Headline Archives |
|||||||||||||||||
A SIOC MILESTONE Ten Years of Protecting the Nation |
|||||||||||||||||
12/09/08 | |||||||||||||||||
During a crisis, it’s the nerve center of the FBI—providing analytical, logistical, and administrative support to the investigative teams on the ground.
Our “new” SIOC, christened in November 1998, is truly state-of-the-art. Teleconferencing capabilities connect us—24/7—to our field offices, Legal Attaché Offices abroad, other FBI personnel working overseas, and our federal partners. SIOC’s technology also allows for fast processing of terrorism, national security, and criminal-related information in order to get it to those who need it. And SIOC is connected to various databases inside and outside the FBI—a technological feat that makes information-sharing a lot easier. Why do we call it our “new” SIOC? Because it has a predecessor—the smaller original SIOC, which opened in 1989. But as our mission in national security and international law enforcement expanded and we began handling more crises and special events as well as a broader flow of strategic information, we realized we needed something bigger.
Today’s SIOC is a 40,000-square foot facility that can handle up to eight critical events of varying sizes at any one time, while still maintaining its daily duties of disseminating information and supporting field operations. Inside its doors are 20 rooms, including crisis and operations areas, a control room, briefing and conference rooms…all equipped with the latest technological capabilities. Tying everything together are 70 miles of fiber optic cables and 35 miles of phone lines.
One of those dedicated SIOC employees was Juan Scott, who spent 17 years as an emergency action specialist before passing away several months ago. During last month’s 10th anniversary ceremony, a SIOC operations room was dedicated to Juan. During the past 10 years, SIOC has been involved in hundreds of cases and special operations…from monitoring situations to all-out crisis management. Of course, it was a nerve center following the 9/11 attacks, but here are a few other examples:
Over the next 10 years and beyond, SIOC will continue to manage crises, monitor special events, and serve as a 24-hour clearinghouse for strategic information…all in the name of protecting our nation. Resources: |