Human Intelligence
ANALYSIS: U.S. Navy responds to gaps with
integrated, human-derived information enterprise
By ROXANA TIRON, Seapower Correspondent
Centers of Excellence
often inter-related challenges, such
as terrorism, crime, foreign intelligence activities and the military
capabilities of current and potential
adversaries, according to the Navy.
Therefore, the Navy has invested
in a growing number of personnel
dedicated to gleaning and integrating
so-called human-derived information, which includes counterintelli-gence-, counterterrorism- and law
enforcement-related information.
The establishment of a Navy-integrated, human-derived information enterprise will help the service
provide more effective oversight and
management of operations, a Navy
spokeswoman said.
To that effect, senior executives
from the Navy Criminal Investigative
Service will be integrated as part of the director of Naval
Intelligence’s staff to serve in the new position of deputy
director of Naval Intelligence for human-derived information, according to the Navy.
“We have taken steps in the last eight years to dramatically improve our human intelligence, and it was a
capability that was dramatically reduced,” Adm. Mike
Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a
town hall meeting at Grove City College, Pa., Feb. 2.
“That is probably the most important capability that we
have in the intel world.”
Much of what the Navy is doing in the realm of intelligence now is focused on persistent human intelligence
and partnership building, said Robert Work, a naval analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Studies.
Aiding the Navy in its pursuit are significant investments in technology, such as the Broad Area Maritime
Surveillance aircraft; the new P- 8 Poseidon maritime
patrol aircraft, which will provide speedy signals intelligence and home in on high-value targets; and the
The Office of Naval Intelligence began restructuring at the end of
February, a move that included the creation of four centers of
excellence.
■ The Nimitz Operational Intelligence Center will have overall
responsibility for global maritime intelligence integration.
■ The Farragut Technical Analysis Center will anticipate and analyze foreign scientific and technological research, development
and proliferation.
■ The Kennedy Irregular Warfare Center will provide reach-back
and forward-deployed services to special warfare and expeditionary forces.
■ The Hopper Information Services Center will provide mission-related technology and ensure delivery of intelligence products.
The U.S. Navy today must meet a swelling chorus of demands for intelligence — from ship
to shore, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, from
the mountains of Afghanistan to the streets of Iraq,
from Sailors foiling pirates to strategists cobbling
together the potential threats posed by other navies.
In the last eight years, the service has recognized its
enormous task and pushed to fill a hole realized during
the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq: human intelligence.
While the Navy places increasing emphasis on technology to attain persistent intelligence and maritime
domain awareness, analysts say it ultimately comes
back to the ability of personnel to sift through the
technology, put the puzzle together and send the right
information to the right people.
Intelligence analysts offer context at all levels of
war, and the demand for dedicated specialists will only
grow, analysts contend.
The threats to the Navy and U.S. maritime security
in the post-9/11 environment stem from a variety of
