Intelligence Collection and Sharing
SWJ Blog - Intelligence Collection and Sharing by CPT Tim Hsia.
Quote:
Years from now after the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have ended; historians will pore over the operations and tactics of the U.S. Army during both campaigns. They will likely applaud the all-volunteer force and the courage of the individual soldier; just as likely, however, they will criticize the lack of information sharing and management between the militarily and civilian departments of the U.S. government. Specifically, they will note the military’s poor record in information management, accessibility of intelligence gathered, and the inability to apply years of accumulated intelligence to current battlefield operations. A way to patch the current intelligence gap within the U.S. government would be to adopt an information collection program that accumulates data similar to major internet stock market trackers. Market trackers absorb information continuously, rigorously track trends, and enable traders to formulate decisions based off the latest news combined with historical data. The ability of market trackers to store and quickly recall historical data should be mimicked by the U.S. government so that commanders and diplomats possess relevant records that enable them to make decisions which take into account the economic, historical, cultural, political, anthropological, and environmental aspects of the region they are operating within...
The Human Factor in HUMINT
As I reflect on just how many reports I read, corrected, opined on and contributed to, one thing still sticks in my mind today; the analysts and desk officers at home replying with either ‘of significant intelligence value’ or ‘of no intelligence value’.
The often-overlooked common denominator was the source’s spin on the report. Typical OB for example is in and of itself boring, especially to an individual who has never been to country X, or perhaps barely understands why all those numbers are relevant today, but weren’t a week ago.
I would be very concerned about openly sharing ‘raw or analyzed intel’ when the user is Joe the ordinary soldier, with no skills in comprehending or applying said in a country and/or culture he/she doesn’t fully understand in the first place.