Just Another Day at the Office... September 11, 2001, The White House
No ratings
Presented at SourceSeattle 2012 by
This will be the first time speaking publicly about my role as the Counterintelligence Operations Officer at The White House. Everyone remembers what they were doing on 9/11, as it is a date that will be forever part of our lives. While I played but a minor role, as compared to the countless number of heroes in New York City, I was charged with an interesting responsibility, played out behind the scenes during that fateful day in history. This talk will share insightful perspective on what was happening behind the scenes, and out of the limelight, in and around the most famous address in The United States. On 9/11, I linked up with the First Lady and her protective detail to ensure her needs were met in the event we needed to evacuate her and key members of her staff. I, along with her physician, and USSS detail spent the day with Mrs Bush, and the events leading up to the events that day, throughout the day, and our return to reunite her with POTUS was an emotional roller coaster that will be with me forever, and a story worth sharing. With more than 28 years of counterintelligence and security experience, Tony Rucci currently serves as the Director, Reno Data Center, Critical Infrastructure Protection & Risk, NJVC, LLC, in Reno Nevada where he and his team of techincal professionals provide full spectrum, fixed priced, flexible model, managed data center services to customers who require highly secure, available, reliable data center services and consulting, with an emphasis critical infrastructure protection and Risk Management. Prior to NJVC, Mr. Rucci ran IC Programs for the Global Security Directorate (GSD) at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Mr. Rucci was hired by ORNL in 2004 as a Technical Security and Intelligence Programs Manager to spearhead the design and accreditation of the Multiprogram Research Facility. After accreditation, Mr. Rucci served as the Director of Intelligence Operations and in 2007, assumed responsibilities as the Collection Manager and Cyber Initiatives. In 2010, was given an opportunity to reach back to his community of interest and become an IC Programs Developer for the Global Security Directorate. Prior to his employment with ORNL and now NJVC, Mr. Rucci retired after 21 years as a United States Army Counterintelligence (CI) Warrant Officer / Special Agent, having served in a variety of leadership positions and conducted numerous security and espionage investigations to protect our national interests, culminating with his final assignment as the Counterintelligence Operations Officer for the Director of Security, White House Military Office.During the attacks of 11 September 2001, Mr. Rucci and the Director of Security quickly formulated a plan of action and implemented it. Mr. Rucci relocated with the First Lady where he served as the military support officer providing critical assistance in establishing contact between the President and the First Lady. He also used his extensive knowledge of communications protocol and continuity of government plans to help the United States Secret Service interact with Department of Defense elements to develop plans to provide for the safety of the First Lady. Mr. Rucci was the lead counterintelligence officer on over 70 Presidential visits to 94 foreign countries. During these trips, he performed diverse tasks to ensure the White House Military Office mission was successfully performed, provided force protection measures to ensure the security of military forces, provided critical intelligence to the Military Aide to the President and the United States Secret Service, which affected the President of the United States. Mr. Rucci accomplished this by fusing disparate information from national intelligence agencies, host country law enforcement agencies, and Department of State personnel into a coherent, succinct threat picture. Mr. Rucci retired from the U.S. Army and left the White House in December 2004 but continues to serve the intelligence community and national security efforts in his current capacity with NJVC, LLC. Tony speaks regularly at government and industry events on such topics as Critical Infrastructure Protection, Spear Phishing, Social Networking and Insider Threats. Mr. Rucci and his wife Pam are Proud Empty Nesters and reside in Reno, Nevada.