Profiles of the U.S. Intelligence Community

Profiles of the U.S. Intelligence Community

Air Force Intelligence

The mission of Air Force Intelligence is to ensure that the US Air Force and other customers receive the best intelligence, enabling them to establish information dominance in peace, crisis, and war. In conjunction with the other Military Services and national intelligence agencies, Air Force Intelligence provides accurate, timely intelligence information on air and space forces to consumers at all levels of command. This mission is being carried out in an increasingly dynamic environment, characterized by a global economy, rapid proliferation of information technologies, blurring of traditional geopolitical boundaries, and decreasing resources-all of which challenge the Air Force to keep pace.

The heart of Air Force Intelligence is support for operational forces. Air intelligence resources are embedded in each Unified Command's air component, including wing and squadron levels. Air Force intelligence specialists work side by side with planners and operators at every level of command, preparing for operations from disaster and humanitarian relief, peace keeping, counter terrorism and counter narcotics, to full-scale conflict. An array of high-technology sensor systems, worldwide Air Intelligence Agency ground sites, and airborne reconnaissance systems like the U-2 and RC-135, provide information vital to achieve national objectives. Air Force professionals use suites of interoperable analysis tools and dissemination systems to tailor this information to unique Air Force needs. Commanders use it to determine objectives, select options, and plan, conduct and evaluate combat operations. Combat crews us it to avoid threats and to maximize their effectiveness and meet objectives.

Air Force intelligence professionals are taking a leading role in defining the future of warfare. Faced with a multidimensional battle space, including ground, air, space, and the virtual battlefield of cyberspace, they are seeking innovative ways to establish dominance in air, space, and in the flow of information while protecting our own information and forces from attack.

The Air Intelligence Agency (AIA) is the executive agent for implementing Air Force intelligence policy. AIA operates the National Air Intelligence Center (NAIC), which exploits all source information to produce intelligence on aerospace systems and potential adversaries' capabilities and intentions. Its products directly support war fighters, policy makers, and the weapons acquisition community. The 497th Intelligence Group conducts a host of specialized intelligence support functions for worldwide Air Force units. The Air Force Information Warfare Center (AFIWC) spearheads development of information warfare concepts, tools, and a wide array of support services. The Operations Support Central, part of AFIWC, is around-the-clock source of information and assistance to forces deployed around the globe.

Army Intelligence

The United States Army has undertaken an important transformation, shifting away from the Cold War and moving beyond the Industrial Age into the Information Age. As part of this transformation, intelligence is being fully integrated into the force at every level. The conduct of successful operations requires that intelligence flow seamlessly from national systems to tactical operations; that it support war fighting commanders at each echelon; and that it be communicated within seconds.

Army intelligence is prepared to meet the full range of Foreign Ground Force Intelligence requirements generated by commanders at every level across the spectrum of operations. Based on doctrinal concepts, the Army's assets provide commanders with the capability to communicate with and receive intelligence from many intelligence agencies. Concurrently, the Army provides numerous unique intelligence assets and analytic organizations critical to mission success.

Army intelligence force structure is designed to provide timely, relevant, accurate and synchronized intelligence and electronic warfare support to tactical, operational and strategic level commanders across the range of Joint military operations. To support military force power projection during contingency operations, Army's Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) provides personnel and tactically tailorable deployment packages in support of warfighters worldwide.

In addition, the Army has a robust intelligence structure that supports tactical level warfighters. At the Corps level, intelligence support to war fighters is provided by the commander's senior intelligence officer, the G2, and an organic Military Intelligence (MI) Brigade. The MI Brigade provides support across the full range of intelligence and counterintelligence disciplines and functions.

The Division intelligence structure provides collection assets and analytic organizations that meet Division and Brigade commanders' intelligence needs. The MI Battalion at Division provides the commander an organic collection and analytic capability.

The intelligence structure at the maneuver Battalion and Brigade is simple, small, and standardized. Both elements have small intelligence staffs designed to support commanders with the expedited distribution of combat intelligence. The Brigade is also augmented with a direct support MI Company.

From INSCOM to the intelligence staffs that support maneuver battalions, Army intelligence structure is designed, and its personnel are equipped, trained, and prepared, to provide military commanders with unique capabilities and a balanced flexible force that can be tailored to meet any contingency.

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), established by the National Security Act of 1947, is led by the Director of Central Intelligence(DCI), who manages CIA in addition to serving as head of the Intelligence Community. CIA is an independent agency, responsible to the President through the DCI, and accountable to the American people through the intelligence oversight committees of the US Congress. CIA's mission is to support the President, the National Security Council, and all officials who make and execute US national security policy by:

Providing accurate, comprehensive, and timely foreign intelligence on national security topics, Conducting counterintelligence activities, special activities, and other functions related to foreign intelligence and national security, as directed by the President.

To accomplish this mission, CIA works closely with the other organizations in the Intelligence Community to ensure that the intelligence consumer--whether Washington policymaker or battlefield commander--receives the best intelligence possible. As a separate agency, CIA serves as an independent source of analysis on topics of concern to these consumers.

CIA collects foreign intelligence information through a variety of clandestine and overt means. The Agency also engages in research, development, and deployment of high-leverage technology for intelligence purposes and--in support of the DCI's role as the President's principal intelligence advisor--performs and reports all-source analysis on the full range of topics that affect national security. CIA is organized along functional lines to carry out these activities and to provide the flexible, responsive support necessary for its worldwide mission.

Throughout its history, but especially as new global realities have reordered the national security agenda, CIA has emphasized adaptability to meet the needs of intelligence consumers. To assure that all of the Agency's capabilities are brought to bear on those needs, CIA has tailored its support for key policymakersand has established on-site presence in the major military commands. Moreover, to meet multidimensional global challenges, a succession of DCIs has created special multidisciplinary centers to address high priority, long-standing issues. These include centers or special staffs for: nonproliferation, counterterrorism, counterintelligence, international organized crime and narcotics trafficking, and arms control intelligence. Using the demonstrated synergy and impact of these multidisciplinary centers as a model, CIA is moving to further sharpen its effectiveness and efficiency by forging stronger partnerships between the several intelligence collection disciplines and all-source analysis.

In addition to these activities, CIA contributes to the effectiveness of the overall Intelligence Community by managing services of common concern in imagery analysis and open source collection, and by participating in strategic partnerships with other intelligence agencies in the areas of research and development and technical collection. Finally, CIA takes an active part in Community analytical efforts and coordinates its analytical production schedule with appropriate agencies to ensure efficient coverage of key topics.

The Central Imagery Office

The Central Imagery Office (CIO) was established in 1992 by the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) and the Secretary of Defense. It is a joint Intelligence Community-Department of Defense activity organized as a separate agency within the Department of Defense and designated as a Combat Support Agency.

The mission of CIO is to ensure responsive imagery support to the Intelligence Community, the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, and other US Government departments and agencies. As a Combat Support Agency, CIO is also responsible for ensuring timely imagery support to military operations during peace, crisis, and war.

Imagery includes all products of reconnaissance that provide a likeness of any natural or manmade features or related objectives or activities. This imagery can be acquired by satellites, airborne platforms, remotely piloted vehicles, or other means of sensing the visual or any other segment of the electromagnetic spectrum by sensors, including but not limited to panchromatic, multispectral, infrared, and radar.

CIO develops, recommends, and implements policy; formulates guidance and standards for training personnel; and manages requirements related to the tasking, collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination of imagery. CIO also develops and implements imagery standards and architectures to foster the interoperability of equipment associated with systems controlled separately within the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense, ensuring that these standards and architectures are consistent with programs conducted by civil organizations that use imagery from national collection systems. CIO provides centralized functional management of the Consolidated Imagery Program, the Tactical Imagery Program, and all appropriate research and development activities related to imagery collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination.

As the central imagery tasking authority, CIO tasks national imagery collection assets of the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense in accordance with intelligence requirements established by the DCI in peacetime, and the Secretary of Defense in wartime. CIO also provides advisory collection tasking to theater and tactical imagery collection assets not allocated to meet national requirements.

Since its creation, CIO has promoted improved interaction and a new relationship between imagery producers and users through an integrated US Imagery System. This system emphasizes full integration of imagery capabilities, including national, theater, tactical, and civil imaging resources. It addresses the full imagery cycle--tasking, collection, processing, exploitation, production, and delivery--in all situations from peace through crisis to open conflict, aiming to deliver imagery when, where, and how it is needed.

Defense Intelligence Agency

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is a designated Combat Support Agency and the senior military intelligence component of the Intelligence Community. Established in 1961, DIA's primary mission is to provide all-source intelligence to the US armed forces. Intelligence support for operational forces encompasses a number of areas and challenges. Key areas of emphasis include targeting and battle damage assessment, weapons proliferation, warning of impending crises, support to peacekeeping operations, maintenance of data bases on foreign military organizations andtheir equipment and, as necessary, support to UN operations and US allies. In addition to providing intelligence to war fighters, DIA has other important customers, including policymakers in the Department of Defense and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Additionally, DIA plays a key role in providing information on foreign weapons systems to US weapons planners and the weapons acquisition community. In carrying out these missions, DIA coordinates and synthesizes military intelligence analysis for Defense officials and military commanders worldwide, working in close concert with the intelligence components of the military services and the US unified commands .

Since the end of the Cold War and Desert Shield/Storm, DIA has undergone dramatic change. Regional priorities have changed, missions and functions have been realigned, and a strategic plan has been created to reflect new global realities. Crises in places like Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq and North Korea, as well as such global challenges as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, narcotics trafficking, and monitoring of arms control treaties have increased the scope of demands for intelligence in the post-Cold War world. To reconcile the disparity between increasing requirements and declining resources, DIA has relied on a well-trained, highly motivated work force that has the flexibility and training to face a variety of new challenges.

Technology has also contributed to DIA's ability to carry out its mission. New technical intelligence collection systems have provided greater access to foreign military information. New software and the ability to share data bases has allowed analysts to contrast, compare, and compile information quickly and efficiently. Perhaps most importantly, an improved communications network has enabled efficient, rapid transmission of intelligence to and from military forces around the globe.

Headed by a three-star military officer, DIA is staffed by civilian and military personnel. DIA employees are located in several buildings around the Washington, DC area, but most work at the Defense Intelligence Analysis Center on Bolling Air Force Base. A small number of employees work at the Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center in Maryland and the Missile and Space Intelligence Center in Alabama. DIA's Defense Attaches are assigned to embassies around the world and DIA liaison officers are assigned to each unified military command.

Department of Energy

The Department of Energy has a rich heritage of meeting important national goals in the areas of energy, national security, science, and technology. Its mission is to contribute to the welfare of the nation by providing the scientific foundation, technology, policy, and institutional leadership necessary to achieve efficiency in energy use, diversity in energy sources, a more productive and competitive economy, improved environmental quality, and a secure national defense.

The Department's foreign intelligence program is a component of the Intelligence Community. Its missions are: to provide the Department and other US Government policymakers and decision makers with timely, accurate, high-impact foreign intelligence analyses; to detect and defeat foreign intelligence services bent on acquiring sensitive information on the Department's programs, facilities, technology, and personnel; to provide technical and analytical support to the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI); and to make the Department's technical and analytical expertise available to other members of the Intelligence Community.

The Department traces its membership in the Intelligence Community to July 1947 when national leaders recognized that the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) had an appropriate foreign intelligence role and authorized AEC representation on the Intelligence Advisory Board. Following enactment of the National Security Act of 1947, the AEC's intelligence role was affirmed by National Security Council Intelligence Directive No. 1 of December 12, 1947. The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 transferred the AEC's intelligence responsibilities to the Energy Research and Development Administration. They were subsequently transferred to the Department of Energy by the Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977.

Executive Order 12333 directs the Department to: provide expert technical, analytical and research capability to the Intelligence Community; to formulate intelligence collection and analysis requirements where the expert capability of the Department can contribute; to produce and disseminate foreign intelligence necessary for the Secretary of Energy's responsibilities; and to participate with the Department of State in overtly collecting information with respect to foreign energy matters. Substantive areas of the Department's intelligence responsibility include nuclear proliferation, nuclear weapons technology, fossil and nuclear energy, and science and technology. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978 greatly expanded the proliferation-related responsibilities assigned to the Department.

Department of State: Bureau of Intelligence and Research

The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) is the State Department's primary source for interpretive analysis of global developments. INR was established in 1946 to provide the Secretary of State with timely, objective assessments, free of policy prescription or preferences. INR's mandate is to tell policymakers what they need to know, not what they want to hear. INR is also the focal point within the State Department for all policy issues and activities involving the Intelligence Community. The INR Assistant Secretary reports directly to the Secretary of State and serves as the Secretary's principal advisor for all intelligence matters.

In providing the Secretary and other key decision makers with expert, independent foreign affairs analysis, INR draws on all-source intelligence, diplomatic reporting, and interaction with US and foreign scholars. INR responds rapidly to policy priorities, providing early warning and in-depth analysis of events and trends that affect US foreign policy and national security interests. INR's analyses are not subject to approval by other parts of the Department or to formal coordination with other components of the Intelligence Community. INR contributes to Community analyses such as National Intelligence Estimates, with a particular eye to relevance to policy needs.

INR focuses on issues bearing on US national security, economic well-being, and promotion of democracy, including: reform and stability in Russia and other former communist states; economic challenges from competitors; evolving trade relationships; global issues such as the environment, human rights, terrorism, weapons and military technology proliferation, and peacekeeping; international organizations and agreements; and conflict zones, including the Balkans, Africa, the Middle East, and the Korean peninsula.

In support of the statutory authority of the Secretary of State and Chiefs of Mission for the conduct of foreign policy and oversight of all US Government activities overseas--including agencies like CIA, NSA, FBI, DEA, and Justice--INR coordinates the handling of issues that arise in the course of intelligence, security, counterintelligence, investigative, and special operations. INR sits on the National Counterintelligence Policy Board, and works with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security on matters concerning security and security countermeasures. INR also coordinates with the national security community on visa denials, intelligence sharing, and requirements and evaluation for collection in all intelligence disciplines.

Finally, INR develops intelligence policy for the Department of State, ensuring that intelligence activities abroad are in harmony with US policy and that collection resources and priorities are in accord with US diplomatic interests and requirements.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation

The overall mission of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)is to uphold the law through the investigation of violations of federal criminal statutes; to protect the United States from hostile intelligence efforts; to provide assistance to foreign and other US federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies; and to perform these responsibilities in a manner that is faithful to the Constitution and laws of the United States.

The FBI is the principal investigative arm of the US Department of Justice. The US Code authorizes the Attorney General to appoint officials to detect crimes against the US; other federal statutes give the FBI authority and responsibility to investigate specific crimes. At present, the FBI has investigative jurisdiction over more than 200 categories of violations of federal law.

The Bureau is also authorized to investigate matters where no prosecution is contemplated. For example, under the authority of several Executive Orders, the FBI conducts background security checks on nominees to sensitive Government positions. In addition, the FBI has been directed or authorized by Presidential statements or directives to obtain information about activities that jeopardize the security of the nation.

Information obtained through FBI investigations is presented to US Attorneys or other Justice Department officials, who decide if prosecution or other action is warranted. Top priority has been assigned to the five areas that affect society the most: counterterrorism, drugs and organized crime, foreign counterintelligence,violent crime, and white-collar crime. The FBI is also authorized to provide cooperative services to other law enforcement agencies, including fingerprint identification, laboratory examinations, police training, Uniform Crime Reports, and the services of the National Crime Information Center.

With respect to counterintelligence, the FBI is responsible for detecting and counteracting foreign intelligence activity that gathers information that adversely affects US national interests of security. The FBI conducts foreign counterintelligence investigations under the authority of Executive Order 12333 and acts of Congress.

With regard to counterterrorism, the FBI's mission is to identify and neutralize the threat in the US posed by terrorists and their supporters, whether nations, groups, or individuals. Terrorism is categorized as either domestic or international depending on the origin, base, and objectives of the terrorist organization or individual. Criminal acts investigated under the Counterterrorism Program include violations of the Protection of Foreign Officials statute, neutrality matters, nuclear extortion, sabotage, and sedition.

The agency now known as the FBI was founded in 1908, when Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte appointed an unnamed force of Special Agents to be the investigative force of the Department of Justice. The Special Agent force was named the Bureau of Investigation in 1909, by order of Attorney General George W. Wickersham. Following a series of name changes, the FBI officially received its present title in 1935.

Marine Corps Intelligence

Marine Corps Intelligence is a vital part of the military intelligence; corporate enterprise,; and functions in a collegial, effective manner with other service agencies and with the joint intelligence centers of the JCS and Unified Commands. Marine Corps Intelligence provides services and specialized products to support the Commandant of the Marine Corps as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as to the Marine Corps Headquarters Staff. Marine Intelligence supports acquisition policy and budget planning and programming, and provides pre-deployment training and force contingency planning for requirements that are not satisfied by theater, other service, or national capabilities.

The Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA) accomplishes its mission from two locations: as a full partner with Naval Intelligenceand Coast Guard Intelligence in the National Maritime Intelligence Center, and at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. These locations facilitate maximum effective use of infrastructure and resources, while ensuring that MCIA remains attentive to its primary customers in the operations, development, and force modernization communities within the Marine Corps.

MCIA produces a full range of products to satisfy customer needs in peace, pre-crisis, or contingency situations, and to support service obligations for doctrine development, force structure, training and education, and force modernization. MCIA accomplishes this mission through the integration, development, and application of general military intelligence, technical information, all source production, and open-source materials.

Naval Intelligence

Naval Intelligence is part of the ;corporate enterprise; of military intelligence agencies working within the Intelligence Community. Naval intelligence products and services support the operating forces, the Department of the Navy, and the maritime intelligence requirements of national level agencies. The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), located primarily in the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland, is the national production center for global maritime intelligence.

ONI is the center of expertise for every major maritime issue?from the analysis of the design and construction of foreign surface ships to the collection and analysis of acoustic information on foreign sensor systems, ocean surveillance systems, submarine platforms and undersea weapons systems. Its analysis of naval air warfare ranges from appraisals of opposition combat tactics to analysis of rival missile signatures, making it the authoritative resource for maritime air issues.

ONI is the principal source for maritime intelligence on global merchant affairs and a national leader in other non-traditional maritime issues such as counter narcotics, fishing issues, ocean dumping of radioactive waste, technology transfer, and counter proliferation. ONI also provides specific products in support of national level acquisition programs, including characteristics and performance data on foreign threat platforms and weapons systems. Its foreign material exploitation programs provide assessments to Navy organizations, laboratories and system commands engaged in developing new weapons systems and countermeasures.

Finally, ONI's technical expertise in analyzing naval weapons and systems, combined with the operational expertise of its intelligence and warfare specialists, allows for more effective analysis of the complex questions of contemporary naval capabilities and for a more accurate projection of those capabilities into the future.

National Reconnaissance Office

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is the single, national program to meet US government needs through spaceborne reconnaissance. The NRO is an agency of the Department of Defense and receives its budget through that portion of the National Foreign Intelligence Program (NFIP) known as the National Reconnaissance Program (NRP), which is approved by both the Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI). The existence of the NRO was declassified by the Deputy Secretary of Defense, as recommended by the Director of Central Intelligence, on September 18, 1992.

The mission of the NRO is to ensure that the US has the technology and spaceborne assets needed to acquire intelligence worldwide. This mission is accomplished through research, development, acquisition, and operation of the nation's intelligence satellites. The NRO's assets collect intelligence to support such functions as indications and warning, monitoring of arms control agreements, military operations and exercises, and monitoring of natural disasters and other environmental issues.

The Director of the NRO is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Congress as the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space. The Secretary of Defense has the responsibility, which is exercised in concert with the Director of Central Intelligence, for the management and operation of the NRO. The DCI establishes the collection priorities and requirements for the collection of satellite data. The NRO is staffed by personnel from CIA, the military services, and civilian Department of Defense personnel.

National Security Agency

The National Security Agency (NSA) was founded in 1952 by President Truman. As a separately organized agency within the Department of Defense, NSA plans, coordinates, directs, and performs signals intelligence and information security functions in support of both Defense and non-Defense US Government activities. NSA was designated a Combat Support Agency in 1988 by the Secretary of Defense in response to the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act.

The ability to understand secret foreign communications while protecting our own--a capability in which the United States leads the world--confers a unique competitive advantage. The skill to accomplish this is cryptology, the fundamental mission and core competency of NSA. NSA is charged with two complementary tasks: exploiting foreign electromagnetic signals and protecting the electronic information critical to US national security. ; exploiting; is referred to as signals intelligence; protecting; is known as information systems security. Maintaining this global advantage requires preservation of a healthy cryptologic capability in the face of unparalleled technical challenges.

In the signals intelligence (SIGINT) role, NSA intercepts and analyzes foreign electromagnetic signals--many of them protected by codes, ciphers, and complex electronic countermeasures-to produce intelligence information for decision makers and military commanders. The focus is on interpretation of three broad types of signals: communications, such as telephone or teleprinter messages; non-communications signals, such as radars; and telemetry, the signals associated with missiles, weapons systems and space vehicles.

Following initial efforts during World War I and intermittent development between the wars, SIGINT came of age during World War II, when the US broke the Japanese naval code and learned of plans to invade Midway Island. This intelligence enabled the US to defeat Japan's superior fleet. Subsequent use of signals intelligence helped shorten the war by at least one year. The SIGINT organizations of the armed services were merged in 1952 to form NSA.

Information systems security (INFOSEC) involves the protection of all classified information that is stored or sent through US Government equipment, including computers, telephones, and other message-sending devices. INFOSEC professionals go to extraordinary lengths to make sure these systems remain impenetrable. NSA is also charged with a role in operations security (OPSEC)--to train other Government agencies to improve the security of their operations. Principally, this involves teaching employees of these agencies to see themselves as their adversaries do, and to use common sense to defend against espionage.

The Treasury Department Office of Intelligence Support

The Office of Intelligence Support was established in 1977 during the tenure of Treasury Secretary Blumenthal. It succeeded the Office of National Security (ONS), which was set up in 1961 under Treasury Secretary Douglas Dillon to connect Treasury with the work of the National Security Council. ONS's representation of Treasury with the Intelligence Community began under a Presidential Memorandum in 1971 during the tenure of Treasury Secretary William E. Simon. In 1972, in response to the Murphy Commission Report to the Congress, which stressed the importance of strong links between the Intelligence Community and officials responsible for international economic policy, Treasury became a member of the National Foreign Intelligence Board. Today, Executive Order 12333lists the Special Assistant to the Secretary (National Security)as a senior intelligence officer of the Intelligence Community.

The Special Assistant and his staff support the Secretary of the Treasury in his roles as chief economic and financial adviser to the President, head of the second largest law enforcement department in the federal government, and the official responsible for the integrity of the country's currency. As the focal point on intelligence matters for the Department and Community agencies, the Special Assistant represents the Treasury Department and maintains continuous liaison with other elements of the Intelligence Community. Here views all proposed support relationships between Community components and Treasury offices and bureaus.

Under the Special Assistant's direction, the Office of Intelligence Support (OIS) is responsible for providing timely, relevant intelligence to the Secretary and other Treasury Department officials. To carry out its mission, the Office of Intelligence Support has three main functions: 1) it alerts the Secretary and other officials to fast-breaking events, foreign and domestic; 2) it obtains intelligence reports and products for Treasury officials; and 3) it oversees the intelligence needs of Treasury's offices and bureaus. In addition, the Office participates in the preparation of National Intelligence Estimates and other Community-wide intelligence products, developing and coordinating Treasury Department contributions. OIS officers also sit as Treasury members and advisors on designated national intelligence committees and subcommittees.