Peting, Natasha. Senior, Political Science: International & Comparative Politics. Branched Military Intelligence
EUCOM Volunteer Internship Program
The United States European Command (USEUCOM) Volunteer Internship Program (EVIP) took place 03JUL2016-03SEP2016 at Patch Barracks, Germany. Nine cadets from all over the United States were selected for EVIP. The internship's focus was to expose cadets to leadership practices at the strategic level and to the complexities involved with international strategic cooperation. The first two weeks consisted of completing administrative requirements, involving the processing of clearances, attending required training, and participating in introductory meetings with USEUCOM staff. At the end of the second week, the cadets were placed in their new assignment. Assignments were determined by interests, skills, openings, and demand.
I was placed in the ECJ5/8-W, the Directorate of Strategy, Policy, Partnering, and Capabilities, Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Division. My primary duty was to assist Cooperative Defense Initiative (CDI) staff to develop the Capacity Characterization Project (CCP). The project was created to develop an interagency accepted, standardized mechanism for characterizing a nation's ability to counter the proliferation of WMD.
One of the highlights of my time at EVIP was Exercise JACKAL STONE, which took place in Tbilisi, Georgia. I was able to travel to Tbilisi, and over the course of five days, participate in the joint training exercise with personnel from the Georgian Counter-Terrorism forces, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Special Operations Command Europe, and USEUCOM. The exercise was centered on building partner capacity and used the interdiction of chemical WMDs a central theme. Outcomes from this exercise are used to strengthen US-Georgian force agreements, provide realistic training for the US troops, and expose the Georgian military to out tactics, techniques, and procedures.
The biggest lesson that I have learned during my time in EVIP is that international strategic operations rely heavily on cooperation and cultural understanding. In order to conduct operations on foreign soil, the United States has to establish and continually reaffirm country partnerships. They have to build partnerships with the host nations, gain permission to fly over foreign airspace and to even stage out of the host nation. These partnerships must be cultivated through joint exercises, discussions, treaties, agreements, and training that can take years to build. All of that hard work and effort can be significantly impacted if a soldier or government employee does something unintentionally to jeopardize the established relationship. I can take this lesson with me when I am a Second Lieutenant in charge of my first platoon. I understand the strategic goals and how even the lowest ranking soldier's actions can affect those goals.
Harrington, Jacob. Senior, Mathematics. Branched Army Cyber Corp
Internship at MIT Lincoln Lab
After CLC, I was lucky enough to intern for four weeks at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts. It was an extremely rewarding experience. The Lincoln Lab is a Department of Defense Research and Development Laboratory which conducts research and development aimed at solutions to problems critical to national security. It was the first year that ROTC cadets were able to intern at the lab, so I was honored to be given the opportunity.
The lab pursues research in a broad spectrum of disciplines, including signal processing, space surveillance technology, tactical systems, chemical and biological defense, air and missile defense, air traffic control, and homeland protection. I was tasked to the cyber division, where I joined a team of five technical staff members in the Cyber Analytics and Decision Systems Group, commonly referred to as Group 58. From the day I arrived to the day I left, I was treated as a full-time staff member and a part of the team, despite my lack of domain expertise. I was given my own workstation and was tasked with independently completing parts of our project. The project itself was to design a software tool for the National Security Agency (NSA) that could quantify the risk of cyber attack to user accounts on enterprise networks based on the configuration of the accounts. I learned more about cyber security in the month I spent at the lab than I believe I could in many months of classes.
The main takeaway I got from my internship is that big expectations yield big results. All eight of the ROTC cadet interns were given assignments that far surpassed their experience and abilities, with the expectation that we would rise to the occasion. In turn, we each made valuable contributions to our respective projects.
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