FORT LEAVENWORTH (Jan. 25, 2009) - The Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas has just released CALL publication 10-20, Company Intelligence Support Team Handbook. This handbook will assist leaders understand the mission and purpose of Company Intelligence Support Teams and better utilize these teams.
In the current operational environment, small units are forming and resourcing company-level intelligence (S-2) sections. These sections or cells are necessary due to the decentralized nature of counterinsurgency (COIN) operations and go by a variety of names that includes the company intelligence cell, the company exploitation cell, the company S-2 section, or the company intelligence support team.
In conventional operations, intelligence is passed from higher to lower headquarters. However, in COIN operations, information generally flows in the opposite direction. Small units operating on the ground gather and determine the significance of intelligence, often without the assistance, analysis, and filtering of higher-level intelligence staff support. This small-unit intelligence enables the company to maintain situational awareness and possibly even attain brief periods of situational understanding and information superiority as it conducts daily activities such as patrols, engagements, and combat logistics patrols.
The Newsletter is available on the CALL Website (http://call.army.mil) to service members, Department of Defense civilians, and validated U.S. Government contractors. All handbooks fit into the cargo pocket of the Army combat uniform and contain hard-won information intended to assist Soldiers, leaders, and staff officers in preparing for combat.
Established by the Army in 1985, CALL has the mission to collect, analyze, disseminate, integrate and archive the Army's lessons learned. Although it is an Army organization, CALL customers include organizations in the joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational areas.
CALL has full-time analysts in the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) schools and centers, the combat training centers, and operational units in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the United States. Their purpose is to enhance rapid information sharing and facilitate the integration of best practices and issue resolution across the Army.
Related Links:
The Center for Army Lessons Learned
Publication 10-20 Company Intelligence Support Team Handbook (AKO/CAC login required)
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