DISA reaffirms strategic partnership with UK ally

Senior National Leadership Communications
May 12, 2022 

Pictured here are: (Back row left to right): U.K. Royal Navy Cmdr. Amy Alexander, (UK liaison officer), Susanne Morrison, Jamie Sell (U.S. liaison officer), U.K. Royal Navy Lt. Cmdr. Paul Adkins, Renee Tucker, Ifeyinwa Okoye, Joel Cummings (front row left to right) Chris Paczkowski, U.K. Royal Air Force, Air Commodore Tom Ashbridge, and Justin Parker. The group met as part for the signing of new U.S.-U.K. Defence Communications Memorandum of Understanding reconciliation documents at DISA headquarters in Fort Meade, Maryland March 30, 2022. (Photo by Thomas Burton, DISA/Released)

The Transport Services Senior National Leadership Communications Division hosted United Kingdom’s Defence Digital Operations Air Commodore Thomas Ashbridge on his first visit to the Defense Information Systems Agency March 30.

During the visit, Ashbridge and Acting Department of Defense Chief Information Officer Justin Parker signed new U.S.-U.K. Defence Communications Memorandum of Understanding reconciliation documents. The signing signifies communications support exchanged between the U.S. DOD and U.K. Ministry of Defence are equivalent in value.

This MOU has allowed the exchange of communications support and related supplies and services over the last decade, granting tremendous flexibility in a special and close military relationship.

The annual MOU signing requires both parties to reconcile communications support exchanges and agree on the value. The MOU also requires a final accounting every five years. The 2022 signing included a close out of the current five-year reporting period and opened a new one.

Ashbridge also met with Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Network Deputy Commander U.S. Navy Rear Adm. William Chase to discuss the cybersecurity collaboration and development of the U.S./U.K. JFHQ-DODIN and NATO relationship.

Ashbridge then met with Operations and Infrastructure Center Director Don Means Jr., Cyberspace Operations Directorate Executive Joseph Wassel, and Transport Services Directorate Executive Chris Paczkowski to discuss various collaborations in areas such as future collaborative opportunities with DISA.

Those discussions included a focus on cloud technology, secure by design and interoperability, and further developing the roles of the DISA UK/US liaison officer positions to optimize the Five-Eye community of interest relationships (Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand) within the agency.