JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. -- In what was described as a total force effort, the I Corps intelligence staff, or G2, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord developed a brigade intelligence officer course for the Army that is designed to prepare officers for the rigors associated with managing an intelligence program for a brigade combat team.
The course is a one-week, 40-hour block of instruction that was developed in partnership with Army Forces Command G2, The Intelligence Center of Excellence and the Army Intelligence and Security Command.
"This is not a theoretical course; this is how to get the job done," said Col. Timothy Parker, I Corps intelligence officer.
The pilot course was held Feb. 29 -- March. 4, with a follow-on class being held just one week later, March 7 -- March 11.
"We thought it was so important to do this that we did it back-to-back," Parker said.
Though the course is held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, it is open to any intelligence officer from across the Army.
The first week hosted students local to JBLM, along with others from the 10th Mountain Division out of New York, the 25th Infantry Division out of Hawaii, and FORSCOM out of North Carolina.
According to Parker, I Corps was best postured to put a course together rapidly because the existing resources on JBLM.
His vision for the course is to have it offered two times a year, once in the summer, and again in the fall, at multiple locations.
"We anticipate other Corps will follow suit," said Parker. The focus will vary between Corps, but this is the starting point."
Joint Base Lewis-McChord is home to two Stryker Brigades, and with I Corps regionally aligned to the Pacific Theater, part of this course's focus is on providing a baseline of knowledge for what I Corps' operational function is, he added.
The last time a course like this was offered, it was tailored for majors attending their Intermediate Level Education at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Many intelligence officers will find themselves at a brigade combat team well before attaining the rank of major, which, according to Parker, makes this course even more important.
"Today BCT [intelligence officers] are put in an equivalent to what we used to ask of Division G2s, and when deployed, with the added personnel, it gets even more complex," Parker said.
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