Fairfax, VA, April 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A selection panel of current and former intelligence community leaders—including representatives from the private sector and academia—recently named recipients of the newly created Award for Excellence in Defense Scientific & Technical Intelligence (S&TI). Sponsored by AFCEA International's Intelligence Committee, the award was created specifically to address the need for—and recognize the value of—innovation in intelligence. Winners were recognized at the annual AFCEA International Spring Intelligence Symposium last month.
The individual award is open to active duty and Reserve military members and federal government employees, and this year's individual winner is Ian Chamberlain, ballistic missile payloads specialist for the U.S. Air Force. Chamberlain works as a payloads analyst analyzing various munitions of various threats, specifically long-range ballistic missile threat systems. Chamberlain contributed to the advancement of scientific technical intelligence by providing technical support to special projects that resulted in updates to decades-old intelligence assessments used by blue force developers to inform the design of missile defense interceptors and other countermeasures. He briefed the results to Congress, senior leaders in the intelligence community and senior military leaders, including the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. "Mr. Chamberlain’s professional accomplishments exemplified S&TI analysis at its best, demonstrably advancing U.S. defense capabilities and mitigating risk to the nation," remarked Capt. Ray Cross, USN (Ret.), vice president, Intelligence at AFCEA International.
The team award winner is the Measurement and Signatures Intelligence (MASINT) R&D team. Team members developed a process for the discovery of technology gaps across the five national mission areas of the MASINT Enterprise: Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), Space Technical Collection (STC), Advanced Missile Technical Collection (AMTC), Advanced Nonconventional Weapons (ANCW), and MASINT Support to Identities Intelligence (MSII). Cross further said: "The MASINT R&D Team demonstrably advanced U.S. defense capabilities and mitigated security risk to the nation through forward leaning and collaborative operations and activities."
The team members include:
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- From the U.S. Air Force: Dr. Theresa Watson, Capt. Emeline Lochmaier and Troy Seiler.
- From the Air Force Research Laboratory: Andrew Johnson.
- From the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA): Lt. Col. Spenser Lee, Lt. Col. Jason Hamilton, David Weed, Nestor Perone and Dr. Krista Hess.
- From the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA): Renato Jelic.
“This unique award shines a light on the ever-impressive achievements of our S&TI workforce and how they tirelessly work to maintain a competitive advantage,” said Lewis Shepherd, the AFCEA Intelligence committee chair.
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AFCEA International is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit international professional association that connects people, ideas and solutions globally. Established in 1946, the membership association serves the military, government, industry and academia by developing networking and educational opportunities and providing an ethical forum. This enables military, government, industry and academia to align technology and strategy to meet the needs of those who serve. AFCEA operates under the guidance of a board of directors, international staff and committees. A large network of chapters is managed by a group of regional vice presidents. Join online.
