ATF Stories

Carla Young is a senior attorney in ATF’s Office of the Chief Counsel. She provides legal advice to the Personnel Security Division, Security and Emergency Programs Division, ATF’s Insider Threat program, and other organizations within the Office of Professional Responsibility and Security Operations. During her 20-year tenure with the bureau, she also served as the Division Counsel to the Houston Field Division and Senior Counsel to Field Operations. Young believes that Black History Month is a time to celebrate the extraordinary contributions of people who descended from Africans. This... Read more about Black History Month Employee Reflections: Carla Young
Theron Jackson serves as the Division Chief for ATF’s Office of Strategic Intelligence and Information. He leads ATF’s business re-engineering processes, which includes enhancing the agency’s law enforcement case management system, Spartan. Jackson believes that Black History Month is a time for everyone to recognize and appreciate the trials, sacrifices and achievements made by the Black community over the years. Jackson also believes that this month is a reminder of the challenges the global community will need to face to keep humanity moving forward. Read more about Black History Month Employee Reflections: Theron Jackson
Misty Waytes is the Principal Firearms Instructor for the Charlotte Field Division. Her duties include coordinating all division firearms qualifications, documenting all firearms and other use-of-force training events, and assisting the Division Tactical Advisor with additional training as needed. Waytes believes that Black History Month is an opportunity to reflect upon the many struggles Blacks around the world have faced and honor the resilience of the Black community. It is also a chance to embrace and commemorate the countless contributions of the many African American revolutionaries... Read more about Black History Month Employee Reflections: Misty Waytes
Warren Harding, Jr. works in the Diversity and Inclusion Branch of ATF’s Office of Human Resources and Professional Development. He manages the Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) Program, the nation’s only federal law enforcement anti-gang community outreach program. As a National Training Team instructor, Harding certifies law enforcement professionals to teach the G.R.E.A.T. program, manages ATF’s interagency G.R.E.A.T. program agreement with DOJ’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), coordinates with state and local law enforcement partners, and... Read more about Black History Month Employee Reflections: Warren Harding
Kim Easterling is an ATF lawyer working in the Firearms and Explosives Law Division. She provides legal support to the National Center for Explosives Training and Research (NCETR), conducts legal research and offers legal guidance on issues related to the Gun Control Act (GCA), National Firearms Act (NFA) and federal explosives laws.  In her words, “Black History Month is a time to acknowledge the hardships and resiliency of African Americans as well as to reflect on our accomplishments and our contributions to our country.”   Read more about Black History Month Employee Reflections: Kim Easterling
As of March 1, 2024 Statistical information on average processing times of applications that are filled out correctly and completely.   ATF Form Processing Office Paper eForms Form 1 Application to Make and Register a Firearm NFA Division 57 days 32 days Form 2 Notice of Firearms Manufactured or Imported NFA Division 15 days 2 days Form 3 Application for Tax-Exempt Transfer of Firearm and Registration to Special Occupational Taxpayer (SOT) NFA Division 9 days 6 days Form 4 Trust Application for... Read more about Current Processing Times
Vaughn Smith, ATF Black History Month Employee Spotlight
Vaughn Smith, a program manager in the Diversity and Career Impact program within ATF’s Human Resources and Professional Development Branch, views his job as expanding on his family’s legacy. Growing up in New Orleans, Smith gained an appreciation for the importance of diversity and inclusion from his father, who shared stories about his role as a civil rights activist in the Crescent City as part of the larger Civil Rights Movement. Smith sees his own job with ATF as a way of carrying the baton for the next generation. As a young man, Smith decided to study psychology at Dillard University... Read more about A Family Legacy of Championing Diversity
Nena Fisher
Nena Fisher serves as an ATF industry operations investigator (IOI), currently working in the Indianapolis Field Office as an area supervisor. She manages a team of 10 IOIs responsible for ensuring that businesses in the firearms and explosives industry are following federal regulations. She takes her role as a leader seriously because IOIs are crucial to ATF’s regulatory mission and help to reduce violent crime by supporting legal ownership and use of firearms and explosives. Fisher is a member of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, and a descendant of the Cheyenne and Choctaw Nations.... Read more about Nena Fisher: Dedication to the ATF Mission and Iowa Tribe
Carol Kelley sits at her desk in ATF Headquarters in Washington, DC.
Carol Kelley sits at her desk in ATF Headquarters in Washington, DC. My name is Carol Kelley and I live with a vision disability. I work as a program analyst in ATF’s Budgetary Operations Branch which falls under the Asset Forfeiture and Seized Property Division. ATF has the authority to seize and forfeit firearms, ammunition, explosives, alcohol, tobacco and other assets used in criminal activity under the Department of Justice's Asset Forfeiture authority. My Division covers the removal of earnings through crime and other assets used by criminals to... Read more about Employee Spotlight: Carol Kelley
Shannon Simpson in her Navy uniform
My name is Shannon Simpson, and I am a management analyst in ATF’s Human Resources Operations Division. I oversee the administration of ATF’s Drug-Free Workplace Program and assist with our Wellness Program, which supports the physical, mental and emotional health of all ATF employees. Before joining ATF, I served 20 years in the U.S. Navy and retired as a Navy Chief Hospital Corpsman in 2007. It was a very challenging but rewarding experience. I love that my current job at ATF lets me apply the health care and compliance skills I learned in the Navy. When I enlisted in 1987, I wanted to be... Read more about Employee Spotlight: Meet Shannon Simpson
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