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Always Out Front
by Major General Scott D. Berrier
Commanding General
U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence
I am excited, humbled, and honored to take command of the Intelligence
Center of Excellence at this important juncture in our Army’s history.
Fort Huachuca and Team Huachuca have grown to masterfully meet
the Army’s needs during a long period of conflict. Together with DA G2,
INSCOM, the rest of the Army intelligence community, and the Joint intelligence
community, we will continue to move Military Intelligence
forward to meet the ever increasing demands on intelligence in the
future.
This issue’s theme is Overcoming Intelligence Challenges.
One of the largest hurdles we will face as an Army, and
as MI professionals, is how we overcome day-to-day and
long term adversity and challenges. The world has indeed
changed in recent years, it is highly complex and evolving
by the second. Enabling our future MI force to more effectively
and efficiently process, exploit, and analyze information
from multiple disciplines is vital to accomplish our
diverse missions. TRADOC Pamphlet 525-3-1, The U.S. Army
Operating Concept (AOC), 31 October 2014, challenges the
Army not only to win in a complex world, but to prevent
conflict and shape security environments, all while operating
as part of our joint force with multiple partners. While
that sounds easy, with the AOC’s directive comes tremendous
challenges for Army intelligence professionals.
Similar to the development of a rigorous PT program, the
skills necessary to overcome challenges need to be thoughtfully
exercised. First you have to understand the guidance
and direction provided by your higher headquarters. Then
you develop a road map to accomplish your commanders’
intent. Early in the process you must look for roadblocks,
hindrances, and limitations that will prevent your success.
Simple tasks such as ensuring your systems are not out of
date, training certifications are in place, and understanding
your unit’s priorities are crucial. Make sure the routine
things are done routinely; then you are ready to tackle
the unforeseen and complicated challenges as they arise.
Furthermore, we must try to change our perspective. It’s
difficult to abandon the comfort of routine, but intelligence
must reflect the changing world in which we operate, we
must be postured to change with it.
Technology will challenge us in every aspect of intelligence.
The rapid evolution in information and telecommunication
technology has fundamentally transformed the
operational environment in which we operate. Mankind
produces more information at a faster rate and from more
devices than ever before. Personal computers, cell phones,
and the internet have allowed individuals to not just “be
reached” but “to reach out” to vast numbers of people.
Nonetheless, we must view technology as an opportunity,
not a challenge. The same technology we see as one of the
many intelligence challenges may be used to protect our
own information systems, conduct advanced analytics, and
improve dissemination of products to users in the field.
Yet another challenge we face is our reliance on technology
to assist us in our analysis. Critical and creative thinking
is essential to the development of skilled analysts and
we cannot rely solely on technological tools to develop our
conclusions. Critical and creative thinking are often viewed
as opposites; the creative thinker has wild, off-the-wall impractical
ideas while the critical thinker is serious, deep,
and analytical. Consider, instead, these two ways of thinking
as complementary and equally important. They need
to work in unison to connect the seemingly unconnected
and to add value to the challenges we face to effectively
fuse ideas from different perspectives and disciplines. Only
when we combine deep analytical thought with the advantages
of our robust technological toolsets can we anticipate
and meet the needs of the commander.
Intelligence challenges are enduring problems and are
routinely difficult to overcome. However, our vision is clear
and we know where we want to go. Every challenge and every
difficulty we successfully confront, serves to strengthen
our will, confidence, and ability to conquer future challenges–it
simply makes us who we are and the best at what
we do. Herodotus, the Greek philosopher, said, “Adversity
has the effect of drawing out strength and qualities of a man
that would have lain dormant in its absence.” As we forge
ahead, intelligence professionals will have to train more effectively,
run faster, and think harder not only to predict
particular events, but to spot, track, and interpret trends
and patterns in a rapidly changing and unique world.
“Always Out Front!”
2 Military Intelligence