Small agency gets big bucks for anti-terrorism programs.

• Author: Tiron, Roxana
• Position: Technical Support Working group

A multi-agency government organization-that was relatively unknown less than a year ago-today finds itself in the limelight and swamped by questions from thousands of contractors seeking business opportunities.

The Technical Support Working group, or TSWG (Tiswig, as their members like to call themselves) is a federal interagency panel that, for years, has quietly worked on the research, development and deployment of novel technologies for anti-terrorism and homeland security applications. Located in Arlington, Va., the agency has a budget of just under $100 million, which is a relatively small amount by Pentagon standards.

Things have changed since last fall. The U.S. war on terrorism, increased requirements in homeland defense and growing budgets have turned the TSWG into a "must" agency for government contractors interested in the anti-terrorism market. For TSWG officials, that means they are busier than ever.

"You can't stay in the background and still deal with the people we have to deal with," Jeff David, the head of the TSWG, told National Defense.

"We're getting more interest from a broader range of industry." The numbers of proposals have increased considerably, and there are "a lot of submissions from both very large and small companies," he said. According to David, the quality of submissions has mostly stayed the same, but "some are very exceptional."

The TSWG still works on projects that it does not talk about. Under the current circumstances, however, "you don't get good ideas if you don't tell them what you need," David said.

During the agency's annual briefing for industry earlier this year, TSWG officials cited seven areas that will require new technologies: explosives detection, improvised device defeat, personnel protection/tactical operations support, infrastructure protection, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear countermeasures, investigative support and forensics, and physical security.

A lot of work has been done in all these areas, TSWG officials said, but some new requirements have emerged.

Last year, the TSWG spent 45 percent of its budget on explosives detection (considered the most important in counter terrorism) and physical security efforts. (National Defense, May 2001) Twenty three percent was assigned to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear countermeasures, while 11 percent was allocated to surveillance, collection and operations support. Seven percent was for investigative support and...