Building a Tactical Intelligence Model for the Information-Based Force

Force development trends since the end of the Cold War have dictated a smaller, more lethal force that is capable of rapidly responding to a multitude of contingencies from a CONUS base - force projection. The tremendous growth in information and precision technologies has established the technological conditions for this force development - information based. These requirements call into question the adequacy of current organizational structures and their ability to allow for the optimization of these capabilities to meet the needs of a force projection, information based Army. This paper examines the division level military intelligence model in particular. The division continues to be the major tactical formation with the capability to tailor for specific missions. Military intelligence, by definition, provides at least half of the information equation that the commander uses to make decisions. The monograph will begin by charting the historical development of the current tactical MI organizational model based on the requirements for military intelligence contained in historical documentation and doctrinal developments since World War II. The monograph develops historical trends in the use of military intelligence. It then applies these trends as the baseline for developing and validating the criteria for evaluating the acceptability and suitability of the current model. These criteria also provide a template of requirements for consideration of alternative organizational structures. The monograph will then focus on two alternative organizational models for tactical military intelligence. The first of these, the Division Intelligence Command, will be built on the historical Division Artillery evolutionary example of building centralized command and control mechanisms to optimize the use of emerging technological capabilities. The second organizational construct is the Soviet model for the Chief of Reconnaissance Troops, and the Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition Tactical Operations Center. The monograph will conclude by evaluating the alternative models for tactical intelligence using the aforementioned criteria to determine the most suitable organizational model.