From Biometrics System College Student to BISA Operations Manager

Aric Naternicola (l) loads up for a convoy in a South African vehicle.

Morning:  work.  Noon:  work.  Night:  sleep.

For many of the contractors and various government employees helping secure operations oversees by operating and managing the biometric-enabled programs, work and sleep comprise a typical day.  Having recently returned from more than three years working with the Biometric Identification System for Access program at Camp Slayer, Aric Naternicola has returned to West Virginia to work with the Biometrics Task Force for PM DoD Biometrics.  He gives us a glimpse of the change his life took from West Virginia University student in Biometric Systems (2005) to a typical day in Iraq.

"I usually wake up around 0730 in my 12’x40’ trailer that I share with 3 other BISA contractors (that’s about 120 sq feet per person).  There’s no shower or bathroom in the trailer so I have to grab my gear and head down to the community shower/restroom.  Chances are there’s no hot water (during the winter months).  After a quick shower and some time getting ready for work, I meet up with some co-workers and we ride the 1 ½ miles to Building D29 (aka BISA FWD) on our bikes (the most popular way to travel on base). 

Once at the office, I have to prepare for the various meetings, briefings, and conference calls for the day.  Occasionally, there’s a mini-crisis at one of the BISA enrollment sites that requires immediate attention.  The first 6-7 hours of the day are spent dealing with issues local to Iraq.  Around 1500hrs, folks on the east coast are getting started with their morning (Iraq is 7-8hrs ahead of EST).  So the next 5-6 hours are spent working with our stateside support team.  Between 2100 and 2200hrs we close up the office and head back to the trailer.

Sometimes there’s a need to travel outside of Camp Slayer/VBC.  There are several modes of transportation available when traveling outside the wire:

            Fixed wing:  i.e. C-130s, C-5s, C-17s, Sherpas
            Rotary wing:  i.e. Blackhawks, Chinooks, Sea Stallions, Ospreys
            Land Convoys:  i.e. MRAPs, Rhinos, HumVees

Whether traveling by land or air, you’re required to wear full body armor, eye protection, Kevlar helmet, and a long sleeve shirt.

Aric reports that the response to BISA from Americans and Iraqis overseas was generally positive.  The Force Protection Officers and commanders gave praise to the BISA team.  On one occasion, two local nationals actually fought in line to get a biometric-enabled badge and the ensuing status that it offers, Aric said.  The enrollment process does not include religious affiliation, and therefore rarely poses a problem among the local citizens.  Aric said that only in the case of some female enrollees who had to comply with taking their headdress off to be photographed for facial recognition did enrollers meet resistance.  The U.S. government, out of respect for the local customs, added a 6th photograph to the five required that shows the women with headdress to appear on their badges.

Aric said that while he began as a BISA Field Service Engineer, he advanced to Technical lead and then Operations manager in three years.  Asked about interesting enrollment scenarios, he said that although it didn’t happen to him, he heard of cases with 6-digit hands, webbed-fingers, and other anomalies that caused challenges for the enrollers.

Editor’s note - Aric Naternicola, government contractor with the BISA program for 3 ½ yrs, recently returned stateside.  While in Iraq, Aric lived and worked at Camp Slayer (BISA Forward) where he was responsible for managing the BISA Program’s OCONUS operations (i.e., fielding, sustainment, logistics, training, system testing, etc.).  BISA is the advanced biometric access system responsible for ensuring that the local Iraqis and Third Country Nationals working on U.S. bases in Iraq are thoroughly vetted upon enrollment and biometrically verified at the entry control points.