Army films commercial at NASIC

  • Published
  • By Rob Young
  • National Air and Space Intelligence Center Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The National Air and Space Intelligence Center's computer training room at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base transformed into a motion picture set June 27. 

Film crew working for the U.S. Army used it as a major location in an Army commercial they filmed here. 

The commercial focused on Sgt. Jeremiah Minor, an Army Reserve intelligence analyst with the 2100th Military Intelligence Group, which supports military intelligence missions carried out at the Joint Reserve Intelligence Center housed in the NASIC facilities. The Army wanted to create a commercial promoting Army Reserve intelligence, and it was Sgt. Minor's story that caught Army officials' attention, resulting in a visit to the base by the contracted film company, Radical Productions. 

A Cincinnati native, Sgt. Minor enlisted at age 24 after working as a disc jockey. He later saw combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. On his tour in Northern Iraq, Sgt. Minor's unit came under fire and the sergeant and two of his men were wounded in a grenade attack.  Sadly, the assault killed the 14-year-old Iraqi girl who served as their translator. After receiving his Purple Heart, Sgt. Minor chose to present the medal to the family of the young girl. After fours years in active duty, he transferred to Army Reserve intelligence. 

When the film crew initially arrived, they researched the available facilities and locations and selected the running track at the base's Kittyhawk Center for a physical training sequence, the NASIC Computer Training Room in Bldg. 280, Area A, for the intelligence action scene and the hallway in the basement of the Wright-Patterson Club as a place to interview Sgt. Minor. 

With these unusual locations selected, the film crew told the NASIC and JRIC members what they needed to create the main set, and the resulting effort impressed the producer, Lisa Shaw, and the director, Brett Froomer. Air Force and Army Reserve members created a tactical operations center in a classroom using camouflage netting, unclassified imagery, maps and computers. The film crew added bold lighting and a smoke machine to create the atmosphere they were looking for. Army and Air Force reservists served as the cast, simulating a very busy operational scenario in which Sgt. Minor was the focal point. 

"This was just perfect," Mr. Froomer said. "We could not have had better help in creating this." 

Mr. Froomer said he chose the basement hallway of the club for Sgt. Minor's interview because "it had an intelligence facility feel to it." Because of classification restrictions, the crew could not film in the main NASIC facility where Sgt. Minor normally works, so they had to create the next best thing, Mr. Froomer said. After several long days of shooting both on and off base, the crew left the area with all the makings of a great Army commercial. 

Sgt. Minor's 2,100th Military Intelligence Group supports the Measurement and Signature Intelligence mission at the JRIC. Wright-Patterson's JRIC is one of 27 reserve intelligence centers in the country. It is a joint intelligence production facility that is hosted by NASIC to carry out the training and production activities of multi-service reserve users in support to the active force. The JRIC also prepares reservists for mobilization assignments supporting contingency operations. The Wright-Patterson JRIC supports more than 19 drilling reserve units with more than 250 members from all services.