Page 54 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

NAVAL OPERATION S AN D SUPPORT FUNCTIO NS 59

The National Imagery and Mapping Agency expertise for all maritinle surface, subsurface, and air-related intel-
ligence issues.
The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) was
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the coun-
established in late 1996. The mission of NIMA is to central-
terintelligence and investigative arm of the Navy. Its purpose is
ize responsibility for the inlagery and mapping needs of the
to investigate personnel and situations when requested by higher
u.s. government, a function that before its creation was spread
authority. NCIS concentrates its efforts solely on criminal and
among a dozen different government agencies. With headquar-
security investigations. Matters investigated must be directly
ters in Fairfax, Virginia, NIMA operates major facilities in north-
related to the Navy and Marine Corps and must be serious enough
ern Virginia; Washington, D.c.; Bethesda, Maryland; and St. Louis,
to be felony offenses punishable under military law. Typical inves-
Missouri. Its work force of some nine thousand people is staffed by
tigations involve arson, black marketing, espionage, sabotage, nar-
mostly civilian professionals in fields such as cartography, imagery
cotics violations, and losses of classified information.
analysis, the physical sciences, and computer and telecommunica-
tions engineering.
Foreign Intelligence Organizations
Military Service Organizations
The general organization of intelligence agencies in most foreign
Each military service within DOD, including the US. Marine
countries is quite similar to the United States. A central directing
Corps, has its own intelligence organization that concentrates on
organization in the home capital deals Witll political, economic,
tactical intelligence unique to its specialized needs. The Navy's
and industrial intelligence, security, and military intelligence. Since
organization is called the Office of Naval Intelligence; it will be
the main job of the security organization is to safeguard the coun-
described in more detail below. However, though military intelli-
try's intelligence system and operating methods, details about these
gence persomlel may train for a wide variety of contingencies, they
organizations in foreign countries are usually scarce. Intelligence
cannot devote sufficient resources to develop expertise for all pos-
organizations are represented abroad by attaches at embassies and
sible operations. Military commanders, therefore, have long recog-
other diplomatic posts. Military intelligence is managed by the ser-
nized the value of independently produced national intelligence.
vice intelligence chiefs.
When the expertise of their own intelligence organizations falls
While these aspects of intelligence are similar in most coun-
short, US. military commanders will often look to the broader
tries, security methods are usually considerably different. In the
u.s. intelligence community to provide the required expertise.
democracies, security measures are limited by laws that apply to all
The US. Defense Attache System (DAS) operates under the DIA.
citizens. In authoritarian countries such as Cuba, China, and Iran,
All military personnel assigned to attache posts are members of the
however, various kinds of secret police organizations such as the
ambassador's staff and have diplomatic passports and status. The
old Soviet KGB are responsible for internal security. Secret police
mission of a military attache in a foreign country is to collect mili-
agents are placed in all levels of society in order to get informa-
tary and political information and report it to the DIA and the par-
tion about their own citizens and to try to stifle any opposition to
ent service of the attache. This is done legally and overtly (openly),
the government. They may swoop down on unsuspecting citizens
not as espionage. The senior armed forces attache on a diplomatic
and spirit them away for questioning and torture in prisons fi-om
post is the defense attache. Other officers are the US. Navy attache,
which few ever rehlrn.
US. Army attache, and U.S. Air Force attache. The defense attache
E>..1:ernal intelligence and counterintelligence in such countries
may be of any service and is responsible for the supervision and
are handled by highly secretive agencies that are bound by few if
coordination of all attaches assigned. In addition to collecting and
any laws and which typically report only to the national leadership.
reporting information of intelligence interest, attaches represent the
Activities known to fall within the scope of these agencies include
DOD to the host government and its armed forces.
sabotage, political and military assassination, and sponsorship of
terrorists, spy groups, intelligence groups, and propaganda and
agitation groups.
Naval Intelligence
The director of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is respon-
sible for carrying out the intelligence mission of the Navy. When Espionage Operations
capitalized, the term Naval Intelligence refers to this organization.
Almost all nations have espionage organizations. Many of their
When referring to the information gathered and processed, the
operations are carried out by secret agents called spies. They are
term l1aval intelligence is not capitalized.
usually well-trained specialists in either political or military affairs,
Located primarily in the National Maritinle Intelligence
the two main categories of espionage. They must have a great deal
Center in Suitland, Maryland, ONI is the national production cen-
of self-discipline, courage, patience, and ability to see and accu-
ter for global maritime intelligence. It is the center of the Navy's