are encouraged to deploy

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to gain a better understanding
of DIA's direct support

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to the warfighter.

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- [Undisclosed Personnel]
The best thing about

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being deployed here

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is the ability to exercise my training

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and work with the broad
limits that I generally have.

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There's potentially a
misconception of deployed life,

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where you are living in tents

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and you shower once a week
and it's rough living.

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DIA actually takes care
of deployed personnel.

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The accommodations here
are absolutely phenomenal,

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and we're actually well taken care of

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as far as living, sleeping,
eating, and working out.

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We have all of the necessary things

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to do all of those things with comfort.

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I'm missing my family, and
so I have an 18-month old

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who's hitting growth
milestones that I miss,

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but they understand, and it's sacrifice,

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but a worthwhile one.

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- I decided that I wanted to deploy

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as part of the reason why
I wanted to work for DIA,

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so, being that that was
part of the mission set,

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it was intriguing to me.

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The Afghanistan War was part
of my growing up experience,

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so I really wanted to see
what it was like out here,

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and then to see how DIA
supported the warfighter

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on this kind of level,
as opposed to back home

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where we have more of a
central role for policy makers.

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So, that kind of pushed me,

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and then my team was very
supportive back home.

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- I would encourage any DIA officer

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to accept the challenge of a deployment,

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but I'd particularly encourage
junior officers to do that.

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This is an opportunity to
gain a tremendous amount

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of experience in a short time.

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The operational tempo here is very high

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and the mission is very well-defined.

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It's an opportunity to grow.

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It's an opportunity to see good leaders.

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It's an opportunity to see how our efforts

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and how our core functions
can make a difference

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to the warfighter,

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and I would encourage all
of us to understand that

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a key trait that's
required is self-sacrifice.

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When we're out here, we need
to sacrifice for the mission,

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and put the mission above all else.

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So, it's a great opportunity to learn

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some of those ethos of the military.

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- Special thanks to the
men and women of the DIA

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Forward Element Afghanistan,

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and to all those DIA
officers who have deployed

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in support of the agency global mission.

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Be sure to join us for
the next episode of DIA's

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Beyond the Beltway.

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(dramatic music)