Intelligence Shift

Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, the Defense Intelligence Agency’s new director, said he fully expects more intense demands for intelligence in the future. His goal is to “operationalize” DIA’s capabilities to better support combatant commanders and the defense community as a whole, according to an Aug. 10 Pentagon release. “We must strengthen our human intelligence collection against strategic defense targets growing more difficult to penetrate, while fully incorporating counterintelligence,” stated Flynn. He added, “We must continue to integrate science and technology to enhance our operations.” Furthermore, the intelligence community needs to change its thinking from a threat-specific focus, as was the initial approach in Afghanistan, to one that looks at the environment as a whole, such as the people and culture of an area where US forces are deployed, he said. “The fact that we have brought laser focus to that issue [in Afghanistan] has made us smarter, more aware, more tuned in,” said Flynn. He added that the US military could easily apply those lessons in Africa, Syria, and Yemen. (AFPS report by Cheryl Pellerin)