' Thou_ghts on Strategic Issues for the Institution https www do-nr do nsa transformation thoughts htn UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT memorandwn DATE 9 April 1999 REPLY TO ATTN OF DDO SUBJECT · Btrategic Issues for the TO DJ RNSA U POUO While money and technology are the raw materials essential to build and fuel the SJ GJ NT enterprise of the next century our current deficiencies in those areas do not qualify in the top three most critical issues that J would identify They make the top five but there are three areas which we must address to ensure that additional money and new technology are well invested and make a difference If we do not address these three issues we risk investing in ways that will not meet the demanding needs of our mission We also risk losing the confidence of potential investors in our 21st century enterprise We need help I of9 3 12 2001 9 35 AM 'J1ioughts OlJ Strategic Issues for the Institution https www do-nr do nsa transformation thoughts htn Congress and others want ·to help us but first we must help ourselves Until we demonstrate that we are addressing these issues there may continue to be a reluctance to support our appeals for more resources O FOUOt The first and most important issue for NSA CSS is to reform our management and leadership system We require fundamental change in the way needs plans and programs are established and how decisions are made The individuals who run our corporation are loyal dedicated professionals but the framework within which we work does not allow us to exercise good business practices We have good people in a flawed system U FOUO Over the years our corporate system has devolved so that we have come to believe that being corporate requires equity - that is a proportional division of time and resources rather than focused support dedicated to execution of the mission In fact we have for more than ten years slipped into fairsharing fortune and pain Our crisp focus on the mission has shifted to a great extent to the cradling infrastructure and technology U POUO Our faulty decision-making 2of9 3 12 2001 9 35 AM Thought on Strategic Issues for the Institution https www do-nr do nsa transfonnation thoughts htn process is probably most apparent when we deal with the budget We approach the problem in its mind-nwnbing detail rather than viewing our resou ce allocation through the prism of concrete mission outcomes and impacts At the highest levels the review of the budget should address issues of proportion and strategies for spending and execution rather than trading off individual line items Above all the mission should drive the budget process In spite of our best attempts through the 1990s the opposite has most often been the case Our changes to deal with this have never gotten to the root of the problem We have merely dressed the problem up in new clothes ECMRG CMRG SRC etc etc are merely examples of the same pattern of activity at different levels We need to break the pattern Whatever changes we·now pursue must be tested against the problems we are fixing and the external criticisms we have received If reform is called for are we on a path to reform Whatever path we take we must establish constructs and mechanisms to support reforms so that we don't back-slide The old patterns are imprinted strongly in this institution JJ i'QUOr The DDT and I have discussed some o ganizational and functional ideas that we feel can help in our reforms We believe they will help us be 3 of9 3 12 2001 9 35 AM 0 Thoughts on Strategic Issues for the Institution https www do-nr do nsa transfonnation thoughts htrr mission-focused while we support a continuing dialog on system configuration needs We further believe that program management and systems engineering activities of the Agency can benefit as well This responds well to external criticisms the Agency has received in these areas Mechanisms for focusing ot her mission support activities are needed as well S The second issue of importance is strengthening and leveraging our strategic alliances Our goal should be to strengthen those which facilitate our success in the 21 st century while de-emphasizing those which do not fit our operational profile of the future Alliances of most concern to me fall into four categories Our foreign relationships our relationships with the CIA our relationships with the military and the special partnership which must exist between the DI and the DO at NSA _ s -Issues for our foreign relationships are in some ways very much analogous to the military relationships we see in our coalition warfare The U S maintains the lead both in technology and operational readiness we bring our partners along This is also the rubric for our SIGINT relationships with our Second and Third 4 of9 3 12 2001 9 35 AM • Thought§ on Strategic Issues for the Institution ' https www do-nr do nsa transfonnation thoughts h tn ' Party partners While they may exhibit excellence in particular areas they depend on u·s for leadership in operational methodology and advanced technologies It was apparent in Desert Storm that it is becoming more difficult for the military to operate in coalition beca se we are moving more rapidly than partners in technology and doctrinal change Partners are having a difficult time keeping up This trend is accelerating Care must be taken to deal with impacts of acceleration away from key partners NSA's foreign SIGINT partnerships are the means through ·••··· •····· I acted alone We must have a so -d----···biisiness strategy based both on mi_s s-i o n requirements and geop o-l·i·f ical realities which directs 1 be···-···cionditions and extent of sharing j_ oi nt····· operations and continued access bl 1 1I b 3 -P L 86-36 --··········· § b 1 ff bl 3 -P L 86-36 f fJ b 3 -50 USC 403 bl 3l -18 use 7 98 · - ·• O u r relationship with CIA absolutely vital to our future •uccess·· _----- s we more aggressively pursue I · · · I --- f I · _e_x_t_e_n_s_i_v_e_j__________ fan d itmore is essential that NSA and CIA put our relationship on a sound basis tuned to the needs and realities of the next century There are many things of great importance to our country that can only be achieved 5 of9 3 12 2001 9 35 AM Thoughts on Strategic Issues for the Institution ' ' https www do-nr do nsa transformation thoughts htn by NSA and CIA acting together For these reasons CIA's DDO and I have taken a number of steps over the past year to cement this partnership to include regular meetings to align our goals and strategies a commitment to plan together and consult broadly integration of senior executives in key positions of both agencies and development of a new breed of intelligence officers knowledgeable in both SIGINT and HUMINT operations As we rebuild the SIGINT system it is imperative that there be a corresponding renewal of thel ii Perhaps most importantly we must evelop a new set of rules not SIGINT nc t HUMINT that govern our activitie fs in the area of growing-overlap between bur institutions Our integration witJ l' the military through the SCE's c ates the opportunity and reality of i-ue synchronization with the customer From the relationship with the ilitary we have achieved a model for responsiveness and understanding of cus¥ mer requirements which we've applied succ ·essfully to our policy customer set Oz the other hand the nature of the re irements from our policy customers requ _ res us to develop advanced technologie¢' and techniques which are later applied t9' military problems Herein lies the un 'que quality and U POUO 1 1 bl 1 b 3 -P L 86-36 6 of9 3 12 2001 9 35 AM Thoughfs on Strategic Issues for the Institution • •I ' https www do-nr do nsa transfonnation thoughts htrr strength of our mission We must continue to produce intelligence for both military and policy customers and avoid placing one mission above the other We are both a combat support agency and a national agency It is the essence of our strength that one side of the business bolsters and informs the other We must be both to be either one d' With regard to NSA' s support to the military's Information Operations and Information Warfare we have only scratched the surface of the complexity of the relationships we must create It is essential that we develop policies and • procedures that will allow for deconfliction of operations and ensure that our activities in this area are in synch and moving toward the same national goals I include DO's alliance with the ISSO in our strategic a11iances because the relationship involves two distinct missions even though they are in the same institution We are not one team one mission but rather two missions executed by one· team to produce the best outcome To accomplish this we must have one strategy 9 PO0oj The third issue to which I would call your attention is our need to 7 of9 3 12 2001 9 35 AM ' 'houghts cin Strategic Issues for the Institution https www do-nr do nsa transformation thoughts htrr properly staff civilian and military our two missions and to spot and nurture talent and leadership for the future It is people who create ideas and use technology that are the most critical resource for mission success In the corp rate world one of the most crucial decisions an enterprise makes is to decide which products processes and resources are core to its success and which components or capabilities it can procure more economically and effectively on· the open market We·must ensure that our mission critical-needs are correctly resourced so that we can make the correct trades on non-critical resources It is these considerations which must inform our future hiring strategies as we consider whom we should hire and how we develop and maintain our workforce's skills We must think carefully about human factors as we decide our future Continuous review of our assumptions in this area is vital lJI FetOf We must also -future leaders will be consider who our and start to develop new generations who will have the skills necessary to lead in the future we are at the leading edge of a crisis at the office and division level Alpha l Alpha 2 We must act immediately to identify the individuals with the potential imagination and flexibility to lead NSA in the future and 8 of9 3 12 2001 9 35 AM J _ Jhoµghts Qn Strategic Issues for the Institution https www do-nr do nsa transformation thoughts htrr provide them with the opportunities and challenges they need to develop their potential into demanding leadership skills This is the where production and service responsibilities of the institution are executed U FOUO I have tried to take a strategic view well above the details of the presentations we made to you earlier I hope you find them of value in establishing your own focus for the future JAMES R TAYLOR DEPUTY DIRECTOR OR OPERATIONS cc SALT SCE Commanders Content Own Web 99- j L WModifl '' '' ··· 63-5041 June 2000 963-5041 Derived From NSA CSSM 123-2 dated 24 February 1998 Declassify on XI b 3 -P L 86-36 S EIGRE'l' 9 of9 3 12 200 l 9 35 AM