Sen. Tim Kaine makes first visit to DIA’s Rivanna Station in Virginia

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) welcomed Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) to the Col. James N. Rowe Building on Rivanna Station on July 1. This marked the senator’s first visit to the Virginia facility, DIA’s second largest contingent and the fourth largest employer in Albemarle County.

Kaine noted that one in nine Virginians is a veteran, while about one in three Virginians are connected to the military community through active and reserve duty, Department of Defense civilians and contractors, and their families. Of the military intelligence component Rivanna Station provides, Kaine said, “It’s very important to our national security that we have the kind of integrated intelligence that’s done here.”

Kaine discussed the development and functions of Rivanna Station with seniors from DIA, the National Ground Intelligence Center and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, all of which have offices housed on the grounds.

Interagency teams briefed Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Syria and Iraq. His pointed questions often turned the environment from one of a formal briefing into a frank discussion. After the briefings, Kaine went to the desks of two analysts, who demonstrated current projects, and then toured the facility to meet employees.

During a media engagement concluding the visit, Kaine said “Rivanna Station’s intelligence mission has grown in size but also… in importance since the early 1990s, and it has now become a real pillar of this local economy. It was important to learn what’s happening here from the intel standpoint, but also to make sure that we’re doing what we need to do to make sure that the mission can be successful.”