Back long long ago, in the before time, when I was a very new and very green lieutentant my first impressions of the officers of the Military Intelligence branch came from a select few captains and majors who taught and mentored at the military intelligence officer basic course. I looked up to those officers and did my best to learn from them. They had both the experience and knowledge that I never thought I would have and I never expected to reach a level in the Army that would allow for me to follow in their footsteps.
Even when I went to the MI Captains Career Course I looked up to the officer instructors. Even though I had two deployments at that time these were guys who had been battalion level intelligence officers and brigade assistant intelligence officers in either Iraq or Afghanistan, and sometimes both. My career at that point had been as a maintenance platoon leader, a support battalion intelligence officer, and an assitant infantry battalion intelligence officer...nothing really that spectacular. Once again I found myself thinking that there was no way I could do what they do or assume the Army would ever select me to instruct at one of officer courses.
By some twist of fate the Army has selected me to be an instructor at FT Huachuca for either the basic course or the career course. It's not exactly what I wanted to do, or my first location for an assignment, but the more I think about it, the more I find myself looking forward to this new assignment. First off, it will be a challenge (of course I was looking for a challenge when I came to 1-14 CAV and had no idea how challenging it would end up being). Second, I won't deploy for a few years which is great. Third, I was starting to really enjoy southeast Arizona during my time in the MICCC and this will give me an opportunity to explore the area even more. Finally, this is my time to share my experiences with the future assistant and primary S2's of the Army. Hopefully I can have some input on how either the basic course or the career course is run and taught, depending on which course I'm chosen to be an instructor for.
I also want to prepare them for this:
Even when I went to the MI Captains Career Course I looked up to the officer instructors. Even though I had two deployments at that time these were guys who had been battalion level intelligence officers and brigade assistant intelligence officers in either Iraq or Afghanistan, and sometimes both. My career at that point had been as a maintenance platoon leader, a support battalion intelligence officer, and an assitant infantry battalion intelligence officer...nothing really that spectacular. Once again I found myself thinking that there was no way I could do what they do or assume the Army would ever select me to instruct at one of officer courses.
By some twist of fate the Army has selected me to be an instructor at FT Huachuca for either the basic course or the career course. It's not exactly what I wanted to do, or my first location for an assignment, but the more I think about it, the more I find myself looking forward to this new assignment. First off, it will be a challenge (of course I was looking for a challenge when I came to 1-14 CAV and had no idea how challenging it would end up being). Second, I won't deploy for a few years which is great. Third, I was starting to really enjoy southeast Arizona during my time in the MICCC and this will give me an opportunity to explore the area even more. Finally, this is my time to share my experiences with the future assistant and primary S2's of the Army. Hopefully I can have some input on how either the basic course or the career course is run and taught, depending on which course I'm chosen to be an instructor for.
I also want to prepare them for this:
Today's MI captains are being asked to know and do more than at any other time
in our Army's history. They must be specialists and generalists, sometimes
functioning at the strategic, operational, and tactical level simultaneously.
They are held to a higher standard based on the perceived capabilities to
collect intelligence they may or may not have access to. Their contemporaries
are leaving the Army in droves. Courtesy of thefreelibrary.com
This statement is entirely true. As an S2 at the battalion level not only am I expected to know what the enemy is doing in my squadron's area, but also what the enemy is doing throughout the brigade's area, especially if it affects us. Since our Squadron area borders two other brigades as well, I have to coordinate and share information with battalion S2's that I have never met and whose contact information often takes a good deal of networking to acquire. Last deployment I was questioned weekly on what was going on in other provinces entirely such as Al Anbar and Salah Al Din, and expected to give a professional opinion on the spot with no warning. Hell, back in late 2006 when North Korea conducted a nuclear blast test I was asked to give my assessment on whether or not the North Koreans had been successful or not since it wasn't really known. That question really threw me off since I am not an expert in that area of the globe, had no access to or ability to interpret information from the scene, and was focusing my attention on THE LITTLE CONFLICT GOING ON RIGHT OUTSIDE THE GATE called Mosul. And yet, an informed answer to the question was still expected.
The words "perceived capabilities to collect" is what leads to frustration and anger which ultimately leads to situations that I discussed in the last post. Battalion level S2 is one of the most difficult and challenging assignments an officer can have. LTs and captains coming into that need to be prepared.
There's an old saying in the Army: operational success or intelligence failure. Meaning, if a mission is successful it is because the planning was good and the leadership capable. If the mission failed, it was because the intelligence picture was wrong. Unfair? You bet. But that's the world and the life of an intelligence professional.
No comments:
Post a Comment