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All of these tools require lengthy education to master. Statistics, for example, can be
introduced in a single, rigorous ten-week academic quarter in which thirty hours of class
time is augmented by at least 150 hours of homework. A five-day training course would
provide sufficient class time — 40 hours — but insufficient homework time. A ten-week
academic quarter is a minimum; preferably statistics should be learned over two quarters
of this length. If the person assigned as an analyst does not possess the required analytic
tools, the organization must provide appropriate education or training.
Presentation Skills
Good analysis poorly presented is useless. Analysts must be able to write clearly, concisely,
and accurately. Unfortunately, most high school graduates, and many college graduates,
are unable to write effectively. Therefore, improvement of writing skills, basic though
they may be, is often required as part of becoming a competent intelligence analyst.
In addition to writing, today, due to downsizing and the elimination of graphics shops,
the analysts must be skilled at graphic presentation. This requires the ability to use computer
software such as Harvard Graphics or Power Point. While few analysts will be
skilled at computer-based mapping — in fact few will have access to such software—they
need to know where to get appropriate maps and how to import them into reports and
studies they are preparing.
Increasingly, analysts are required to brief consumers. Routine, daily briefings are usually
provided by a briefing team but, often, the analyst is expected to provide a specialized briefing.
While many people are uncomfortable with briefing — for a surprisingly high portion of the
population, public speaking is a source of considerable anxiety — it is a skill that all can learn.
ON EDUCATING THE ANALYST
A sophisticated intelligence analyst is one who is steeped in the history and culture of a
region, has a lifelong interest in an area, and approaches the study of the region as a professional
responsibility, and probably as an avocation as well. Such an analyst will read a wide
array of non-fiction about the region: novels set in the region, novels by authors from the
region, and personally subscribe to newspapers, magazines and journals from the region.
It is clear from the foregoing, however, that these qualities, though fundamental, do not
yet describe the properly educated and effective military intelligence analyst. Knowledge
of a great variety of military-related topics; of primary research skills; of analytic methods;
of computer systems, databases, and computer graphics software; and of basic writing
and speaking techniques are all part of the toolbox of the skilled intelligence analyst.
At the Joint Military Intelligence College, the undergraduate and postgraduate programs
are aimed at educating analysts familiar with regions, skilled at actively acquiring information,
adept at analysis, and well-practiced in writing and presentation. It is impossible to
produce an analyst with a week of training — in fact, a year of education is only an introduction.
At the end of the academic year, the graduate has been introduced to the skills
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