| Your experiences may well be different than mine! Having been both
a Company-level (Battery) Commander twice and a S2 (Intel Officer),
I can say that I have not known a Company-level commander to "forget"
his Intelligence briefing. An Intelligence estimate of the situation
is a part of virtually every OPORD (Operations Order) and OPPLAN
(Operations Plan) I have seen dealing with deployments into potentially
hostile areas.
Daily intel briefs are conducted as part of Battalion Command and
Staff briefings. The information is prepared by "qualified
analysts" at higher headquarters and disseminated both in formal
reports and spot reports. The Intel analysts are too few to pay
visits to every small units, which is why reports are prepared
and disseminated.
"Threat" briefings are a regular part of training. They had BETTER
occur more than just twice! Intel updates update the "threat."
Folks I have worked with in S2 and G2 offices take as much pride
as the intel analysts and take an even GREATER personal interest
in getting the best, most current info possible to the troops in
their command. The folks who work with the raw data and process
it are no less professional than those in the intel shops who use
and disseminate it to their subordinate commands.
Intel Warrant Officers are normally found at Division and higher
levels. The Battery/Company commander is unlikely to be at or near
the same garrison location, and certainly not at the same field
location in an after-hours "informal" setting.
I probably miss your point here, but no intel officer or NCO worth
his salt would discuss classified info in an unsecure location.
The warrants I know would be less than gentle with the poor CO
who tried that!
Intel brain-storming sessions (informal, but in the right location)
are "interesting" to attend. If everybody is cleared to the same
level and the same compartments some fantastic work can be
accomplished! And much of what is determined can be sanitized and
released to the Company/Battery commanders through the intel process.
It doesn't become as "stale" as you might imagine. But there are
no appropriate billets for all commanders to have, so attendance
at these sessions is out of the question for most battalion and
battery/company commanders.
Questions posed by company-level officers can usually be answered
pretty well by a good S2. If the S2 doesn't know the answer, or
is unsure, he will pass the question back to the next S2. Unanswered
questions can kill, and there isn't an S2 that doesn't know that
(at least not if he has taken Basic Tactical MI training!).
Good S2/G2 folks ask MORE questions than they answer. A good intel
shop may be "quiet" in noise volume but constantly active.
As for "quashing" ... that is more often done by a commander rather
than an intel staff officer. I have seen commanders and operations
officer (S3) types try to intimidate S2s, but have never seen a intel
officer try to intimidate in the other direction.
In short, while your advice is sound about getting briefings, I
don't think they'll "forget" to be briefed, and I thin you may
be under estimating the quality of the intel professionals at
battalion and brigade levels.
John B.
|
| The purpose of this section, is not to cast dispersions on a commander's
abilities, but instead to offer a focal point for the experience of
mid-level & senior officers to share sage advice to fellow brother &
sister officers who have millions of things to do and often little
experience within the subject.
There are very few officers within the US army who have seen combat
below the rank of Major. Our brethren in the UK have seen more
action in the Falklands than the company officer's within the US reserve
brigades have elsewhere.
We should capture this experience; if on the other hand one has never
been a staff officer in a major headquarters or a commander in a allied
joint commands there is plenty of space here to read the open letters
of those who have.
When one works in a ALLIED JOINT arena as these people , for whom
this open letter is intended, will, there are several Intelligence sources
available not normally found within 7 leagues of an infantry battalion.
Wise commanders understand this, ones who refuse transfusions of
experience often receive transfusions elsewhere later.
Ref comment 1:
Without going into detail, to protect the guilty, uncleared officers & NCOs
are and have been briefed on very sensitive matters when intelligence
personnel realize the gravity of their audience's situation. Often times
this is not fathomed in a formal briefing.
Regards,
Rollyn Trueblood, LTC
|
| I believe I came across too negatively in my .1. Sorry 'bout that.
I agree with you that a good commander should seek out ALL available
intel sources, and not just rely on what "Battalion" is saying.
The Bn S2 is likely doing the same, and the Commander may well get
info that the Bn doesn't have.
The sharing of experiences is one of the great strengths of notes.
It would have been great to have such a forum on active duty, even
if it was limited to unclassified matters.
In regard to passing intel to "uncleared" folks:
Clearly, there are times when the situation require this to be done.
There were instances in Vietnam where intel assets were located
near friendly forces but could not "by the book" inform those units
of impending danger. This (and similar incidents) led to some friction
between the MI folks and some combat troops (and for good reason).
The ability for a staff officer or commander (regardless of level
of command) to see beyond "book" requirements and to respond to
tactical need must be cultivated. In your letter I felt you thought
commanders should seek such "exceptions" as a matter of course before
deployment.
Much CAN be gained (even from unclassified conversation) with members
of the intel community in informal settings. I didn't intend to
imply that commanders shouldn't seek such informal contact.
One thing I would add as advice to Company/Battery commanders is
to stay aware of their value as a collector of information which
may be of value to the intel folks. Send those SITREPS and SPOTREPS,
and be watchful for things that are BOTH out of the ordinary and
things that seem to support what has been passed down from higher.
What may seem "minor" to you could fill in a missing piece for
someone else's analysis. And by all means, if something seems
"wrong" make your feelings and reasons quickly known.
regards!
John B.
|