A CAPITAL EXPERIENCE
enforcement agencies, Director Mueller created the Office of Law Enforcement Coordination (OLEC). OLEC serves as the FBI’s principal liaison for the law enforcement community and administers the PEFP. According to Ronald Ruecker, FBI assistant director in charge of the OLEC, PEFP administrators rely substantially on the recommendations of an interested candidate’s chief executive and the FBI’s local Special Agent in Charge for candidate placement. “From a program management perspective, our goal is to place candidates from across the law enforcement spectrum,” Ruecker says. “Once a candidate is selected we identify various fellowship placement options matching the candidate’s experience and interest.” Fellows are provided direct access to significant FBI information to integrate their knowledge and learn firsthand how the FBI operates. The Bureau gains new perspective about contemporary issues facing state and local agencies, resulting in a more synchronized and collaborative approach to protecting the United States from criminal activity and terrorism. “Having the non-federal perspective is critically important to the FBI’s success. Everyone benefits from the healthy exchange of diverse perspectives,” Ruecker says. While on assignment in D.C., the FBI provides fellows with lodging, per diem travel costs, and transportation. They also receive top secret security clearances and U.S. Marshal Deputation. Since 2002, more than 40 state and local officials have participated in the fellowship program embedded in a wide range of FBI operational divisions such as Counterterrorism, the Directorate of Intelligence, the Office of International Operations Division, and the Criminal Investigative Division.
TASK FORCE
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Upon acceptance to the PEFP, I requested and was assigned to the Counterterrorism Division’s National Joint Terrorism Task Force (NJTTF). The NJTTF was created in the
wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to help administer and support the rapidly increasing number of Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) being stood up across the country. Within a relatively short period of time, the number of JTTFs grew from 35 before 9/11 to 104 today. The 49 NJTTF agency representatives provide support, intelligence sharing, program management, and training to more than 4,000 JTTF officers from over 650 federal, state, local and tribal agencies across the country. The NJTTF workplace resembles a classic big-city detective squad room with rows of cubicles dotting its L-shaped floor plan. The hum of myriad conversations is immediately palpable upon entering the NJTTF’s secured office space. Task force officers, special agents, analysts, and support staff from 49 federal, state, and local agencies are co-located in one room committed to carrying out the following mission statement: “To enhance communication, coordination and cooperation between federal, state, and local government agencies representing the intelligence, law enforcement, defense, diplomatic, public safety, transportation, and homeland security communities by providing a point of fusion for the sharing of terrorism threats and intelligence; to provide operational support to the Counterterrorism Division; and to provide program management, oversight, and support for the JTTFs throughout the United States.” Being a fellow at the NJTTF opened countless doors into the multitude of federal agencies represented on the task force. Each day at 10 a.m., task force members gather in the conference room for the daily intelligence briefing. Invariably, members chime in after the official presentation and add their own specific knowledge on an issue or event based on their agency’s unique perspective. Within a few short months I attained an entirely new level of appreciation for and understanding about many of our fed-
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