Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel    
    
        Special Victims Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  News Features
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Knowledge tops rank for Guardsman leading Phoenix Oracle By Donna Jeffries,
                108th Wing
 JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. – Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Steven De Leon, an intelligence analyst with the 204th Intelligence Squadron, is helping develop the Air Mobility Command-led project called Phoenix Oracle. Phoenix Oracle is the umbrella term for AMC/A2's (Intelligence, Air and Space Information Operations) modernization, innovation and transformation efforts. Part of the project is building a multilayered web capability that provides real-time, geospatial data accessible across unclassified, secret, top-secret, and allied network platforms, allowing users to accurately access predictive and prescriptive analytics. The product will improve the quality and timeliness of the Mobility Air Force's Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, decrease time spent collecting and researching data and increase time for analysis and other work. The New Jersey ANG intelligence unit joined the project because of its ability to provide the continuity the active duty has challenges providing due to personnel turnover, said Lt. Col. Drew Eisenhofer, director of operations, 204th IS. Additionally, the 204th is in the forefront because of the skills of its members. The specialties include information analysts and operations intelligence analysts who write and brief airfield risk assessments and country risk assessments. "In the beginning (in March), it was just Lt. Col. Eisenhofer, attending meetings with AMC. He found out there was a relation to airfield risk assessments and country risk assessments and he asked for my flight to go to a meeting, and I was asked to attend because I write risk assessments," said De Leon. De Leon was placed on the geospatial visualization team in March and immediately created a web application for the SECRET platform. The A2 personnel then briefed AMC, who were "so impressed with how the web application turned out, they asked what my skills and experiences were," said De Leon. Melinda Meek, deputy director of A2-Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, said De Leon and Master Sgt. Mike Klein are perfect examples of the "digitally adept Airmen" the Air Force seeks. "De Leon has the intelligence background, but also has the technology skills to leverage the open-source and modern geospatially enabled capabilities to weave into our intelligence mission," Meek said. With his military intelligence training and a bachelor's degree in data science and computer science from Thomas Edison University, De Leon is considered a double threat. "They call me UNICORN because I have the intel background and technology background and I can combine both," De Leon said. Often, success leads to more responsibility and challenges. Such is the case for De Leon, who was named the chief lead of the AMC's Phoenix Oracle development team June 28. He is responsible for researching and developing scripts to support the database and website and oversees a team of three civilian contract software engineers. "His passion for making the mission better for everyone, his positive spirit, inquisitive mind, and desire to contribute to a team of people willing to be change agents (it's not easy being the voice of change), is why I asked him to be the chief of our development corps in our Mod Squad," said Meek. "The Mod Squad is a team of people standing together to transform our mission in key technology areas in data, geospatial, visualization and user experience, collaboration and integration (diverse partnerships with IC, DoD, industry, academia and modern DevSecOps approaches), automation and analytics (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning/Computer Vision/Predictive & Prescriptive Analytics), and modern program management (agile, lean startup, venture capitalism, etc.)." De Leon said the two-year project, with a budget of $4.3 million, will streamline data onto the Phoenix Oracle website, where intel analysts can easily obtain information about any airfield and countries to use for their briefings or situational awareness. "This will also make it easier for intel analysts to write airfield risk assessments and country risk assessments that are disseminated throughout the Air Force," he said. "It will also help AMC, but it's also open to other MAJCOMS, federal agencies, and intelligence community." De Leon is concentrating on making the CrunchyData PostgreSQL/PostGIS database and services into a digestible form. PostgreSQL is an open-source, object-relational database system, while PostGIS provides spatial objects, or storage and query information about location and mapping, for the PostgreSQL database. Meaning it's a database and also a coding language with different iterations – this PostgreSQL/PostGIS data is for geospatially enabled information. "I'm taking all the data sources that AMC and A2 compile and indexing them into the PostgreSQL/PostGIS data and then from there trying to script Python code so the website can recognize all the indexed data in the PostgreSQL/PostGIS database," De Leon explained. His job is to bridge the gap from data to website. De Leon says he feels the weight of his task because the project is being watched by not just A2 but several major commands, the Department of the Air Force chief software officer and Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) executive champion, the Department of the Air Force chief digital transformation officer, and their Phoenix Oracle partner, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). "To keep my balance, I keep a calendar and annotate everything I do and check off what I've done," said De Leon. "I'm creating this as I go. I have to set up the environment for the codes in order for my team to contribute." De Leon said meetings take up most of his Mondays and the rest of the week is spent researching codes and scripts and learning the mechanics of the different coding languages. "I learned the fundamentals in college, but now I'm learning the application of it at the enterprise level," said De Leon, who is studying for a master's degree in technology at Thomas Edison University. Aside from his Phoenix Oracle team members, De Leon is working with NGA, A2-Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance USAF and Arkansas Air National Guard personnel. He's also drawing from the expertise of a CrunchyData senior engineer to create the database for the project and fellow squadron member Klein, who shares his expertise in technology and cybersecurity.
 SHARE
 PRINT
  New Jersey Air National Guard
 Arkansas Air National Guard
 Chaplains Address Guard Soldiers’ Spiritual, Mental Health News Features • 2 days ago
 Guard General Retires After Final Watch at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier News Features • 3 days ago
 Young Cancer Patient Made Honorary 1st Sergeant in Illinois Guard News Features • 3 days ago
 80 Years Ago, National Guard Units Played Key Role in D-Day Landings News Features • 9 days ago
 Retiring Illinois Guard Artillery Gun Chief Fires Final Rounds News Features • 14 days ago
 2024 (46)  2023 (107)  2022 (121)  2021 (119)  2020 (203)  2019 (208)  2018 (165)  2017 (164)  2016 (109)  2015 (52)
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil