| March 2007 |
| By P. J. Germain |
As a former law enforcement officer, I am fairly flexible and enjoy the dynamics of a somewhat unconventional job. Perhaps this is why I love working for the government as a Tier III Security Engineer on “Team CITS.” What is CITS, you ask? Well, this is what I’m allowed to tell you…
We are the Combat Information Transport System team. We handle the design, support and implementation aspects of the boundary protection system for all the military bases and deployed units on the Global Infrastructure Grid (GIG). (Can you say that three times real fast?) The boundary includes redundant firewalls, proxies, routers, switches, a suite of servers and somewhere in the vicinity of 25 various IDS and monitoring applications.
Before joining Team CITS, many of us thought that we were all gurus in our field - and, perhaps we were in the commercial world. But upon arrival on this base and after being exposed to the multi-layered security protocols that one must navigate simply to get to one’s desk ... and then with learning all of the equipment, applications and locations that must be supported, we have each been incredibly humbled in the realization that we had a lot more to learn and experience.
We are a team of nearly 20 engineers working shifts around the clock that receive a myriad of calls from all over the globe. One hour we may get a call from a NOSC in Texas and the next may be from a tent “across the pond” in the “sandbox.” We are on call nearly 24/7 and keep a bag packed just in case we are called for a “Tiger Team” excursion. This is not just a job, it’s an adventure!
Our firewalls are Unix-flavored running a split-DNS configuration. We also have Windows DNS communicating through Cisco driven routers and switches. In addition, each location has a bank of mail relays, some telephony and new wireless services.
I’m proud to finally be a senior lead engineer of such a talented team. We are a cohesive unit and quite picky when giving interviews. If you’re looking to join us, the vital aspects of a potential teammate would include a decent IT background, good problem solving skills, a passion for learning, a good sense of humor and the ability to work well with others. (If you’re a maverick and think you can go it alone, you won’t last long here.) The ability to obtain a TS clearance is a must and creativity with duct tape would be considered a plus.
Our learning curve for probationary engineers, before we feel confident to cut you lose, is about six to eight months. We are consistently working together and constantly learning. Each day presents new challenges and the stress can be quite high when a unit is in trouble. But we dig in, take care of business and do enjoy our downtime when available. We also take pride in the fact that we are doing our little part for national security.
So, if you’re ever in the area (and we will know 30 minutes before you) stop on by our bunker for a visit! We have MREs out the wazoo and keep our canteens on ice. We look forward to meeting you - and we’ll leave the spotlight on for ya!
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