Intelligence Analysis Management - Current Intelligence

Current Intelligence

A spectrum of activities falls under the term "current intelligence". At a minimum, a current intelligence facility receives raw or minimally processed reports, integrates them with information it has, and, depending on its mission, may support:

• Tactical warning (especially military facilities that combine operations and intelligence), such as the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) command post
• Mobile military and policymaker command centers, such as naval Combat Information Centers or Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS)
• Strategic warning and coordination (e.g., US Department of State Operations Center)
• Situational awareness of continuing items of interest, for operational use (e.g., World War II UK Submarine Tracking Room)
• Situational awareness of continuing items of interest, for policymaker information and more systematic presentations (e.g., US White House Situation Room).

One function of watch centers, at least those in agencies and commands with collection and surveillance capabilities, is to monitor the availability of sensors, scheduled patrols, etc. Part of the tactical surprise at the Battle of Pearl Harbor was that patrol aircraft were supposed to be aloft and the early radar station operating, but no watch center verified this—senior officers assumed it was being done.

Intermediate in timeliness between tactical warning and situation awareness are 24/7/365 facilities that stay active on current matters. Perhaps the first modern watch center was the British submarine tracking center under Rodger Winn. This was the predecessor of the modern "all-source" center, where tactical reports, cryptanalysis, direction finding, and other functions came together to locate German submarines threatening Allied convoys.

Modern current intelligence facilities often use teleconferencing or videoconferencing to share information, such as the NOIWON (National Operational Intelligence Watch Officer's Network) that links the (US) National Military Command Center, National Military Joint Intelligence Center, State Department Operations Center, CIA Operations Center, State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research, NSA Operations Center and White House Situation Room. Other units may join conferences when appropriate, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Strategic Information and Operations Center (SIOC).

Other countries have similar networks, or sometimes a physical installation to which all affected agencies send representatives, such as the UK Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms "COBRA".

When a crisis is not necessarily of international significance, a subset may be all that is needed, such as the SIOC for multiple simultaneous prison riots. In the case of an aircraft hijacking without terrorist implications, the Federal Aviation Authority operations center may work with the SIOC, or with specific service components such as Coast Guard headquarters. The Coast Guard, other Department of Homeland Security offices such as Federal Emergency Management Agency, and technical specialists such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency or National Weather Service may join ad hoc operations.

While some of these contingencies may not immediately seem related to national security, the reality is different, in that a major natural disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina, will need significant military support. In North America, the Incident Command System, with variants all the way from local to the National Incident Management System, are common to emergency service organizations.

Major military commands often have operations centers, into which subordinate headquarters feed information, and higher commands are kept aware of the situation but not its details. They, in turn, feed information to their national levels. The US and Russia have exchanged liaison teams in their aerospace warning centers, and there are "hotline" communications between countries that may need to resolve crises, such the HAMMER RICK system between the US and Israel.