SELECT COMMITTEE ON
INTELLIGENCE

UNITED STATES SENATE

Additional Prehearing Questions
for
VADM Joseph Maguire
upon his nomination to be
the Director of the
National Counterterrorism Center

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Responsibilities of the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
The National Security Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 created the National Counterterrorism
Center (NCTC) and the position of Director of the NCTC.
QUESTION 1: What is your understanding of the unique role of the NCTC within the
Intelligence Community (IC)?
The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) serves a unique and critical role within the
Intelligence Community (IC) and the Homeland Security apparatus, a role that is clearly
articulated in law and is paramount to the U.S. government’s ability to counter terrorism. The
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) serves as the statutory basis
for NCTC’s unique role within the IC. Among its provisions, this law directs that NCTC:


Serve as the primary organization of the U.S. government for analyzing and integrating
all intelligence possessed or acquired by the U.S. government pertaining to terrorism and
counterterrorism (CT), excepting exclusively domestic terrorists and domestic CT.



Conduct strategic operational planning for CT activities, integrating all instruments of
national power, including diplomatic, financial, military, intelligence, homeland security,
and law enforcement activities within and among agencies.



Ensure agencies have appropriate access to and receive all-source intelligence support
necessary to execute CT plans or perform independent alternative analysis.



Serve as the central and shared knowledge bank on known or suspected terrorists (KSTs)
and international terror groups, as well as their goals, strategies, capabilities, and
networks of contacts and support.

The law also directs the Director of NCTC to advise the Director of National Intelligence (DNI)
on the extent to which the CT program recommendations and budget proposals of the
departments, agencies, and elements of the U.S. government conform to the priorities established
by the President. NCTC also plays a unique, cross-government role in strategic operational
planning.
No other CT component of the IC has this range of responsibilities. NCTC alone has access to all
terrorism-related information—both foreign and domestic—that it uses to conduct all-source
analysis and maintain the database that underpins all government watchlisting.

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QUESTION 2: What is your understanding of the specific statutory responsibilities of the
Director?
The specific statutory responsibilities of the Director of NCTC are described in Section 1021 of
IRTPA. The law requires the Director to report to the President of the United States when
exercising the Center’s whole-of-government strategic operational planning functions, and to the
DNI for all other activities and functions. NCTC’s mission, and therefore the mission of its
Director, is focused on the prevention, detection, and disruption of acts of terrorism directed
against the United States and its interests both at home and abroad.
NCTC and its Director are responsible for ensuring that federal departments and agencies are
provided with all-source intelligence support to execute assigned counterterrorism activities.
Under the IRTPA, NCTC is the primary organization in the federal government for analyzing
and integrating all intelligence pertaining to terrorism and CT. NCTC’s unique statutory
authorities allow its personnel to draw upon both foreign and domestic intelligence to produce
integrated analysis. In addition to supporting federal departments and agencies in the executive
branch, NCTC also supports Congress with information and analysis, and—in close partnership
with FBI and DHS—provides terrorism information and analysis to the state, local, tribal, and
territorial partners. NCTC also provides support to FBI and DHS on purely domestic terrorism
issues when assistance is requested.
By law, the Center serves as the U.S. government’s central and shared knowledge bank on
known and suspected terrorists and international terror groups as well as their contacts and
support networks. In order to accomplish this mission, NCTC designs, operates, and maintains a
classified database known as the Terrorism Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE). Following
watchlisting guidance that the interagency developed and approved, NCTC provides identifying
information on KSTs to the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center to support watchlisting and
screening by other federal agencies and departments.
Finally, the Director of NCTC also serves as the National Intelligence Manager for CT (NIMCT) intelligence matters for the DNI. In this role, the Director leads the CT community in
identifying knowledge gaps in CT analysis and focusing collection and production resources on
closing those gaps.

QUESTION 3: Have you discussed with Director Coats his specific expectations of you, if
confirmed as Director, and his expectations of the NCTC as a whole? If so, please describe
these expectations.
Yes, I had the opportunity to meet with DNI Coats and we discussed in general terms his
expectations. We must ensure that NCTC maintains a steady pulse on the terrorism threat as our
country faces an array of other national security threats. The Center must fulfill its role and
obligations to coordinate and share information across the CT enterprise, and maximize its
resources to protect the American people. DNI Coats also underscored the need to ensure that the
CT enterprise is appropriately positioned to collect and assess intelligence against the highest
priority terrorism threats at a time when there are many competing priorities.

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NCTC’s Mission
NCTC leads and integrates the national CT effort by fusing foreign and domestic CT
information, providing terrorism analysis, sharing information with partners across the CT
enterprise, and driving whole-of-government action to secure our national CT objectives.
QUESTION 4: What is your assessment of NCTC’s current strengths and weaknesses?
If confirmed, I expect to fully assess on an ongoing basis NCTC’s strengths and weaknesses as I
guide and direct its future course.
From my perspective, two of NCTC’s greatest strengths are its dedicated, integrated, diverse
workforce and its unique access to terrorism-related data. Nearly half NCTC’s workforce is
drawn from across the IC, which creates a collaborative, inclusive atmosphere of professionals
with varying IC experiences. NCTC is also undergoing an internal transformation by integrating
a number of entry-level employees into the organization to expand the knowledge, skills, and
abilities of its workforce to address the evolving terrorist threat. Additionally, NCTC’s strong
relationship with IC counterparts and its position as the only IC entity with access to all foreign
and domestic terrorism data streams allow this uniquely diverse workforce to provide
comprehensive, coordinated all-source analysis. I would also note that NCTC does not engage in,
or direct, operations, and I see this as a strength that allows NCTC a neutral perspective for CT
analysis and strategic operational planning.
NCTC is challenged in its ability to attract and retain this dynamic staff and fully exploit all data
to which it has access. NCTC relies on the skills and backgrounds of military, law enforcement,
intelligence, and other national security analysts, but the current environment creates challenges
to maintaining this diverse workforce. For example, our partners’ long-term budget
uncertainty—despite the budget agreement in place for fiscal year 2019—and divestitures of
assets allocated to the CT mission complicate interagency efforts to provide detailees to the
Center. To manage and fully exploit the data to which it has access, NCTC must continue to
invest in technology-based tools to power more comprehensive data analysis, increase the speed
of information sharing and collaboration, and automate production workflows. Although the IC
is investing heavily in new data analytic tools, many of these efforts will be sub-optimized unless
complex data management and use issues are resolved.

QUESTION 5: What do you believe are the greatest challenges facing the NCTC?
NCTC’s greatest challenge is maintaining the ability to innovate and adapt as quickly as our
adversaries—both at home and abroad—whose methods are constantly shifting particularly on
the technological front. One way to stay ahead is to maintain a diverse and skilled workforce;
however the current environment creates challenges to appropriately staffing the Center. The
processing time required to bring individuals from outside the IC hampers our ability to recruit
people with critical skillsets, such as data scientists and data analytic specialists who are being
competitively recruited by other government agencies and private industry.
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Like many other organizations, NCTC also faces “big data” challenges and the growing role of
social media in counterterrorism analysis. NCTC’s focus on technology and data analytics,
including attracting and retaining data scientists, is therefore paramount.
Additional challenges include leaks of sensitive or classified information that have handicapped
IC collection efforts and the proliferation of communications technology that has complicated
NCTC’s efforts to identify and mitigate terrorists and plots.

QUESTION 6: Please explain your vision for the NCTC, including your views on its
current and future priorities and what the organization should look like five years from
now.
In the 14 years since its establishment, NCTC has made significant progress in fulfilling the
vision set out by the 9/11 Commission and Congress in 2004 and I believe that NCTC has
become a recognized leader in the CT community. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of
people, partnerships, information sharing, and technology to achieving Congress’s vision for
NCTC, positioning NCTC for future challenges and countering the complex, evolving, and
diverse threat we face as a country. If confirmed, I will continue to build on the successes of my
predecessors to evolve and improve the Center’s capacity to carry out its mission.
First and foremost, the dedicated people of NCTC are its backbone. If confirmed, I will build on
my predecessors’ efforts not only to recruit qualified individuals in the IC and private sectors and
work with partner IC elements to ensure that NCTC draws staff from across the CT community,
but also to care for and develop NCTC officers.
With NCTC’s unique role that spans foreign and domestic spheres, partnerships are key with
both colleagues at home and abroad. We cannot mitigate the threat from terrorists alone, so it is
of utmost importance for us to work with a range of CT partners, spanning local law enforcement
to our allies overseas. I know that NCTC has robust partnerships with foreign partners as well as
state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners, and I would, if confirmed, continue to
foster these relationships and deepen integration and collaboration to achieve our shared CT
goals.
I know that NCTC has made great strides since 9/11, but still faces information-sharing and
technical challenges, which impede its ability to holistically analyze an increasing amount of
data. Complex policy and other issues associated with data management and use still remain
within the IC and across the federal government, and overcoming these issues at NCTC is critical
to the success of its watchlisting, screening, and all-source analytic efforts. If confirmed,
addressing these issues would be a priority over my period of service as the director.



For example, I will work to address the challenges of big data, including the ability to exploit
and analyze relationships across unstructured data sets that can offer important insights that
otherwise would not be discovered.
I also will focus on recruiting and retaining data scientists, who bring critical skill sets to the
challenges presented by rapidly evolving technology and its impact on CT.
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Viewing NCTC five years from now, I would envision the Center’s position as the leader and
integrator of the national CT effort is further solidified, with achievements in recruiting and
retaining personnel, developing partnerships, and the “big data” arena that could be applied
across other mission areas.
QUESTION 7: What specific benchmarks should be used to access NCTC’s performance?
I believe that measuring performance and adjusting course are necessary in any organization in
order to progress and meet goals. I understand that in its NIM-CT role, NCTC uses measures to
assess progress for the IC and these can, at least in part, be applied to measure NCTC’s progress
and complement internal Center benchmarks.
NCTC evaluates the IC’s progress against high priority CT intelligence gaps and assesses
customer satisfaction with overall CT intelligence. NCTC hosts experts at the end of each fiscal
year to identify and develop CT priority intelligence gaps, which are topics that deserve
particular analytic attention during the course of the year, and measures IC progress to fill these
gaps. NCTC also annually surveys a broad range of customers from five customer segments—
DoD/Warfighter, Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Policy and non-Departmental
Intelligence—to determine its satisfaction with CT intelligence support.
As I mentioned earlier, NCTC also uses internal measures to assess NCTC’s performance
supporting key customer needs in several areas, including counterterrorism intelligence,
terrorism identities intelligence, and situational awareness services. NCTC gauges readership and
feedback from NCTC products online through its “Current” portal, which is available at the Top
Secret/compartmented and Secret levels, and engages regularly with customers that range from
federal departments and agencies to state, local, tribal, territorial and private sector partners to
assess how best to serve them. NCTC monitors screening systems for timeliness, ensuring it
meets the Department of State goals, and compliance requirements associated with the storage
and use of information that mission partners provide.
State and local governments
QUESTION 8: What is the role of NCTC in producing and disseminating intelligence for
state, local and tribal partners?
In coordination with FBI and DHS, NCTC produces and disseminates terrorism and CT
intelligence for state, local, tribal, territorial and private sector partners, in support of FBI’s and
DHS’s responsibilities to produce and disseminate intelligence for these consumers.
NCTC’s primary activity for identifying, producing, and disseminating relevant intelligence to
these consumers is the Joint Counterterrorism Assessment Team (JCAT). JCAT, a joint
organization staffed by NCTC, DHS, and FBI and housed in NCTC, is the successor to the
Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group, created by the Implementing
Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 and decommissioned in 2012 when its
authorization for appropriations expired.
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JCAT’s mission is to improve CT information sharing and enhance public safety in the U.S.
Homeland by performing collaborative intelligence production, conducting outreach and
education, and providing support to CT partners in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of
exercises and training.
JCAT products are always coordinated through the intelligence analysis components of NCTC,
DHS, and FBI, and reviewed by public affairs, civil liberties and privacy, domestic disclosure,
pre-publication and legal entities at DHS, FBI, ODNI, and NCTC before dissemination. JCAT
disseminates intelligence products through about a half-dozen U.S. government information
sharing mechanisms across systems of all classification, including FBI’s Law Enforcement
Enterprise Portal website, DHS’s Homeland Security Information Network website, and NCTC’s
classified Current website.
In addition to federal officers from FBI, DHS, and NCTC, JCAT is supported by non-federal
public safety officers, including law enforcement, fire service, emergency medical services, and
emergency management. Non-federal public safety officers assigned to JCAT receive security
clearances and assist their federal counterparts in identifying, producing, and disseminating CT
intelligence to state, local, tribal, territorial and private sector consumers. This unique staffing
construct is the key to JCAT’s success.
Separately, NCTC’s Operations Center produces two situational awareness products—The
Counterterrorism Weekly and the Counterterrorism Digest—at the Unclassified//For Official Use
Only (U//FOUO) and unclassified levels respectively, which are compendiums of international
and domestic news intended to provide a common threat picture of counterterrorism events from
around the globe to domestic first responders, international partners, and the private sector. The
Directorate of Intelligence also produces products at the FOUO and unclassified levels for these
customers, including a widely acclaimed semi-annual magazine called “Alliance” as well as
“The Beacon,” aimed at private sector partners.

QUESTION 9: How is that role different than that of the FBI and the Department of
Homeland Security?
The FBI and DHS have independent statutory missions to provide terrorism information directly
to state, local, and tribal governments.
In compliance with its statutory charter, the IRTPA, and the National Security Act of 1947, as
amended, NCTC supports FBI and DHS in carrying out their missions. NCTC has access to the
full range of U.S. government CT intelligence to inform products for state, local, tribal, territorial
and private sector customers, in support of FBI and DHS. As the primary organization in the
U.S. government for analyzing and integrating all intelligence possessed or acquired by our
federal departments and agencies in regard to terrorism and counterterrorism, NCTC is uniquely
qualified to ensure DHS and FBI have access to and receive all-source intelligence support to
execute their missions.

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QUESTION 10: What is your understanding of the amount and nature of cooperation
among NCTC, FBI, and DHS?
I understand that NCTC works very closely with DHS and FBI through daily engagements,
support to counterterrorism programs, and collaboration on a range of terrorism-related
intelligence production. A few examples include:
 NCTC leads daily secure video conferences to discuss current threats. This regular
cooperation continues with informal and formal analytic exchanges that support the
development of intelligence products, including those that are specifically tailored for state,
local, tribal, territorial and private sector partners.


NCTC engages with DHS and FBI through its CT exercise program and intelligence support
for security efforts at major domestic special events.



NCTC regularly co-authors intelligence assessments with FBI and DHS, particularly on
threats to the U.S. Homeland.



NCTC, DHS, and FBI participate in weekly Counterterrorism Security Group meetings on
threats to U.S. personnel, to provide the policy community with a common picture of such
threats.



NCTC collaborates with and includes input from DHS and FBI to develop whole-ofgovernment CT plans, strategies, and assessments.

Additionally, I understand that NCTC integrates DHS and FBI officers into the Center and
NCTC officers support DHS and FBI. This colocation of people, resources, and information
ensures robust and continuous interaction, communication, and cooperation between NCTC,
FBI, and DHS. I understand DHS and FBI have senior representatives assigned to NCTC who
provide close coordination. Moreover, the Operations Center, which is collocated with FBI CT
Watch and JCAT, hosts a Homeland desk staffed by specially-trained DHS officers who are
knowledgeable of all DHS resources and data sets. It is also my understanding that NCTC has
deployed eleven representatives throughout the United States who work hand-in-hand with DHS
and FBI field elements.

QUESTION 11: If confirmed, what priority would you give this issue?
If confirmed, one of my top priorities would be ensuring that NCTC, DHS, and FBI continue to
work together to provide state, local, tribal, territorial and private sector partners with timely and
accurate information on terrorism because these partners play a unique and critical role in our
national security efforts, often serving as the front line when it comes to the threat of homegrown
violent extremists. Effective sharing with these partners enhances their capabilities to recognize
and effectively respond to suspected terrorism and violent extremism activities, while
simultaneously protecting our privacy and preserving our civil liberties.
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Based upon my previous service and discussions with current NCTC staff, it is clear these
partners have a critical need for NCTC information and assistance to understand and address the
threat in their communities. NCTC is uniquely positioned to integrate intelligence and augment
information sharing with these consumers. In addition, JCAT, with staffing from non-federal
public safety partners, is positioned to recognize and tailor terrorism and counterterrorism
products for state and regional fusion centers as well as first responders that enhance public
safety across the U.S. NCTC is always looking for options to expand collaboration with federal
partners.

Strategic Operational Planning
QUESTION 12: What unique role does strategic counterterrorism analysis conducted at
NCTC play, as compared to the analysis produced by other components of the Intelligence
Community?
NCTC’s role as the single repository for all CT information within the U.S. government provides
the Center with the unique ability to analyze and integrate all sources of intelligence pertaining
to terrorism and counterterrorism, both foreign and domestic. Additionally, NCTC’s lack of
operational and collection equities enables it to provide unbiased assessments. Unlike other IC
agencies, NCTC coordinates all of its intelligence assessments with other IC partners, enabling
its products to serve as a single voice that reflects the opinions of the entire CT community.

QUESTION 13: To what extent does the Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning
Develop interagency plans for counterterrorism operations?
Since the establishment of the Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning (DSOP), successive
administrations have increased their reliance on DSOP’s statutory role in strategic operational
planning. DSOP effectively uses its mandate to develop whole-of-government CT plans to
engage in cross-agency collaboration as directed by the National Security Council (NSC) to
support policy implementation. NCTC plans address a variety of CT objectives to include
regional and functional CT issues, such as terrorism prevention and weapons of mass
destruction. It is my understanding that the strategic operational planning process integrates all
phases of the planning cycle—developing a plan, monitoring its implementation, and assessing
its effectiveness and resource allocations—and creates communities of interest to coordinate and
integrate implementation. DSOP-led plans and strategies generally are not focused on specific
counterterrorism operations, but incorporate all instruments of national power—which may
include counterterrorism operations—as lines of effort within broader counterterrorism strategies
and plans.

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QUESTION 14: To what extent does the Directorate coordinate or integrate the strategic
planning of components of the Intelligence Community, the Department of Defense, and
other components of the U.S. Government?
When DSOP is designated as the lead planning entity by the NSC staff, DSOP-led strategies and
plans incorporate the inputs of, and are developed in coordination with, the intelligence, strategic
planning, policy, and other components of U.S. government departments and agencies. DSOP
has engaged and involved more than 20 departments and agencies as it developed strategic
operational plans during the last six years. These organizations include IC agencies, the
Department of Defense, as well as many organizations that are not traditionally thought of as
national security entities, such as the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.
Through its efforts, DSOP ensures there are representatives from all departments and agencies
that provide the elements of national power that are necessary to achieve the objectives for a
particular planning effort. Upon approval by the White House, DSOP-led strategies and plans
also help guide the implementation of these departments’ and agencies’ counterterrorism plans
and efforts. Once the plans are put into effect, DSOP assesses progress against the goals and
objectives of the plan and whether the federal government has resourced the effort. If confirmed,
I will continue this vital outreach so we are certain that NCTC’s strategic operational plans are
able to leverage all elements of national power against our terrorist adversaries.

QUESTION 15: Please describe your assessment of the challenge presented by this
responsibility and what should be done to improve NCTC’s performance of it.
Terrorism in all of its forms is becoming increasingly diffuse and complex, making DSOP and its
interagency partners’ efforts to develop effective strategies and plans more challenging. The
complexity of the threat has also led to a greater number and diversity of CT partners and
interagency tools to integrate and coordinate. Since its creation, DSOP has been able to work
collaboratively with its interagency partners to integrate U.S. government activities to counter
the CT threats we face. DSOP benefits from its position as an honest broker and can, therefore,
help to coordinate issues among departments and agencies. If confirmed, I will ensure that DSOP
continues to be seen by the interagency as an honest and willing partner that can effectively
coordinate and integrate all elements of national power in support of our nation’s CT objectives.
To the extent that I identify any challenges in this effort, or ways to improve NCTC’s strategic
operational performance, if confirmed, I will work to expeditiously resolve these issues.
QUESTION 16: What is the role of the Director of NCTC in developing the National
Intelligence Priorities Framework (NIPF) with regard to counterterrorism?
The Director of NCTC is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the
NIPF-CT priorities The NIPF-CT Priorities List is the IC’s list of terrorism priorities, which
informs IC decisions on collection, analysis, and resource allocation against terrorist groups,
states supporting terrorist activities, and other terrorism-related issues based upon the degree of
threat they pose to U.S. national security as well as policymaker interest. These priorities are
updated on a quarterly basis with support from IC elements and integrated into the ODNI’s
overall NIPF process.
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To the maximum extent possible, I want to ensure NIPF-CT priorities provide clear guidance to
the IC agencies and do not generate conflicts with the other priorities identified by other
elements of the IC so that we can ensure the most effective and efficient allocation of our critical
resources. In addition, NCTC participates in NIPF Zero Based Reviews to present NIPF Priority
topics on behalf of the chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological community. If confirmed, I
will support our important role in the NIPF-CT priority process.

QUESTION 17: What is your view of the proper role of Congress in overseeing the
activities of the Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning?
I believe the Congress is obligated to exercise its oversight role over all of NCTC’s activities,
including those activities undertaken by DSOP. Pursuant to the IRTPA, NCTC conducts strategic
operational planning at the direction of and in support of the President and the Executive Office
of the President. If confirmed, I will continue to work closely with the Congress to facilitate its
ability to perform its oversight function in keeping with accommodations agreed upon by NCTC
and the Committee.

National Intelligence Manager
As the Counterterrorism Mission Manager for the IC, the Director of NCTC identifies
intelligence gaps and resource constraints and sets collection and analytic priorities.
QUESTION 18: What is your vision of the Director of NCTC in the role of mission
manager?
The role of mission manager allows the Director of NCTC the privilege to be a proactive leader
in both the IC and the CT community. If confirmed, I will ensure that I prioritize this role given
an increasingly diversified threat landscape and competing national security concerns to ensure
that the CT community maintains a steady pulse on the terrorism threat.
I view this role to be an honest broker who can work across the CT enterprise to balance risks,
find efficiencies and opportunities for collaboration, and, when necessary, communicate difficult
options for senior policymaker decisions. In the IC, there is a tremendous demand placed on our
limited national collection platforms, analytic resources, and other capabilities that are shared
with other vital national security priorities. The NIM role is important to me because I believe it
is vital to work across our community, as partners, to ensure we all understand how we are
efficiently and effectively using our collective resources.
I am a believer in the importance of well-drafted strategies that are monitored and assessed. Our
priorities and overall approach for the IC are set by the National Security Strategy, the National
Strategy for Counterterrorism, and the National Intelligence Strategy. To effectively execute
these strategies, I will promulgate a Unifying Intelligence Strategy for CT that sets our priority
issues and the plan of action for addressing them. This strategy will also support the development
of recommendations to the DNI that provide a basis for his resource guidance to the IC.

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QUESTION 19: What is the role of the Director of NCTC in providing guidance with
regard to the allocation of resources among, and within elements of the Intelligence
Community? Please describe how the Director of NCTC should identify unnecessary or less
critical programs and seek to reallocate funding, within resource constraints.
I believe that the role of the mission manager is to provide resource guidance to the CT
community and serve as the principal adviser to the DNI for counterterrorism priorities. To fulfill
this role, which is outlined within the IRTPA, the Director of NCTC is charged to collaborate
with CT program managers across the IC to understand resource priorities, shortfalls, and
redundancies. The Director’s ability to identify critical resource investments and be an effective
advocate and leader for the CT community within the intelligence planning, programming,
budgeting and execution process. If confirmed, I will build close partnerships with interagency
partners to position NCTC and our many partners to work as one CT enterprise.

QUESTION 20: What are the most important counterterrorism gaps or shortfalls across
the Intelligence Community?
As the last 17 years have proven, terrorism is an adaptive threat and the U.S. government’s
ability to identify gaps and shortfalls in a timely and efficient manor is vital to our continued
success. That said, three issues that most concern me are adapting to the rapid pace of
technology, managing and most efficiently exploiting large volumes of IC data, and efforts to
improve screening and vetting capabilities.
First, in our current environment, the rapid pace of technology has allowed opportunities to
support NCTC’s mission, while also providing our adversaries new abilities to use it against us.
In order to stay ahead of our adversaries, NCTC must find ways to appropriately acquire and
adapt new technologies while mitigating the threat of terrorist use of technology.
Second, the IC has the benefit of large datasets; however, it must identify solutions to effectively
standardize, integrate, and process increasingly large holdings. This “big data” management
solution must also include innovative approaches to information sharing and access. Data
management and integrity is vital to NCTC’s efforts supporting the No Fly list and other
screening mechanisms and providing our international partners the timely and actionable
information they need to keep terrorists from reaching the U.S. Homeland.
Finally, there are a myriad of challenges related to screening and vetting. One that comes to mind
is the challenge of integrating biometric data, such as fingerprints and facial images, into
screening of biographic data. In addition, we must move from a name-based system to a personabased system of performing identity intelligence.
All of these issues require serious investments in time and resources, but I believe they are
critical advancements that must be addressed for continued IC success.

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Congressional Oversight
QUESTION 21: What do you understand to be the obligation of the DNI, and the Director
of the NCTC in support of the DNI, to keep the congressional intelligence committees fully
and currently informed about matters relating to compliance with the Constitution and
laws?
If confirmed as the Director of NCTC, I assure you that I will continue to abide by the
responsibility to keep Congress fully and currently informed, consistent with the law. I
understand the standard for meaningful compliance with this obligation to mean that
congressional notifications must be timely, accurate, and complete to be effective.
I believe that communicating with Congress on a regular and continuing basis enables us to
further our collective ability to address the threats we face today, prevent further terrorist attacks,
and remain in compliance with American laws. Given the fact that most of the activities of
NCTC and the IC must remain classified, this relationship only becomes more important.
Intelligence oversight is critical to the successful operation of the IC, but it can only be effective
if the IC—as I do—views the intelligence committees as true partners and keeps them fully and
currently informed of their activities.

Professional Experience
QUESTION 22: Please describe specifically how your experiences will enable you to serve
as the Director of NCTC, and how these experiences would enable you to serve effectively
in the future.
If confirmed as the Director of NCTC, I will draw on a wide range of personal and professional
experiences, particularly those that have a connection to the destructive effects of terrorism.
These include:


My close personal connection to the terrorist threat our country faces gives me an
unwavering sense of urgency, energy, and passion for the mission. I’ve lost friends in this
fight, and the destruction and devastation caused by violent extremism. My family’s deep
dedication to public service in the military, law enforcement, and our public schools inspires
me, and if confirmed, I will bring that spirit of service to work daily.



As an officer in the U.S. military and the deputy director of NCTC’s Directorate of Strategic
Operational Planning, I gained an appreciation for the important role intelligence plays in
supporting and informing the operations led by the U.S. military in support of CT policy.
These efforts were effective because of unbiased analysis. I will speak truth to power and
protect NCTC’s analytic objectivity because of the vital role it plays in the security of our
country.

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

My experience as a member of the National Security Council’s Counterterrorism Security
Group—a key forum to synchronize U.S. policy efforts and coordinate U.S. response to
threats to U.S. interests globally—has cemented my view of the importance of partnering
domestically and internationally for CT outcomes that support U.S. government policy, as
well as the importance of personal relationships and trust as the key facilitators to those
partnerships. If confirmed as the Director of NCTC, I will continue to build partnerships with
foreign and domestic partners to enable NCTC’s mission of leading and integrating our
national CT effort.



My work in industry provided me with firsthand experience of how the U.S. government can
partner effectively with the private sector. As NCTC addresses the rapid evolution of
technology and proliferation of information, we can leverage best practices from myriad of
industries to stay ahead of the terrorism threat.



Finally, my experience serving as a career Naval Special Warfare Officer (SEAL) instilled in
me the value of teamwork and the importance of people to mission. As a leader, I have
witnessed how a group can truly be more than the sum of its parts. If confirmed, I will build
on NCTC’s efforts to recruit, develop, and retain NCTC’s most vital resource—our people—
and further NCTC’s value of collaboration.

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