Information and Intelligence
Mr Neale McIver
Emergency Services Project Manager
Redsocks Consulting Pty Ltd
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Scope
Introduction
Information Vs Intelligence
Types of Intelligence
The Intelligence Cycle
Intelligence Led Operations
The Role of Intelligence in
ADF Operations in
Afghanistan
• Description of Intelligence
function in ADF
• Product Provided to an
Operational Commander
• Intelligence Tools
• Description of Intelligence
function in ADF
• Force Protection
• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
• Live Satellite Imagery
• Information and the IMT
• Training and Exercising
• Mission Command and the
Intelligence World
Information Vs Intelligence
Information. Information is data that has been collected but has not been analysed to
provide meaning with respect to implications for the operation.
Intelligence. Intelligence is the product resulting from the processing of information
concerning individual and group beliefs, terrain, customs and norms; foreign
governments; hostile or potentially hostile forces or elements; and operational
environments specific to areas of actual or potential operations.
Therefore:
Intelligence is the result of a process involving the collection, evaluation, analysis,
integration and interpretation of disparate pieces of information. This process usually
involves the utilisation of earlier information and intelligence, to clarify a situation and
to produce meaningful conclusions, assessments and predictions in response to the
commander’s intelligence needs. Intelligence also includes factual data derived by
processing information.
Types of Intelligence
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Human Intelligence (HUMINT)
Imagery Intelligence (IMINT)
Signals Intelligence (SIGINT)
Communications Intelligence (COMINT)
Electronic Intelligence (ELINT)
Measures and Signature (MASINT)
Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)
The Intelligence Cycle
Intelligence Led Operations
• Intel and Ops feed back on one another.
• Effective Intel drives effective Ops, which
produce more Intel.
• Similarly, ineffective or inaccurate
Intel produces ineffective Ops, which reduce
the availability of Intel.
Therefore Operations and Intelligence staff need
to be joined at the hip and inseparable!
The Role of Intelligence in ADF
Operations in Afghanistan
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To provide Force Protection
Timely and accurate actionable Intelligence
Multi-discipline collection capability
All source Fusion product to enhance Comd’s
decision making
Product Provided to an
Operational Commander
Prior to an Operation or the Commencement of Planning
IPB (Intelligence Preparation of the Battle Space)
IPB is a systematic, continuous process of analysing the threat and environment
in a specific
geographic area. It is designed to support staff estimates and military decision
making.
Applying the IPB process helps the commander selectively apply and maximize
his combat
power at critical points in time and space on the battlefield by:
• Determining the threat’s likely COA.
• Describing the environment your organisation is operating within and the
effects of the environment on your organisation.
Intelligence Tools
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Analytical Databases
Link Analysis Tools
Imagery Analysis and Geospatial programs.
Integrated Planning Tools (Falconview)
Description of Intelligence function in
ADF
• Operates at three Levels:
– Strategic
– Operational
– Tactical
• Broken into two main streams:
– Staff (Further distilled into Current and Future)
– Operations (The Collectors)
Description of Intelligence function in
ADF
• The Functions of Current Int Staff
– Support the Current fight
– Provide the Commander with detailed assessments to give
him/her Options
• The Functions of Future Int Staff
– Provide Int support to the future ops planning team
(The hand over between current and future ops is
dependant on the size of the formation. But generally
exists at the 72 hour mark.)
Force Protection = Warning
Force protection: All measures and means to
minimise the vulnerability of personnel,
facilities, equipment and operations to any
threat and in all situations, to preserve
freedom of action and the operational
effectiveness of the force.
(In ADF doctrine, Force Protection is rated as
more important than achieving the Mission!)
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s)
• UAV’s in themselves are not a new concept and have been around for decades.
With the advent of certain technologies, however, particularly digital
technologies the role and capabilities of UAV’s have increased significantly.
• UAV provide high-resolution go-referenced imagery and information,
generally for the purposes of situational awareness or threat early warning.
• The UAV plays a key role in the Intelligence cycle;
– it contributes to baseline intelligence products on a target or area;
– it can corroborate, confirm or deny other intelligence sources;
– it may be dynamically tasked to fill information gaps in the collection plan
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– it provides near real-time support to targeting and current intelligence
problems.
• How are you going to employ the capability?
• What do they do with the information that they provide? (Very Important)
Live Satellite Imagery
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The use of live satellite imagery has been made very popular through its portrayal in
Hollywood movies.
sometimes closer to truth than fiction, what is widely inaccurate about them is the
ease at which organisations are able to receive these feeds.
Whilst it is not impossible to achieve live satellite feeds during an incident, it is rarer
than it is reality. For emergency services, it is probably an unrealistic expectation.
Live satellite feeds bring with it a number of problems, and importantly for fire
agencies there are four key factors to take into consideration:
– Availability:
– Classification:
– Infrastructure:
– Cost:
In reality for the many benefits a live satellite feed may provide, there are many ways
to achieve the same end-state for a lot less cost, and a lots less effort and political
angst. In short the emergency service agencies have to ask: “is the juice worth the
squeeze?”
Information in an IMT
• Threat Warning is based of internal information which can be well behind
the fight.
• An IMT does not have the equivalent of an intelligence cell.
• This combined with the fact that the different cells within an IMT at times
can all be functioning off different interpretations of what the current
situation actually is.
• There does not seem to be one point where all of the information that can
come into an IMT from multiple sources is fused to form a coherent
picture to inform the decision makers.
• Additional capabilities and technology will quickly overload already
straining processes.
• Future Ops Vs Current Ops!
Training and Exercising
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Individual
Collective
Mission Rehearsal - High End
It is about processes not people
Train until breaking point…… then beyond!
Mission Command in the
Intelligence World
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Not a Glib Statement or a throw away!
Does it work?
What makes it work?
How do you achieve it?
An organisation must train to achieve it
It requires systemic Change…… real change!
Conclusion
• Dealing with a rapidly changing scenario, in a high threat
environment is a very difficult thing to do.
• The military have spent decades of trial and error developing this
capability, which cannot be gained in a single fire season.
• The wheel does not need to be re-invented, it just needs to be
looked at and adapted to emergency service requirements.
• Particularly with the modern media age, where the pace of
technology can far out strip the humans operating it, the way to
deal with information in major events like level three incidents, is
to have a proven process.
• Use technology to assist (not drive) your decision making process.
• Train your staff regularly to breaking point to constantly improve
your team!
Questions