JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. -- The Air Force District of Washington encompasses more than 30,000 Airmen in 1,758 units stationed at 500 locations in 108 countries. AFDW Airmen execute varied missions around the world alongside service members and civilians from different Air Force major commands, joint units and international organizations. AFDW highlights Airmen in these unique missions in its series, “AFDW and You.”
The Airman: TaQuasha Wallace is an Air Force District of Washington security specialist at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Wallace is from Waldorf, Maryland.
The mission: As the Joint Base Andrews Special Security Officer, I am responsible for overseeing the security programs for Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI). I am responsible for ensuring individuals are properly vetted for SCI access, then indoctrinated, and ensuring they understand their responsibilities to handle and safeguard SCI material. In addition, I ensure our SCI facilities within the National Capital Region are fully compliant with Intelligence Community policies and guidelines.
The highlights: A unique aspect of my job is supporting the Air Force Rapids Capabilities Office. Due to their unique mission and requirements, we provide SCI support to their office for individuals located all throughout the U.S. This also requires me to be create unique methods and options to ensure our customers have the SCI resources they need at any given location. For example, due to COVID, we have implemented virtual indoctrinations to allow geographically separated personnel to complete their read-in.
The challenges: The Joint Base Andrews SSO recently stood up in February 2020 with a customer base of nearly 3000 personnel. Supporting this large customer base while simultaneously building a new SSO program presented some unique challenges. I overcame these challenges by always being proactive and seeking out resources. One of the unique aspects of the security community is that there are numerous resources available, and other security professionals are always willing to help one another. Having a community to collaborate with has helped me tremendously in everyday challenges as a new SSO.