Reserve Intelligence Support Within the Defence Forces
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Commission on the Defence Forces Public Consultation Response Template 1. Capabilities – In this regard, you may wish to consider future integrated capability development and the planning and delivery requirements to support a joint force approach in terms of new equipment, professional military education and training, maintenance and development of infrastructure, developments in military doctrine, and transformative concepts, including specialist capabilities, that prepare and support the Defence Forces for future operations. Reserve Intelligence Support within the Defence Forces. Rationale The aim of this submission is to propose the establishment of a Reserve Military Intelligence Corps, mirroring current structure of other Corps units within the Defence Forces at both national and Brigade levels. The proposal outlines the establishment of two Military Intelligence Reserve Coys, a Reserve MI training Group located at the DFTC and a Reserve Specialist Research Group located at DFHQ. It is proposed that Platoons from each Coy be regionally dispersed in order to attract a broader academic skillset, provide a vehicle for entry of highly skilled graduates to the Permanent Defence Force and provide commanders with a cohort of personnel capable of deploying in support of Brigade or Battalion operations. Current Situation The Defence Forces exist an ever changing and dynamic operational environment. Military commanders and national decision makers are faced with an array of issues each with varying information requirements. At an operational level, commanders may need rapidly adapt to changing local, national and international situations. The current international security environment has been variously characterised as being in a state of ‘constant competition’1. States no longer declare war on each other, as the consequences, costs and particularly the constraints and legal obligations associated with doing so are judged to be too expensive2. Synergising informational and analytic capability has never been more important. As alluded to in the National Risk Assessment 2019, Ireland is a highly globalised open economy and therefore open to a multitude of risks. Much of our security is inextricably and directly related to the state of our economy. Many current and potential reservists 1 UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre, ‘Joint Concept Note 2/18: Information Advantage’, 2018, p. 4 2 Tanisha M Fazal, ‘Why States No Longer Declare War’, Security Studies (Vol. 21, No. 4, 2012), pp. 557–58 working across a range of sectors are in a unique position to provide insight into changes and threats across a broad range of domains including economic, socio-cultural, environmental, geopolitical, cyber, scientific, medical and technological. Information is also becoming increasingly integrated across a myriad of digital platforms in a data rich information age3. Digital connectivity permeates every facet of modern life. Furthermore, the information landscape is no longer just an enabler, some states are using it as an instrument of power and a means of achieving potentially decisive influence on a global scale4.The information environment is has become a nexus of conflict and as such is now part of a battlespace, which is not only military in nature but impacts all aspect of society. Consequently, the breadth and increasingly specialised nature of tasks required of the Defence Forces means that the Permanent Defence Force cannot always provide all requisite capabilities organically, nor may it have the required human skillsets due to increasing competition in the labour market. Reserve Intelligence Support, whether in the form as a newly formed Corps or National unit, could be used to re-focus elements of the Reserve to provide a niche capability in support of wider defence and national priorities. International Experiences. The United Kingdom. Within the UK Armed Forces, reservists are considered as having the capacity to contribute opportunity to contribute in a variety of ways, from infantryman to intelligence analyst, from engineer to cyber expert, from logistician to medic. And the skills gained in the military can be used to enhance the day job or to help find a new one5. Currently there are four Reserve Military Intelligence Battalions within the UKs 1 ISR Brigade. • 3 MI Bn (London) • 5 MI Bn (Edinburgh) • 6 MI Bn (Manchester) • 7 MI BN (Bristol) Each of the MI Battalions focuses on development of core Operational Intelligence (OPINT) skills, overlaid by an understanding of actual and emerging threats and theatres of operation. 3 Reynolds, N. (n.d.) ‘Performing Information Manoeuvre Through Persistent Engagement’, p. 64. 4 GOV.UK (n.d.) Information advantage (JCN 2/18) [Online]. Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/information-advantage-jcn-218 (Accessed 20 Dec 2020). 5 UK Ministry of Defence and Parliament (2012) Reserves in the Future Force 2020: valuable and valued, London, Stationery Office. On joining a Military Intelligence Battalion all personnel undergo initial Phase 1 training to become a soldier, following which, they complete a challenging Phase 2 Intelligence training package6. Upon completion of these courses, reservists develop further skillsets in their respective Coy special to role capability–for example, 62 Military Intelligence Company based in Thiepval Barracks Lisburn, focus on Materiel and Personnel Exploitation7. 7 MI Battalion based in Bristol provide imagery analysis support to the Watchkeeper Force8. Reserve MI units in the UK also deliver military capability through on- the-job training. For example intelligence reservists from all three Services often work on active intelligence issues as part of their annual training commitment9. Individuals selected to become Intelligence Corps Reserve officers must have passed Special to Arm (StA) selection for the relevant MI unit and be capable of securing Developed Vetting (DV)10 In addition, the Specialist Group Military Intelligence (SGMI), based at Hermitage, is a National unit also under command of 1 ISR Brigade. This group constitutes a pool of officers who are considered sufficiently expert in their own fields so as not to need to complete as much training as the remainder of the UK Army Reserve. SGMI recruits’ personnel primarily for their academic, scientific and/or professional skills gained from fulltime civilian employment or academic immersion in their specialist fields. Candidates will ordinarily be expected to have progressed beyond Masters Degrees and/or have secured national prominence professionally, and be members/fellows of the academic or professional bodies relevant to their specialisation. SGMI personnel are subject matter experts in scientific, technical, human domain and regional and thematic areas of high value to UK Defence Intelligence11. They are required to complete 16 days annual continuous training, with the option to complete up to 32 days12. Separately, The Joint Cyber Reserve Force (CRF) is part of the Joint Forces Cyber Group which was created in May 2013 to deliver defence cyber capability13. In the Irish context, the cyber realm is within the CIS Corps. 6 https://www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/corps-regiments-and-units/intelligence-corps/our-units/ (n.d.) Intelligence Corps Battalions [Online]. (Accessed 19 March 2021). 7 RFCA (NI) (2020) ‘Reserve Forces and Cadets Association for Northern Ireland: Annual Report 2019 | 2020’, [Online]. Available at http://www.reservesandcadetsni.org.uk/sitefiles/resources/pdfs/rfcaannualreport2020b.pdf (Accessed 12 January 2021). 8 Watchkeeper is an intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) asset, that can collect, process and disseminate high quality imagery intelligence. https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and- events/news/2020/08/watchkeeper/ (n.d.) Watchkeeper [Online]. (Accessed 19 January 2021). 9 UK Ministry of Defence and Parliament (2012) Reserves in the Future Force 2020: valuable and valued, London, Stationery Office. 10 UK Ministry of Defence (2018) ‘The Reserve Land Forces Regulations’, UK Ministry of Defence [Online]. Available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/826095/ AC_72030_Reserve_Land_Forces_Regulations_Amendment_3.pdf. 11 Ibid. 12 Ibid. 13 GOV.UK (n.d.) Working for JFC [Online]. Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/joint- forces-command/about/recruitment (Accessed 18 January 2021). The United States. As far back as 1920, US land forces were reorganized into the Regular Army, a National Guard, and an Organised Reserve (Officers and Enlisted Reserve Corps). Simultaneously, intelligence was recognized as a function of the new Officers Reserve Corps and a military intelligence (MI) reserve was established within it14. Following numerous iterations in the intervening period, an Army Reserve MI command was established in 2004. Following the events of 9/11, U.S. Reserve Component (RC) intelligence capacity has increased to meet the demands posed by ever changing and complex threats. As a consequence, the Military Intelligence Readiness Command (MIRC) is a functional command under the U.S. Army Reserve Command (USARC) and Forces Command (FORSCOM). It is comprised of seven Major Subordinate Commands and 6,200 Soldiers at 40 locations across the United States. MIRC reservists are required to complete 38 training days per year and is organized around all of the intelligence disciplines.15. Similarly, the U.S. Navy The Navy