Defense to use systems to share threat information from personnel

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced on Thursday that he has directed the Defense Department to use a law enforcement database sometimes referred to as Google for cops to identify military personnel who could pose a threat to troops and civilian workers as a way to avoid violent outbursts such as the slayings at Fort Hood, Texas.

An independent review panel, assembled after Army Maj. Nidal Hasan killed 13 people at the Army base on Nov. 5, 2009, submitted a report to Gates in January, in which it made 79 recommendations to improve safety for military personnel.

The report described a systemic gap in sharing information about potential insider threats as well as the ability to exchange information with state and local law enforcement agencies, which could be solved by using Navy and FBI systems. Intelligence agencies had gathered information months before Hasan unleashed his deadly attack that revealed he had been in contact with al Qaeda terrorists, but the evidence did not reach Army or Fort Hood commanders.

The panel -- chaired by Togo West Jr., former secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department, and retired Adm. Vernon Clark, former chief of naval operations -- said Defense should rely on computer systems to improve force protection, personnel policies and information sharing. Gates approved 26 of the recommendations in a memo he signed on Monday and announced on Thursday.

He directed Defense agencies to use a system developed by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service called the Law Enforcement Information Exchange (LInX), which was first deployed in 2004 to improve information sharing between local law enforcement agencies and the Navy in areas where the service has key bases.

Northrop Grumman operates the exchange and maintains regional data warehouses in seven areas nationwide. The system stores 13 million law enforcement records, including investigative reports, case records, citations, mug shots and pawn shop data.

LInX will be renamed the Law Enforcement National Data Exchange, and Gates asked Clifford Stanley, the undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness, to deploy it in 2011.

Gates also will use the e-Guardian terrorist threat reporting system, which the FBI developed to correlate reports of suspicious activity by its personnel. The system will allow military personnel to share information on suspected terrorist threats within Defense, civilian agencies, and state and law enforcement organizations. Gates directed e-Guardian to become operational no later than September.