202nd Airman Supports Enhancement Project

Staff Sgt. Patrick Ragan and a team of communications personnel from Macon's the 202nd Engineering Installation Squadron are working with the Defense Information Systems Agency in Washington to bring 21st century technology to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building, President Bush's home.Ragan, who's been with the 202nd for two years, serves as a quality assurance inspector for the organization. He is responsible for checking the work of civilian contractors to ensure they have abided by all regulations.

This is just one part of a major effort by the Air National Guard to upgrade presidential communication.

The presidential communications upgrade is "an initiative to modernize the chief executives telecommunications systems to a standards-based, secure, fully interoperable and supportable architecture."

The Air Guard first began participating in the upgrade in June 2003, when officials realized that the communications program was too understaffed to effectively manage the large demands that the upgrades require.

Agency program managers worked with the Air Guard's Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) division to fill critical positions in network systems. People, DISA officials explained, were needed for telephony, information assurance, communications systems engineering, information management and quality assurance. 

"I brought in those people who had an outstanding résumé, and those who had really good references from their commanders," said Lt. Col. Dian Hall, the program manager. "This is a very demanding environment, so I wanted folks who could go in and do the job without constant supervision."

Ragan said he was on temporary duty in Ecuador in December 2003 when he heard about this program. He submitted his resume, and later notified by the DISA that he had been selected for the job.

By June 2003, additional Airmen joined the White House Communication Agency team, Now, 11 Air Guardsmen have served on the team, with eight still assigned. The original commitment was for 30 days, but that time was too short to effectively accomplish the WHCA tasks, DISA officials said. 

Many of the Airmen who volunteered for this assignment, officials said stay with the team for a year or more. Ragan's appointment, for example is for one to three years.

Airmen involved with the White House assignment quickly established themselves as experience and knowledgeable people, fully capable of working with other WHCA personnel. 

Ragan and his fellow Airmen have a unique background that combines their military and civilian experiences. 

There is a blend of old and new with the White House. Jutting out from the walls are cables for high speed communications and wires wrapped inconspicuously around the tops of rooms. The cable has been painted shades of pink and white to blend win with the decor and maintain a sense of the old architecture.

"This doesn't follow the guidelines of normal telecommunications installation," said Staff Sgt. Patrick Sampson. Sampson, a system administrator from the 190th Air Refueling Wing, is assigned to the team as a quality assure inspector. "It's a completely different design because of the historical significance of the building."

In addition to outstanding support, Air Guard personnel also provide tremendous savings in manpower costs. A year of support, for example, is about $72,000 - four times cheaper than that charged by a contractor.

"Bringing on Air National Guard support brought on people with a broad range of experience and expertise," said Tech. Sgt. Ted Van Landeghem, acting first sergeant for the Air Guard personnel assigned to DISA.

The agency pays a quarter of the cost for the team that it would for the same amount of contractors, Van Landeghem said.

Every WHCA product must be of presidential quality, Ragan said, and he and his fellow Airmen make sure that happens. "Presidential quality means not doing what is considered good - it must be the best," he added. "All the 'I's' have to be dotted, all the 'T's' crossed...every standard must be met."

Although Ragan in a frequent the White House regularly, he also spends much of his time at Camp David and many of the other places where that Bush. Still, he admitted, he hasn't seen the President since joining the elite communications team. 

As much as he compliments his team mates for their dedication and commitment, he also applauds his employer, BellSouth in Orlando, Fla., for allowing him to support the White House. Ragan has been employed by BellSouth for five Years.

"I can never say enough about the great support they continue to give me, the Guard and the country," he said.