News From USJFCOM: USJFCOM civilian receives award for tech innovation


Share \|

USJFCOM civilian receives award for tech innovation

One of U.S. Joint Forces Command’s (USJFCOM) Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Integration Division (ISRID) civilians earned top honors as one of the winners of the 2010 NextGov Award.

By Air Force Staff Sgt. Vanessa Valentine
USJFCOM Public Affairs

(NORFOLK, Va. – June 21, 2010) -- The deputy chief of U.S. Joint Forces Command’s (USJFCOM) Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Integration Division (ISRID) earned top honors as one of the winners of the 2010 NextGov Award.

Christopher Jackson, an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) expert with nearly 30 years of experience tailoring ISR concepts and capabilities, was recently recognized with this federal government-wide award for overcoming resistance in order to deliver innovative technology to deployed forces.

“Jackson led the effort to provide direct support to combat operations through the implementation of the Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Information System (ISRIS),” said Sidney Barteau, who submitted Jackson for the award.

Jackson’s efforts enabled the distribution of full motion video (FMV) generated from unmanned aerial systems – both in real-time and from archives -- across low bandwidth networks in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

“He is a skillful manager that can take a capability from a concept on paper to a capability in the hands of a war-fighter at the tactical edge. That's exactly what he was able to do with the ISRIS. This was the first time a warfighter with very limited bandwidth could gain access to FMV at the very tip of the spear. His innovative solution combined with his program management skills delivered a new capability to the warfighters who needed it the most,” said Air Force Col. George “Skip” Krakie, ISRID chief.

Jackson has served as the ISRIS government sponsor since its beginning as a research and development effort since 1999. ISRIS is now utilized at more than 30 sites, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

“As you would expect, there were a lot of folks involved with this, both coming and going. I can truthfully say that I was there at the beginning and I'll be there when the plug on the last operational ISRIS is pulled - thus my nomination,” Jackson said.

Jackson recognized the potential of ISRIS and proposed that it be deployed operationally to address the urgent need in Iraq for improved integration of FMV into the combat networking environment.

“Jackson's decision to field a capability directly out of an Advanced Concept and Technology Demonstration changed the way FMV was used in the combat environment,” Barteau said. “ISRIS provided war-fighters using bandwidth-constrained networks access to FMV needed to support their operations.”

More than 100 nominations for the 2010 awards program were received and reviewed by a panel of prominent federal technology experts. Finalists were selected from across the federal government, with eight winners announced at a luncheon held at the Gov 2.0 Expo in Washington, D.C.

“I'm happy to have been nominated for NextGov and to have won. However, this was – and is very much -- a team award. It means a lot, and serves as a vindication for the ISRIS team and everything that was done as we approach the project's ‘sunset’,” added Jackson.

The NextGov awards program recognizes federal professionals who have created innovative programs, policies or management practices that improve government operations with the use of new technology.

“Winning this award is another example of how the innovative work going on here at USJFCOM is impacting the warfighter. Mr. Jackson's and the rest of the team's work on ISRIS is just one of the many examples of USJFCOM's focus on delivering capabilities to the joint warfighter,” added Krakie.