19 August 2011
MEMORANDUM
From: MIDN 2/C
To:
Associate Director of Research and Scholarship for Internships & Technology Transfer
Via:
(1)
LCDR Claude G. Berube, HUM/SS Division Internship Coordinator
(2)
Professor Priscilla Zotti, Chair, Political Science Department
Subj: AFTER-ACTION REPORT FOR INTERNSHIP, SUMMER 2011
Ref:
(a) COMDTMIDN/ACDEANINST 1531.73A
1. Per reference (a), this after-action report is provided following an internship at the Office of
Naval Intelligence (ONI) during the period of 27 June 2011 through 22 July 2011. My point of
contact at ONI was LCDR Virgil Fenters, phone (301) 669-4314.
A. Technical
1. Title of Project: Nimitz Operational Intelligence Center, Fifth Fleet Collections and Fifth
Fleet GeoCell
2. Objective: The goal was to research and produce an intelligence report vital to ONI’s Nimitz
Operational Intelligence Center.
3. Approach: I was appointed the lead on the project and was assisted by one other midshipman
to complete the report. Once I was given the basic guidance needed to accomplish the task by
the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the area of focus, I immediately began the research. After a
week of meticulous research and data compilation, I began working on the end goal of writing a
Maritime Intelligence Report (MIR) that summarized my findings.
4. Accomplishments: With little guidance intentionally given to me in the beginning, I was able
to successfully research, analyze, and compile all of the required information into a MIR—with
more guidance towards the end—which is now readily available to Fleet for reference.
5. Publications and/or Presentations: At the end of the internship period, I produced a
Maritime Intelligence Report which was not only made available to the Fleet for reference, but
also contributed to the Nimitz Operational Intelligence Center’s daily brief that is published for
viewing by the rest of the Intelligence Community.
B. Administrative
As far as security clearance goes, it was not difficult at all for me, because I still had the
necessary clearance from when I was enlisted. I was extremely lucky logistically during this
internship. I have a sponsor brother that is a 2007 graduate and lives in Washington, D.C. as
well as works at ONI. I was able to live with him for the duration of the internship, and use his
metro cards that the Navy provides him each month for commuting. If I didn’t ride the metro, I
had a vehicle that I could drive. He also paid for most of my meals and didn’t charge me
monetarily for staying with him because he knew the midshipman paycheck. I was extremely
fortunate to have a free place to stay. I can say with certainty that had I not had him to stay with,
I would have been forced to decline the internship as I would not have been able to afford living
in the D.C. area for a month during an unfunded internship.
C. Evaluation
1. Relevance: The internship was extremely helpful for me in that it allowed me to gain more
interest in entering the intelligence field on the Navy side. It also helped me to further my
knowledge on the intelligence field on a more national and strategic level, whereas when I was
enlisted, I was more focused on the intelligence field on a tactical level. All in all, I believe it
helped me in preparing myself for a career in the intelligence community
2. Impact: This experience provided me the contacts and counsel necessary to solidify the
Naval Intelligence community as my top choice. I am very grateful that I had this opportunity.
3. Level of interest/challenge: The internship was more interesting, involved, and exciting than
anticipated. I felt that I was sufficiently challenged and had minimal downtime while at work
each day.
D. Recommendation(s)
Overall the experience at ONI was awesome and rewarding. Although I primarily worked in
only one of the four sections that make up ONI, a tour of the complex was one that was much
appreciated in that it helped me to better understand the overall mission and capabilities of the
center. If there is ever a way to alleviate the midshipmen that do this internship in the future
from any expenses at all, it would help tremendously. Even if only the meals are covered, it
would make the month much more affordable. Also, I would highly recommend making ONI an
option for engineering majors, especially systems majors. There are numerous opportunities at
ONI for engineers to gain a much better understanding of not only U.S. military weapons
systems, but also foreign military weapons systems. This understanding would exponentially
expand the horizons of a possible future intelligence community member.
E. Other
The people at ONI, both civilian and military, were extremely welcoming of the midshipmen that
were there for the internship. They were more than willing to teach us parts of their job in order
for us to gain a better and broader understanding of the Naval Intelligence Community.
MIDN
USN