Marine Corps Intelligence

Introduction 

The USA is one of the countries that are concerned about national and international security, especially in this era where the world is characterized by armed civil conflicts and high level of terrorism in both developed and developing countries. Therefore, the degree to which the country can maintain national and international security in the 21 st century will mainly depend on its ability to respond to the transition world adequately. Currently, the national and international security face many challenges such as increasing natural disasters, geopolitical threats, advanced terrorist network, and emerging technologies. Consequently, threats in the modern world are unconventional, unpredictable, and always unseen. As a result, USA must rely on a high level of intelligence to maintain security in the 21 st century ( Corps, 2003) . One of the agencies that the country is currently relying on to maintain security is the Marine Corps Intelligence (MCI) whose main primary roles to manage and coordinates the activities and operations of the Marine Corps while at the same time supervising the work done by the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA). MCI uses a number of strategies and intelligence from various sources to ensure smooth operations of the Marine Corps. MCI, therefore, is one of the federal agencies that are entrusted with the role of maintaining national and international security, mainly through the use of intelligence. 

Background and History of MCI 

Background 

MCI is the agency that is responsible for all the Marine Corps intelligence matters, as its primary role is to gather intelligence for the marines. However, the role of the agency is not only to gather intelligence, but also to carry out a comprehensive analysis that is aimed at supporting operating forces in combat. Besides, MCI has the duty of deploying Marine Corps in various parts of the world, mainly based on the security needs. MCI is also the agency that represents Marine Corps in the country's Intelligence Community (IC) while at the same time assisting the Department of Defense (DoD) in its resources allocation process. MCI, therefore, plays vital role in the operations of Marine Corps and the national security as a whole ( Corps, 2003) . 

The September 11 terrorist attack in the USA did not only lead to the creation of the Homeland Security and changed in intelligence collection process and strategies, but it also changed the operations of the MCI ( Nelson III, 2017) . Even though MCI has been operational for decades, the massive terrorist attack that occurred in 2001 in the USA forced it to change its operations and strategies to meet the evolving security demands and threats. Specifically, the attack led to a change in the agency’s organizational structure and it created arrangements and practices that could make it more effective and efficient in meeting its objectives and security mandates. Apart from the terrorist attacks in 2001 and the increasing threats from terrorists, the rapid technological change is also one of the major challenges facing MCI. Increases terrorist activities and rapid advancement in technology have challenged the capability of MCI, forcing it to devise new ways of operation. Nonetheless, MCI is mainly using innovation and new skills to overcome some of the challenges that it faced in the modern world. Consequently, despite some obstacles, MCI has been able to effectively accomplish its missions and make the US and the world as whole safer. 

History 

The activities and operation of the MCI can be traced back to 1798 when the Act requiring the establishment of Marine Corps unit was passed on 11 th July on the same year. Even though MIC was not formed immediately after the establishment of Marine Corps organization in 1798, the Act gave the President the authority to appoint a commander that could oversee its operations while at the same time collecting necessary intelligence ( Paul, Thie & Webb, 2011) . Consequently, William Burrows was appointed as the first commander of the Marine Corps organization in 1978. The primary objective of Marine Corps then was to participate in the offshore duties. However, it was the emergence of USA as the world superpower, especially after the Spanish-America War that significantly revolutionized the activities of MCI. 

Therefore, in the early 1900s, to maintain newly acquired status as the world superpower, USA used Marine Corps to frequently intervene in some of the conflicts that were taking place in foreign countries. The country used Marine Corps to implement its national and foreign policies. However, marines could only be effective in achieving the assigned role when they acted based on the reliable intelligence ( Freshour, 2015) . As a result, the formation of MCI was necessary. As a result, MCIA was formed in 1987 with the primary aim of providing intelligence to not only Marine Corps but also the country’s intelligence community. At the same time, MCIA was tasked with the responsibility of determining the operation that should be undertaken by the Marine Corps, especially based on the gathered intelligence. 

MCI went through drastic changes in the 1900s, partly due to the need to rethink the missions and operations of armed forces that were mainly influenced by the technological changes and geopolitical issues. The significant reform known as Intelligence Plan took place in the agency in 1994 and it was primarily intended to enhance the level of intelligence in the operations of Marine Corps ( Paul, Thie & Webb, 2011) . The Intelligence Plan was also aimed at changing the training of Marine Corps while at the same time improving the capability of the agency. MCI has also been going through many changes for the last two decades. For instance, in 2005, the agency created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to enhance the coordination and integration of various intelligence activities in the country and beyond. 

MCI has been at war for a decade now, primarily due to constant conflict in Pakistan and Afghanistan. MCI roles expanded to combat operations, which has forced it to develop highly experience and professional marines who can effectively act based on the provided intelligence ( Paul, Thie & Webb, 2011) . At the same time, the agency is now using innovative approaches to cope with its new operating environment that is full of threats and many non-state actors. As a result, MCI has managed to adapt to its irregular threats mainly through effective and comprehensive training of marine combats. The roles of MCI have been evolving with changes that are emerging in its operation environments ( Paul, Thie & Webb, 2011) . Therefore, MCI has gone through a lot of changes and transformation since it was formed to enhance the intelligence of the Marine Corps and the nation as a whole. Currently, it is one of the key security intelligence agencies that are used to promote both national and international security. 

How MCIA came about and its Operations 

MCIA was formed in 1987 with the primary objective of bridging the gap between Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) and the IC ( Brown, J. et al., 2011) . This was after it was realized that FMF and IC were not able to adequately meet the needs of the Marine Corps intelligence, especially in the modern world that is characterized by technological changes and unconventional threats. MCIA, therefore, was formed to meet three main objectives. First, it is required to provide enough intelligence support to all activities that are executed by Marine Corps, especially concerning the emerging threats. Secondly, MCIA is necessary to enhance the capability of Marine Corps through the provision of specialized personnel and technical assistance. Thirdly, MCIA is supposed to provide scientific as well as technical intelligence support to Marine Corps with the aim of improving their effectiveness. 

Therefore, MCIA came about to fill the gap that was preventing Marine Corps to use enough intelligence in their operations. Even though FMF and IC had been formed to help Marine Corps operations, marines still lacked enough intelligence. As a result, there was the need to establish an agency that could provide enough intelligence to Marine Corps, which led to the formation of MCIA. At the same time, the need to form an agency that could help in enhancing military intelligence made the deferral government form MCIA. Hence, MCIA was formed to improve the intelligence of Marine Corps as well as that of the IC ( Barrett, 2014) . MCIA has helped in improving the operations and effectiveness of Marine Corps, especially in foreign countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. The need to enhance military intelligence led to the formation of MCIA. 

MCIA mainly relies on its personnel to meet its mandate of providing intelligence to Marine Corps. MCIA is using both marines and civilian personnel to achieve its objectives of collecting, analyzing, and provision of intelligence to various security agencies, including IC. The workforce structure of MCIA has not significantly changed since it was formed in 1987. Initially, MCIA was mainly dominated by military personnel who assisted in its operations. The agency was not employing many civilians to help with its operations. However, currently, the operation structure of MCIA has slightly changed, as it is now hiring a significant number of civilians. It is now estimated that civilians account for about 63% of the total people employed by the agency ( Brown, J. et al ., 2011) . 

MCIA rely on civilians for its operations due to many reasons. First, civilians help in maintaining the longevity and sustainability of operations within the command ( Brown, J. et al ., 2011) . Civilians can provide specialized knowledge, skills and expertise while at the same time providing analytic perspective in the agency. Even though it is possible for marines to provide specialized expertise that is required by the agency, active duty personnel are good in field operations, and they may not specialize in some area due to time constraints. Besides, the high turnover of military personnel is forcing MCIA to rely on civilians to help in the provision of some of the special expertise and skills, including setting strategic vision ( Marx, 2014) . Therefore, civilians are also able to ensure continuity and sustainability of the agency. The second major reason why MCIA rely on civilians for its operations is that the approach is cost-effective. The agency can gain access to funded billets when they use civilians in its operations. Thirdly, civilians always have a unique educational background that that is not always found in the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) schools. For instance, MCIA can hire specialists like sociologists, researchers, and IT experts who can assist in gathering in-depth intelligence. As a result, the operation of MCIA involves both civilians and military personnel. 

Apart from civilians, MCIA is using Counterintelligence/Human Intelligence (CI/HUMINT) specialists in its operations. It relies on CI/HUMINT specialists to collect timely information while at the same time reducing uncertainties that can affect the effectiveness in the operation environment, especially in regards to making informed and evidence-based decisions ( Kummer, 2014) . Besides, MCIA involves CI/HUMINT specialists in its operation because they can assist in building rapport as well as developing trust through sound judgment. Besides, the specialists can assess the characters and motivation of the various individual, which is essential in collecting intelligence from the general public. Hence, MCIA is incorporating CI/HUMINT specialists in its operations to help in obtaining sensitive information. CI/HUMINT specialists can either be civilians of military personnel. 

MCIA operations also include the Marine Cryptologic Support Battalion whose primary responsibility is to implement signal intelligence. Besides, the battalion is helping MCIA in executing information assurance to meet all the military intelligence requirements ( Brown, J. et al ., 2011) . Furthermore, MCIA is collaborating with other security agencies such as IC and DoD to implement some of its operations. As a result, MCIA is not working along to achieve its objective, but it depends on other departments and agencies, especially those in the military. Hence, MCIA is using the multidisciplinary approach to its operation as it involves experts from various disciplines and departments. 

Historical Events MCI was Involved In 

One of the major events where MCI was involved was the fight in Afghanistan, which included the search for terrorists who are believed to be hiding in the country. US marines were involved mainly in the stabilization of Afghanistan. The Taliban group waged war against Afghanistan government, which led to a lot of armed conflict in the country. Consequently, Bush administration sent Marine Corps to Afghanistan to help in restoring peace and in defeating terrorist organizations such as Taliban. The Fact that Taliban defeated NATO and it established its facto state in Helmand Province promoted the US government to use MCI to overpower the terrorist group ( Kummer, 2014) . MCI worked closely with the Marine Corps in fighting Taliban and countering the insurgency that was growing in Afghanistan. Specifically, MCI played an active role in the provision that was used in the counterinsurgency operations that was launched in March 2008, especially in Helmand Province. At the same time, it was the MCI that provided enough intelligence that led to the success of Operation Azada Wosa that made it possible to defeat Taliban and stabilize the situation in the country ( Dheeraj, 2017) . Therefore, MCI plays the critical role in the Afghanistan Marine Corps operations, especially between 2001 and 2009. 

MCI was also praised for playing an active role in helping Marines to rescue seven American POWs in Samara in Iraq. The US government had learned that seven American POWs were held captive by Iraq-based terrorists (McCollough, 2014). However, through the use of intelligence from MCI, Marine Corps was able to locate the seven American captives and came up with plans to rescue them from terrorists. Marine Corps used intelligence from MCI to develop effective and innovative strategies that made the operation successful. It was the aggressive intelligence collection and analysis that helped marines to rescue seven Americans. A six-man team of Marine Corps Counterintelligence Specialists, including two linguists, were involved in the operation (McCollough, 2014). Much of the critical information came from civilians who were secretly interviewed in Iraq. This was one of the most successful operations that were conducted by Marine Corps in 2003, especially due to aggressive intelligence that was used. However, what happened during the operation remained a secret until one of the Marines who were involved talked about it. 

Another major historical event that involved MCI was the Operation Restore Hope that took place in Mogadishu in Somalia in 1992 ( Alexander, 2013) . The former US President George Bush was concerned with the conflict that was going on in Somalia that led to the death of thousands of people while a million others were either left homeless or sought refuge in some of the neighboring countries ( Lofland, 2002) . Consequently, he sent about 1,800 US Marines to Mogadishu to help in restoring order. The USA mainly relied on intelligence to execute its operations in Somalia, which, to some extent, helped in restoring peace in the country. However, the mission was mostly unsuccessful, especially after the rebels shot down US Army's Black Hawk helicopters and ended up killing 18 Marine Corps. Lofland (2002) argues that the operation was not successful because the USA had limited intelligence that they could use to restore peace in the country. This was one of the historical events that illustrated the importance of intelligence in Marine Corps’ operations. It showed that lack of enough intelligence can make operations to fail ( Robinson, 2001) . At the same time, it was the event that made MCI enhance its operations with the aim of acquiring more intelligence. 

Therefore, MCI played an active role in many of the historical events that were involving Marine Corps. Marines relied on the information and intelligence that were provided by the agency to plan and execute their operations. The event that took place in Somalia in 1993 is an indication that intelligence plays an important role in military operations and lack of it can lead to massive failure ( Lofland, 2002) . Hence, the role of MCI should be enhanced and supported, especially by the federal government to promote the effectiveness of Marine Corps. 

Recent News Involving the Agency 

Many things are happening at the agency almost on a daily basis. However, one of the most recent popular news was about the investigation that was targeting the Marine Intel reserve unit that was reported in the Marine Times on 15 th March 2018 (Snow, 2018). Even though the main issues being investigated were not disclosed, it was speculated that the investigation was about improprieties in the administrative as well as pay issues. Besides, it was alleged that there was a low level of morale across the unit that was affecting the operation and effectiveness of the agency. The Intel unit is one of the departments of the agency that is always associated with high operational tempo. The investigation in the Intel unit is yet to be concluded. 

Another recent news that relates to the agency was the removal of the Marine Force Reserve Chaplain. According to the news that was published by the Task & Purpose on 27 th March 2018, Marine Corps official removed the chaplain after they lost confidence and trust in him. Marine Corps officials did not disclose much information why the chaplain was relieved of his duties. However, it is possible that he was being accused of poor leadership and violation of federal laws. Captain Loften Thornton who was fired served in various capacities in the agency, and he presided over many events (Laporta, 2018). 

Also, it was reported in the HuffPost that Marine Corps is determined to build innovation culture across its units and among its employees (Blank, 2017). The agency, therefore, is striving to enhance the innovative culture to address some of the challenges that it is facing. Specifically, the agency is using Marine Corps Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Enterprise (MCISRE) to promote innovative culture by teaching Marines to be creative and innovative in whatever they do and using modern technologies ( Eckstein, 2016) . The agency believes that I will be highly effective when it embraces the innovative culture. 

Contributions of MCI to US National Security 

MCI plays an important role in the US national security, especially in the provision of intelligence (Negroponte, 2006). It is one of the key agency, which contributes a lot to the collection of foreign intelligence activities with the aim of ensuring that the USA and the world as a whole are secured and safe. Therefore, mainly contribute to the national security by providing intelligence that can be acted upon by the law enforcement officers and military personnel that are tasked with the responsibility of maintaining national security. The agency is collaborating with the DoD and IC to enhance national security in the country ( Connable, 2012) . 

Besides, MCI is ensuring that Marines are highly trained, organized, and prepared to work with military units to ensure that the USA is protected from external attacks. Marines are expected to share any intelligence with other arms of the military to promote national security ( Gallagher, 2015) . Therefore, even though Marines are not likely to actively engage in the national security issues, they collaborate with military and national intelligence agencies to improve national security. In many cases, the USA gives national security a priority, which explains why MCI is part of the country’s intelligence community. 

Conclusion 

National and international security is one of the major concerns of the USA and the world at large. The USA is a country that is known for fighting terrorism and addressing global security issues such as armed conflict, especially in developing countries in various parts of the world. However, the country new that is could not achieve its objective of national and global security if it does not rely on enough intelligence. Modern security threats in the 21 st are not only unpredictable, but they are also unconventional. At the same time, rapid technological development is posing some security challenges. Therefore, the country formed MCI many years ago with the primary aim of providing enough intelligence to the Marine Corps as well as the Intelligence Community. Marines who have been deployed in various parts of the world are now able to achieve their set objective and successfully execute their operations due to the intelligence from MCI. Besides, MCI, through MCIA, is contributing a lot to the national security, mainly through collaboration with other agencies such as DoD in the country. Consequently, Marine Corps is now effective while the USA is also protected from major security threats. MCI significantly contributes to the national and global security, mainly through the provision of intelligence. 

References 

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