By Deborah S. Kent, CEO and Founder of DKC Group
Originally shared as part of DKC Group’s Mission Minute series

Before joining TSA’s Secure Flight Program in 2006, I served as Chief IT Strategist for the U.S. VISIT program, leading the development of a 10-year plan to advance America’s biometric screening capabilities. When that work concluded, I began considering where I could make my next meaningful contribution.

Then opportunity knocked.

A former colleague from the State Department reached out about a TSA opportunity. He believed the need aligned well with my screening, business architecture, and transformation experience. He introduced me to the Assistant Administrator for Threat Assessment and Credentialing (TTAC), who presented me with the opportunity to help deliver the final phase of Secure Flight as its Business Architecture and Policy Lead.

Because a little context matters...

·         Following 9/11, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act shifted passenger prescreening from the airlines to the federal government. TSA initially pursued CAPPS II, but privacy concerns, political opposition, and GAO scrutiny led to the abandonment of the initial approach.

·         In 2004, the effort was reintroduced as Secure Flight, with a greater focus on identity matching against consolidated government terrorist watchlists. By 2005, responsibility had transitioned into TTAC.

I reported for duty on December 26, 2006, at the TTAC Secure Flight Program Office. I remember the office was quiet, most of the staff were on holiday leave. The first person to welcome me and the inspiration behind the sharing of my story is @Stacey.Fitzmaurice. She joined TSA, from the airline industry to lead Secure Flight Communications.

For the next two years, I worked alongside an extraordinarily talented and mission-focused leadership team to orchestrate the rulemaking, business architecture and Concept of Operations necessary for the release of Secure Flight - Initial Operating Capability (IOC) in December 2008.

As a team, Post 9/11, we understood Secure Flight was not simply another technology program. We were entrusted with the mission of eliminating national security vulnerabilities exposed by the attacks of September 11, 2001. Today, Secure Flight is a cornerstone of risk-based passenger prescreening.

This is where my 9/11 story comes full circle. I did not simply reflect on what happened that day. I embraced a call to action—translating lived experience into solution architecture and U.S. policy that continue to protect the traveling public, and into systemic reforms that strengthened the nation’s transportation security mission domain capabilities.

In closing, as many former public servants know-- the mission never fully leaves you. Many of us simply continue serving in our own unique and different ways.

That is the enduring honor of public service.