[Congressional Record: September 14, 2011 (Extensions)]
[Page E1629]
HONORING LT. COL. ANTHONY SHAFFER, SENIOR INTELLIGENCE OFFICER, UNITED
STATES ARMY RESERVE (RETIRED)
______
HON. WALTER B. JONES
of north carolina
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise today to honor Lt. Col.
Tony Shaffer, Military Intelligence Corps, for his twenty-five years of
service as a field intelligence operative aid more than three decades
of service to the nation in both the Army National Guard and Army
Reserve.
Col. Shaffer's extensive career started in January 1981, while still
in high school, when he enlisted in the Ohio Army National Guard.
He went on to graduate from Wright State University in 1986. And this
year, 2011, Col. Shaffer was chosen as their College of Liberal Arts
Alumnus of the Year.
Col. Shaffer's storied career has been distinguished by his
willingness and ability to work at the cutting edge of our nation's
intelligence community. He has successfully endeavored to adapt new
technology and use these capabilities to ensure the protection of the
American people. It is likely that most of Lt. Col. Shaffer's work will
never be fully recognized--but I can assure you it is appreciated by me
and the American people.
During his initial years of service, he deployed to Germany during
REFORGER 85 to conduct anti-terrorism operations against the Red Army
Faction, RAF, and other German based terrorism groups. He was also
assigned to the Army's New York City Resident Office during a critical
period when foreign terrorists were targeting the United States.
In 1988 he attended training at ``The Farm'' where he graduated first
in his class of the Military Operations Training Course, MOTC, at Camp
Perry, VA.
He was promoted to Captain in 1990 and was brought to active duty by
the Army for the first Gulf War in 1991 where he worked to develop a
key classified program named STARWATCHER B. After the conclusion of the
first Gulf War, he was appointed to serve as the chief of the Army's
global clandestine HUMINT collection program, and ran specific the
Special Access Program, SAP, operation, unclassified nickname: CAROLINA
MORNING, which netted highly significant information that was critical
to the national leadership during the 1990s.
He was the senior HUMINT advisor to the J2/Senior Intelligence
Officer of Joint Interagency Task Force East, JIATF-E. JIATF-E
conducted counter-drug operations in the Transit Zone between Columbia
and the United States southern border. During this tour he was
successful in integrating highly specialized hybrid technology/human
intelligence operations to obtain high value intelligence information
to support the operational forces.
In 1995, Tony transitioned to Defense Intelligence Agency, DIA, as
part of the consolidation of all Service, Army, Navy, Air Force, and
USMC, controlled HUMINT into the Department of Defense.
He created and directed Task Force STRATUS IVY--a one-of-a-kind
special mission task force that harnessed the skills of officers from
the National Security Agency, NSA, Army Intelligence and Defense
Intelligence Agency that conducted direct support to Department of
Defense, Special Operations Command and other non-DoD agencies.
After his promotion to Major, due to his highly sought after skills,
he was assigned to serve at both the HUMINT Support Element, HSE, at
both Special Operations Command, SOCOM, and the Joint Special
Operations Command, JSOC. He also served as a team leader of classified
element that provided direct support to the Director of Operations of
Defense HUMINT Service, DHS.
During this period of his career he participated in multiple highly
classified operations--the most notable, a project known as ABLE
DANGER--the controversial counterterrorism operation that was designed
to detect, degrade and counter Al Qaeda capabilities that was
successful in detecting Al Qaeda cells operating within the United
States before the
9/11 attacks.
He had two peacetime overseas deployments--the first to Thailand
where he was attached to the III Marine Expeditionary Force, MEF, to
attend Exercise COBRA GOLD 1991; the second to New Zealand with
attachment to the New Zealand Defense Force for Joint Warrior
Interoperability Demonstration in mid 2001.
Just after the 9/11 attacks, in December 2001, he was returned to
active duty for a 30-month period, during which he commanded a DIA
operating base and had two successful combat tours to Afghanistan.
He commanded Field Operating Base, FOB, Alpha, a joint DIA/CIA
brigade equivalent unit conducting classified collection and special
operations support regarding terrorists just after the 9/11 attacks.
During his two undercover combat tours in Afghanistan, he
participated in the search for senior Al Qaeda leadership in
Afghanistan and is credited for helping to break the back of the
Taliban's first attempt to return to power in Afghanistan.
Col. Shaffer received the Bronze Star Medal, BSM, for performance as
an Operations Officer of the HUMINT Support Detachment in Afghanistan
supporting CJTF 180 and CJFT 121.
After promotion to lieutenant colonel in 2005, he was attached to
Navy's premier counterterrorism think-tank, DEEP BLUE at the Pentagon
where he worked on key situational awareness and counterterrorism
technology and tools.
In 2005 to 2006, Tony worked with the U.S. Congress and testified on
multiple issues that relate to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and
intelligence failures.
In 2006 he was assigned to and commanded the Special Troops
Battalion, STB, of the 9th Theater Support Command, Ft. Belvoir, VA.
He was then, in 2007, selected to serve as the G6/Senior Information
Officer, Anti-Terrorism Officer and Public Affairs Officer of the 94th
Division, Force Sustainment, Ft Lee, VA--the 94th Division was re-
activated in 2008 and was one of Gen George Patton's key divisions that
participated in the Battle of the Bulge, Ardennes, in 1944-45. He
remained with the 94th Division until he reached his mandatory
retirement date, MRD, in July of 2011.
He continues to serve this great nation through his work at the
Center for Advanced Defense Studies where, as a Senior Fellow, he
continues to influence national defense strategy and policy through
research and advocacy of critical national security issues.
Over these three decades Lt. Col. Shaffer has served with distinction
and unmatched willingness to conduct high risk operations, while always
recognizing the ethical and moral responsibly of his office.
Lt. Col. Shaffer's keen operational judgment and dynamic leadership
has contributed substantially to the development of critical national
level intelligence capabilities--many of which remain in operation
today. His influence over national defense and security is indelible
and significant--his service has constantly worked to identify threats
and then develop capability to protect the American people. He
consistently worked to influence national intelligence policy and
capabilities to insure the security of the American people and has done
so in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.
On behalf of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I would like
to recognize Col. Shaffer's outstanding accomplishments, courageous
attitude and past and present devotion to this nation. I wish to
congratulate him, his wife Rina, and sons Alexander and Ryan on the
completion of long and distinguished career.
____________________
