Mike Oden on LinkedIn: I am studying for the Defense CounterIntelligence Security Agency (DCSA)… (2024)

I am studying for the Defense CounterIntelligence Security Agency (DCSA) Industrial Security Oversight Credential (ISOC) right now, and taking a break to write a quickpost. I am slated to test for this exam on Wednesday the 14th. I ordered a physical copy of the NISPOM and have been going through it chapter by chapter for the last couple of weeks and I am starting to connect more and more dots.Tonight,I was thinking about the path someone would take to become an Industrial Security professional as a civilian and I'm reaching out to you, my LinkedIn community, to validate my thoughts on this. For the US Air Force, Security Forces is probably the most straightforward path for a security professional skill-wise for military-to-civilian translation. But, as a 1D7 (Cyber Operations Defense), I've dealt with OPSEC, PHYSEC, EMSEC, COMSEC, TRANSEC, and worked in SCIF's for the majority of my career. I've had a TS/SCI clearance for 21 years, and, bonus points, I was a Security Forces Augmentee for a few years as an Airman, so I've stood at a gate checking IDs for 12 hours and sat in a shed on the flight line in the middle of the night through an Alaskan winter. I've been indoctrinated with numerous forms of security my whole career.The point I am trying to make is that Industrial Security Professionals cannot be constrained to one AFSC or MOS. We are all Industrial Security people in our own way. Any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated. TLDR: Transitioning out of the military to something different is scary, but I feel like industrial security is a solid target for my next career. Validation and counterpointsare welcome.

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