DC Experiences

Now that I have less than two weeks at my internship, I will really miss some of the interesting things that one can do for free. I toured the Capitol building, Library of Congress, the Bureau of Printing and Engraving building, Arlington cemetery, the Pentagon, I’ve been to several museums, I've seen shows at the Kennedy Center,  and even went to the DC Zoo, all for free. One of the highlights of going to these places besides the obvious is that they all required walking around, and that’s something I never do in AZ. Since I didn’t bring my car here, I’m forced to take the metro system everywhere I go and see a lot different things that you would otherwise miss in a car. The weather has been great and it’s rumored that the fall season is the best weather in DC, and it has been great so far. Of course, every time the weather comes up, people think about how nasty last winter was.  I hope to avoid the several feet of snow that piled up last December and make it back in time to enjoy the best season AZ has to offer!

Informational Meeting

I recently went to another training event sponsored by the internship program. The event covered careers in the federal government.  The first speaker was a woman who was an attorney who told us of her experience on Capitol Hill as a lobbyist. She shared her experiences and explained the tremendous growth in that field in recent years. She also talked about her experience in law school and encouraged us to take heart and continue on with that choice if that is what we want to do, despite the difficulty of law school. The second speaker was an HR Manager with the Department of Education spoke to us about the USAJOBS website and gave some tips on what agencies look for in a candidate. She had a projector screen on the wall and she showed us her resume and explained how to navigate to do a productive job search.  She also explained that some federal government agencies do not post jobs on USAJOBS and you sometimes have to visit the actual agency website. The US Department of Education is one agency that does not always use USAJOBS to post a listing. She recommended if we are interested in a certain agency to go to their website. I found the meeting to be helpful, but the USAJOBS system cumbersome. Now that there is a new hiring reform hopefully this makes it easier on everyone involved. 

Meeting with Security Specialist

A few weeks ago I met with Mr. Deats, who is one of the Security Specialist for the Office of Security (OSY). Mr. Deats currently works for the Counterespionage Division for OSY. His job is mainly to maintain all policy aspects of how Commerce employees handle classified information (from Unclassified up to Top Secret). His job covers many aspects of this responsibility including giving briefs to new employees who are given authority to classify documents and the guidelines to do so. Mr. Deats is also responsible for keeping track and having accountability for all classified documents and equipment for Commerce. He explained to me the computer system used by various Commerce bureaus that shows how many documents are classified within each bureau and where they are located. Classified documents are stored into safes that are located throughout the building. He was also showed me some of the communications equipment and how much it costs. For example a fax machine that is used to send classified information costs around $5,000 and a telephone used to discuss classified information costs $3,200! The way these machines work is that the message is encrypted while it is being transmitted to the receiver. 

Testing Commerce Security

This morning I was involved in an exercise which involved trying to penetrate the security at the Department of Commerce building. Here in the Herbert C. Hoover building, all personnel walking through the entrances must have their ID checked before walking in. The security is supposed to match every employee’s face with the ID and then you are allowed in. This morning I met with a few security personnel along with a physical security specialist for the Anti-Terrorism Division and with the Capitan of the guards. My mission was to get through security using a fake ID. We met a few minutes before to plan what was to happen and of course keeping safety a priority during this exercise. There were people on the radio and also the Capitan was nearby to immediately halt any dangerous situation. But it was pretty simple, I would try to enter into the building using a fake ID. The ID card itself was legitimate but the guy in the picture didn’t look like me.  

For the exercise I walked outside and around the corner to another entrance, I followed behind a woman who was walking and I thought that would be good to try and mingle in with other workers. I said “Good Morning” and held my ID up, but the security held it for a second and said “Uh, that’s not you.” I didn’t respond and she immediately confiscated the ID and told me to stand to the side. She then sent out a code on her radio. At that moment, the Capitan walked in from outside (he was monitoring radio traffic) and he told her it was just an exercise.

I’d have to say it was kind of exciting, but I was a little nervous walking in because I didn’t know what to expect.  My main worry was that the guards were armed, so I didn’t want to get shot. Thankfully everything turned out okay.   

Business Etiquette Training

The internship program recently had a training course on how to conduct yourself at the workplace and how to interview with a potential employer. The class was given by the Human Resources Director for Consular Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. He broke us up into groups and each group was responsible for giving explanations on different aspects of business etiquette. The topics were: 1) proper behavior 2) communication 3) grooming and personal appearance 4)media 5) space (personal and common).

The group I was working with covered grooming and personal appearance. We talked about the importance of having a neat appearance during an interview and how important it is to dress professionally. I personally believe a suit during an interview should be the standard for men for all office positions. It doesn’t matter if you are applying for an unpaid internship or to be CEO, you want to look your best. I feel that it has personally helped me and I’ve had a lot of success after interviews.  For women, the same professional appearance applies and also to not use too much make-up or perfume.  There were a lot of other important points discussed such as using social media at work. Some employers allow their employees to use social media accounts like Facebook. Although I can access it on my computer, I personally don’t use it at work because I don’t want to have that appearance of doing aimless things at work. I believe there was a general consensus that it should not be used while at work.  

Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)

I was assigned another policy task this week regarding an executive order by the President  (Executive Order) to all departments and agencies outlining an approach to standardize Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).  CUI is information that is not classified but that requires some levels of safeguard and protection. For example a Commerce document containing classified information on trade negotiations may remain classified until the negotiations are over.  The document could then be labeled Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU). This SBU classification could possibly remain indefinitely until someone within the department later reviews the document again or updates the classification to less tiered unclassified document.  These are some of the changes that need to be looked at when it comes to standardizing unclassified information. Currently, each government agency has their own method of classification on unclassified documents and can change them at will. This executive order along with a general implementation plan will give agencies more structured and standard identification system.   

My task was to identify identical terms and definitions of how CUI was determined in 2006 based on a Government Accountability Report (GAO Report), and the Commerce Manual of Security on Policies and Procedures of 2010. Without getting into much detail, I charted the overlaps and stand alone terms that would be considered CUI. After reviewing this with the director, I believe the plan is to roll some of the detached CUI definitions into broader terms of CUI within Commerce.

Random Tasks

I have to say one of the benefits or parts an internship that you have to deal with is random tasks. This week I was asked to mark up changes to the Department of Commerce policy in regards to issuing out retirement credentials to federal law enforcement employees within the department. Recently, congress passed new legislation on the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) of 2004. LEOSA allows qualified law enforcement officers to carry a concealed firearm across state jurisdictions as long as they have a permit in another state. In order for them to carry a concealed weapon, the qualified law enforcement officer needs to have a credential issued out from their department. The Department of Commerce issues out these credentials to qualified Commerce law enforcement personnel and therefore had to update their policy to comply with the federal changes. Among other changes, the law specified that departments should provide credentials to those with at least 10 years of service upon separation to receive a former law enforcement credential. Our office was notified by legal counsel highlighting the changes on the legislation, but it was left to our office to update the Department Administrative Orders. I was asked to make the changes accordingly and submit it to the director.