DISA Civilian Completes 14-Month Voluntary Deployment in Afghanistan

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Ourenterprise supports the Defense Department and its mission partners.
Over the decades, DISA has been engagedin every mission the Department has undertaken. These engagements have becomeincreasingly interagency and international, and our partnerships have increasedto reflect this.
This is the story of one DISA civilianwho recently returned from a voluntary deployment in support of the DISAmission.
Vijay Kumar, an Electronics Engineerassigned to the Operations Directorate, recently returned from a 14-monthdeployment to Afghanistan.
Kumar's longevity with the agency (Hehas worked at DISA for 12 years.) and his expertise as a systems engineer atthe DISA Cyber Command Field Office — serving as a liaison engineer supportingDISA programs, applications, and tools — made him a match for this deployment.
"I wanted to help the Afghans asmuch as I could," said Kumar when asked about his reason for volunteering.
Kumar was selected for the assignmentunder the Ministry of Defense Advisors (MoDA) Program, which is designed toforge long-term relationships that strengthen partner states' securityministries.
While deployed, Kumar's mission was toadvise and guide the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) on informationtechnology (IT) and network infrastructure. This included developing an AfghanNational Security Forces Network (ANSFNet), which will improve the deploymentand management of the communication networks supporting the Ministry ofInterior, Ministry of Defense, National Directorate of Security, andPresidential Information Coordination Center.
"Our goal was to deliver a simple,sustainable, and robust communications infrastructure," said Kumar."Afghan National Security Forces Network cornerstone capabilities includereliable, secure, and adequate voice communications for all ANSF personnel and ITconnectivity down to the provincial-level. It also provides a core suite of ITservices and applications that will enhance operational effectiveness and asustainable, standardized communications infrastructure to reduce operationsand maintenance costs."
Working approximately 90 hours a week —without breaks on weekends or holidays — a typical day for Kumar consisted offormal or informal meetings with his Afghan counterparts, developing actionplans and capabilities to manage and maintain the ASNF networks. His dailyroutine often included late night wrap-up meetings with senior leaders, duringwhich the strategic road map was reviewed, daily successes were noted, and theplan to further Afghan infrastructure development was refined.
As a result of Kumar's deployment, theANSF were successfully transitioned to manage their own network operationscenter. In order for the Afghan forces to function independently in theinformation technology and network operations field, they received asignificant amount of training and education from Kumar and his team members.
Kumar and his team also developed andpublished an ANSFNet Network Expansion Plan that defines desired ANSFNetlong-haul IT communication objectives (e.g. bandwidth, uptime, latency, etc.),conforms planned point of presence locations, and identifies additionalrequirements.
"My deployment not only affectedthe way I now approach my work at DISA, but changed my view on lifealtogether," said Kumar. "[My deployment was] not a flashy job. Wehad to blend in and work effectively behind the scenes to promote Afghanownership. When making recommendations, we had to be practical andflexible…"
The opportunity provided Kumar withfirsthand experience of the hardships deployed military and civilian personnelface, and with it, a greater appreciation for the sacrifices they have made
"I am grateful [to] our foundingfathers […] and also to those who sacrificed their lives for this country, bothin the military and civilian world," said Kumar.