SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii -- Military Intelligence (MI) specialists assigned to the 500th Military Intelligence Brigade-Theater (MIB-T) conducted one of the largest theater level External Evaluation (EXEVAL) of its kind, throughout various location on Oahu, Camp Bullis, Texas and Camp Zama, Japan from June 10-21.
The 500th MIB-T serves as the Pacific anchor point for intelligence collection and analysis for U.S. Army Pacific within the U.S. Indo-Pacific area of responsibility, in order to provide timely, predictive intelligence to enable commander's decision making. Intelligence Warfighting Function readiness across the Pacific is one of the command's top priorities, and executing exercises like this is one of the ways the command fulfills its mission.
"It's really important to see what we can and can't do," said Maj. Pamela L. Bracey, operations officer, 205th MI Battalion. "There's a lot of unknown. So when you are given left and right limits from INSCOM (U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command) of what we think this is going to look like, you don't know the things you can or can't do until someone tries."
Over the past few years, the Brigade has been preparing for the execution of this type of evaluation through exercises such as Lightning Forge, led by the 25th Infantry Division, and Vigilant Pacific, which engages with joint and regional partners in order to enhance combined intelligence and interoperability.
There are five primary ways of collecting intelligence that are often referred to as "intelligence collection disciplines" or the "INTs." Human Intelligence (HUMINT) is the collection of information from human sources, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) refers to the collection of signals of interest, Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) is the analysis and visual representation of security related activities on the earth, Measurement and Signatures Intelligence (MASINT) is a relatively little-known collection discipline that concerns weapons capabilities and industrial activities, and Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) refers to a broad array of information and sources that are generally available, including information obtained from the media, professional and academic records, and public data.
The EXEVAL participants sharpened their skills and tested their capabilities to set the theater for the Intelligence Warfighting Function.
"The training postures the Deployable Intelligence Support Element (DISE) for operational deployment in support of a Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF) or other C2 nodes as determined by the Brigade commander, or higher command," said 1st Lt. Charles Chikelu, executive officer, Alpaca Company, 205th MI Battalion. "This training was critical in evaluating the requirements of tasks the Brigade commander or other higher echelon will levy against the DISE."
During the evaluation, scenarios were given for all of the intelligence components that were going to be trained. The MI specialists operated on various devices and equipment to support their mission.
"Survey and Collection Teams (SCTs) established a Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) collection site with their assigned TSPRING-D collection system at Area X ray during Pacific Century 19.3," said Capt. Timathy D. Kloth, commander, 715th MI Battalion. "This was the first time both SCTs systems were set up fully mission capable simultaneously; validating the feasibility of deploying two TSPRINGs at once. Both SCTs received an external evaluation on their ability to establish a Tactical SCIF, Satellite Communications, and TSPRING-D mission cases. Soldiers were provided a simulated signals environment to validate the team's ability to operate assigned mission cases to conduct collection and analytics as a team."
Since inception, military intelligence has become increasingly significant for decision makers both in war and in peace. As the Army continues to adapt to the change in modern warfare, military intelligence will always remain at the forefront of operations.
The 500th MI BDE-T continues to ensure that the Brigade is individually and collectively trained and ready to execute its intelligence mission on a daily basis.
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