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Joe Morrissey is glad
to be home. |
A Call to Duty
Joe Morrissey
June 2004
On most days MITRE's Joe Morrissey is a senior multi-discipline
systems engineer working in the Communications & Networking
Division of MITRE's Center for Air Force Command and Control Systems.
But, on some weekends, Morrissey is a flight commander and squadron
engineer at the Massachusetts Air National Guard's 267th Combat
Communications Squadron at Otis Air National Guard Base on Cape
Cod, where he was recently promoted to Major.
Morrissey joined MITRE on September 11, 2000. Exactly one year
later, he was at Hanscom Air Force base watching television. "I
saw the second plane hit the World Trade Center Tower. I was in
shock and knew it would just be a matter of time before I would
be called to active duty."
He was right. Morrissey has been called to active duty for a total
of 17 months since that day, spending 13 months in the Middle East.
He was first activated in early 2002, serving with the 355th Air
Expeditionary Group during Operation Enduring Freedom. After being
home only three months, Morrissey was activated a second time in
early 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. While the first deployment
involved sustainment of an existing facility, his second assignment
was closer to the action and involved building up a base from scratch.
"We carried our weapons and chemical warfare gear everywhere," he
says. "The living and working conditions were much worse. The whole
environment was completely different."
On his second deployment, Morrissey was building a communications
system in the middle of nowhere. "In the beginning, work consisted
of bringing in circuits for phone service, NIPRNet, SIPRNet, radio
networks and generators, as well as building tents to work out of,"
he says. "Once we had our circuits in, we started building up our
defensive posture. We sandbagged our bunker and did drills to be
ready for a SCUD attack."
Not surprising, a MITRE-conceived system was also deployed to the
desert. "The theater deployable communication equipment we used
to set up communications was based on an architecture developed
by MITRE in partnership with the Electronic Systems Center (ESC)
and fielded by the ESC here at Hanscom," Morrissey explains. "We
actually received the first production run of the latest block.
So I stayed in contact with MITRE's Mark Driscoll to provide him
with feedback as to what was working well and what could be improved
on."
Even though Morrissey returned home in mid-summer he continues
to reflect on those still serving far from home. "I am proud to
have served my country during both deployments. I am equally proud
of my family and how they got through the difficult times during
my deployment."
When asked about his future as a reservist, Morrissey's answer
is quick and sure. "For now, I plan on staying in. I just made Major
and I still enjoy going to drill weekends. Also, my family is supportive.
Plus, I have a few more goals I would like to achieve before I retire."
—by Robin W. Hartford
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