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01/16/04
 The
year is 1987. Just days before Thanksgiving, the inmates
of a detention center in Oakdale, Louisiana, suddenly begin
rioting. Within hours, some 1,000 prisoners set half the compound
ablaze, seize control of the rest, and take 28 hostages. The
Bureau swiftly sends 300 personnel from around the country
to the scene -- Hostage Rescue teams, SWAT teams, Special
Agents, and other experts.
Two
days later, several states away, inmates in Atlanta, Georgia,
follow with a riot of their own. This time, there are 125
hostages. And again, the FBI is immediately at the scene,
with 12 more SWAT teams that begin working shoulder-to-shoulder
with local, state, and federal partners to address the crisis.
Both
incidents were resolved swiftly and safely. But the lesson
was clear from this episode and others. In an age where major
crimes and terrorist attacks can quickly become national emergencies
that involve dozens of agencies in different counties, states,
and even countries, the FBI needed more than just the ad hoc
emergency operations center that it had created for specific
crisis situations.
It
needed ... a national, multi-agency command post working
around the clock and ready to gear up at a moment's notice.
One that could centrally manage a major emergency of any kind
and even several crises at once. One that could get and send
critical information everywhere it needed to go. And one that
could house experts from dozens of government agencies, all
linked to their own databases.
That
year, we began planning such a center. And 15 years ago
Monday, we officially launched it: the Strategic Information
and Operations Center, or SIOC.
What
crises/investigations has it helped resolve? Of course,
the attacks of 9/11/01, when SIOC became the nerve center
for country's massive investigation. But also, to name a few:
- The
Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995;
- The
attack on the U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia
in 1996;
- The
bombing of two U.S. embassies in East Africa in 1998;
- Efforts
to collect evidence on Kosovo war crimes in 1999;
- And
the Y2K rollover and investigations into planned terrorist
attacks on the eve of the new millennium.
What's
SIOC focusing on now? Terrorism! Not just standing ready
in case of attacks but, like the rest of the FBI, helping
to prevent them -- thanks to new interagency initiatives like
CT Watch and the National Joint Terrorism Task Force,
as well as its continued information-sharing efforts. SIOC
also works around the clock to process and share the tips
submitted through this website!
Today,
with the daily spectre of terrorist strikes, cyber attacks,
and other global crimes, SIOC has never been a more valuable
force in protecting America.
Related
link: SIOC Fact Sheet
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