The following op-ed appeared in the May 15th, 2019 print edition of the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle.

In December 2003, I had the unbelievable opportunity to fly with our nation’s elite special operations aviation unit, The Nightstalkers, in conjunction with our Army’s tier one counterterrorism unit in the capture of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. It was the highlight of my career as an Army special operations flight surgeon. 

In my years with the Nightstalkers, I learned a great deal. Perhaps one of my greatest lessons was the need to synchronize intelligence assets to deliver actionable intelligence. Whether it was missions in Iraq searching for weapons of mass destruction and the reviled dictator, or hunting Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, having a systematic way to gather, process, analyze and disseminate intelligence information was critical to our success.

Created after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took 22 previously independent entities and formed a new federal department with one mission: keep Americans safe.

In 2016, the House Committee on Homeland Security released a comprehensive review of the Department of Homeland Security’s use of intelligence to counter terrorist threats. While the committee recognized that “DHS has improved its ability to protect the homeland against terrorist threats over time, major gaps remain.” They prescribed over 30 recommendations to the department for improved intelligence sharing.

It's time for DHS to function with the same precision in the handling of intelligence information as our warriors in the Department of Defense. This week I dropped the Unifying DHS Intelligence Enterprise Act, a bill that directs DHS to create systems for intel processing and sharing throughout the department. It requires a synchronized doctrine to produce efficiency and thoroughness and it provides the resources for the chief intelligence officer to staff this effort with competent, trained and experienced intelligence professionals.

The incredible differences in the agencies of the department create natural barriers to information flow. And while the leadership of DHS has made herculean improvements, this act is essential to getting the department’s intel operations on par with the best of our nation.

It was an honor to serve with our nation’s elite warriors. It is now my duty to use what I learned from them to help the Department of Homeland Security keep America safe.