Introduction to the Intelligence Cycle

TITLE OF INSTRUCTION EVENT: Introduction to the Intelligence Cycle
Review 12/95

Instructors Notes Lesson Script

Slide 1 (Intel Cycle) 1. INTRODUCTION: Introduce oneself giving military background with experiences.

a. Lesson Tie-in: This is an introduction to tactical intelligence and the intelligence cycle. The concepts discussed will be applicable to all your subsequent intelligence instruction.

Slide 2 (Objective) b. Objective: In a classroom environment, given instruction, the student will be able to:
(1) List and describe the different categories of intelligence.
(2) List and describe the five phases of the intelligence cycle.
(3) Define Priority Intelligence Requirements (PIRs) and Information Requirements (IRs).
(4) Identify intelligence collectors and indicators.
(5) Use the Collection Plan Worksheet and various processing aids.
(6) Distribute intelligence/information using various dissemination methods.
c. Safety Considerations: There are no specific safety considerations for this block of instruction.

Slide 3 (Purpose) d. Purpose: The purpose of this block of instruction is to introduce you to the intelligence cycle which will help you to answer the commander's intelligence requirements pursuant to completion of the mission.
e. Risk Assessment: The risk assessment for this block of instruction is low. (IV Low)

Slide 4 (Cdr drives intelligence)

2. DEVELOPMENT:
a. You may often hear the statement "The commander must see the battlefield." It is up to the intelligence officer to help paint this picture so the commander can see the battlefield. The commander will always provide the focus. There are many products the S2 must provide to the Cdr. The S2 must develop viable enemy COA. Prioritize PIR/IR, develop a collection plan to answer the commands PIR and synshronize all intelligence assets to support the commander's overall mission.

Slide 5 (CCIR) b. Intelligence is a key element of combined arms operations. It enables commanders to use their combat power EFFECTIVELY and EFFICIENTLY to win the decisive battles, and it helps them identify and attack high payoff targets (HPTs). Intelligence is a vital part of Army Operations. The success of this offensively oriented doctrine depends on the ability of US forces to wrest the initiative from the threat and to carry the fight into his rear area. To do this the Cdr must have answers to his Critical Information Requirements.(CCIR) The first is Priority intelligence requirements - what information must I have regarding the threat force. Also Friendly forces Information Requirements(FFIR) which is information I must know about my friendly forces. Lastly, Essential Elements Friendly Information (EEFI) which is information that I must conceal from the threat force. Examples: Deployment Date; Port of Debarkation; Deployment Units.

Slide 6 (Categories) c. Intelligence is categorized as Strategic, Operational, and Tactical.

Slide 7 (Strategic) (1) At the Strategic level, intelligence officers are concerned with the capabilities, vulnerabilities, and probable courses of action of foreign nations. Usually this is accomplished no lower than theater level.

Slide 8 (Operational) (2) Operational intelligence is defined as that intelligence required for planning and conduct of campaigns within a theater of war. It concentrates on collection, identification, location and analysis of strategic and operational centers of theater level and above. Operational intelligence serves as a bridge between STRATEGIC & TACTICAL.

Slide 9 (Tactical) (3) Tactical intelligence is that intelligence required by the commander to provide a basis for planning and conduct of tactical operations. It deals with the local tactical situation, particularly with the environment and threat. The highest level of tactical operations is Corps. To gain the initiative, the commander must identify his key intelligence needs, direct for collection and collect against these needs, process the incoming information into intelligence which will answer his questions, and disseminate this intelligence so that it may be acted on.

Slide 10 (Intel Cycle) d. The intelligence cycle is a tool used in intelligence operations to help the commander answer his intelligence needs. It is a continuous process consisting of five phases. Even though the phases are conducted sequentially, each phase may be occurring simultaneously and dealing with different needs.

Slide 11 (Mission) MISSION: At the core of the intelligence cycle is the mission. Given a missio, the commander issues guidance to his staff, who in turn transforms the guidance into a concept of operations, through the staff plannin cycle. The mission and concept of operations impact on the determination of PIRs and IRs, the answers to which impact on the commander's combat decisions. The intelligence cycle has begun.

Slide 12 (Phase I - Plan and Direct) Plan & Direct. The commander, through his G2/S2 directs the intelligence effort. The G2/S2 develops intelligence requirements based on the commander's guidance and concept of operations and establishes priorities. The commander approves or modifies the requirements. The commander then, is the intelligence director.

Slide 13 (Cdrs want to know) For example, the commander would like to know certain things about the enemy: combat effectiveness, personalities, logistics, replacements, morale, etc.
I mentioned previously the use of Priority Intelligence Requirements (PIRs) and Information Requirements (IRs). Now let's define these terms.

Slide 14 (PIR) a. PIR - Those intelligence requirements for which a commander has an anticipated and stated priority in his task of planning and decision making. Must be approved by the commander and are the highest priority intelligence requirements.

Slide 15 (IR/PIR Development)

b. IR - Those items of information regarding the enemy and his environment which need to be collected and processed in order to meet the commander's intelligence requirements. Intelligence requirements provide intelligence which is less critical to the commander's tactical decisions.
Here is an example of a PIR: Where will the enemy attack?, and a corresponding IR: What avenues of approach are available to the enemy?
Slide 16 (Good PIR)
Good Priority Intelligence Requirements (PIR) are always time phased, ask one question and are tied to a decision the commander must make.

STUDENT CHECK:
Ask students for
examples of PIRs and IRs.
Slide 17 (Collect)t)
Notes: Go over some collection assets dealing with diffrent INTs
SIGINT
HUMINT
ELINT
IMINT
FISINT

PHASE II - COLLECTING. Collecting is the process of gathering information from all available sources.
The collection effort begins on cue from the commander or his G2/S2. The collection process is guided by the commander's intelligence requirements and is facilitated by the use of the collection plan and the database. The collection plan will be discussed in a moment.
A database is an information file that can be referenced to aid the focusing of or answering the commander's intelligence requirements. The collection management process, shown on the slide, is a system for analyzing requirements, matching a collector with the requirement, and then updating the collection plan based on the information gathered by the collector.
The PIRs and IRs are developed from the commanders concept of the operations, indicators are developed to support the PIRs and IRs, then further broken down into specific orders and requests.

Slide (Indicators)
Have the students give examples of the following indicators
Slide 18 (Intelligence
Indicators)

Indicators are any positive or negative evidence of enemy activity or any characteristic of the battlefield area which points toward enemy capability, vulnerabilities or their intentions. Two people arguing is an indicator that a problem exists between them.

Slide 19 (CM) The Collection manager uses the collection plan to analyze the requirements in conjunction with the analysts. Indicators are provided by the analysts for the PIRs and IRs; specific orders and requests are determined to include reporting requirements; and resources tasking is determined.

STUDENT CHECK:
What is a collection
plan?
Slide 20 (CP Definitions)

The Collection plan is a dynamic tool used to coordinate and integrate the efforts of all collection units and agencies. It is merely a management tool to assist the Collection Manager in organizing his thought processes. The Collection Plan is continually revised as required. It is a mental process below division and there is no prescribed format. It is merely an aid and not a substitute for thinking.

As mentioned, the collection plan has no prescribed format. However, it does follow the logical sequence of the collection management process mentioned earlier. The use of a collection plan is advisable when the commander has many requirements.
As you can see from the slide, working from left to right, you begin with the commander's PIR and IR. You then identify indicators that would confirm the PIR or IR, and where that indicator would be found. Finally, you construct a matrix listing all of the collectors (agencies to be employed) who could collect against your requirements, and which collector you have tasked.

STUDENT CHECK:
What other indicators
and requirements could
be stated?
Slide 21 (Phase III)

PHASE III - PROCESSING. The third phase of the intelligence cycle is processing. Processing is the phase where information, gathered during the collection phase, becomes intelligence and targeting data. The distinction between intelligence and information is that intelligence is information which has been evaluated, analyzed, and often correlated. This analyzed and evaluated information is often verified by other information from other sources to make an "all-source intelligence product".

During processing, information in the form of reports is received by the headquarters, recorded in the staff journal for later referencing, evaluated for accuracy and reliability, and then analyzed against other intelligence and the current situation. Implied in this process is the use of several aids:
- recording devices such as a DA Form 1594 (Staff Journal)
- evaluation devices such as order of battle files and source profiles
- analysis devices such as situation maps, templates, and doctrinal manuals.
Some information is not formally processed due to its critical nature.

Slide 22 (Combat
Information) Combat information is defined as the "unevaluated" data, gathered by or provided directly to the commander which, due to its perishable nature or criticality of the situation, cannot be processed into tactical intelligence in time to satisfy the user's tactical intelligence requirements. It is the information that must be acted upon immediately in order to get any benefit out of it.

Slide 23 (Produce)
STUDENT CHECK:
What would be an example
of combat information?
Slide 24 (Dissemination)
Phase III - Produce - The forth phase of the intelligence cycle is produce. At the tactical level, steps 3 & 4 are indistinquishable due to battle demands & time constraints. During this phase information from single or multiple sources is integrated; evaluated analysized into "predictive intelligence."
The collected data will assist the S2 in predicting ECOA the threat has chosen.
PHASE IV - DISSEMINATION. This brings us to the final phase of the intelligence cycle. Dissemination is the timely distribution of accurate and pertinent information or intelligence to the appropriate decision maker.
a. The terms accuracy and pertinence in this definition, mean that the information is:
(1) Time critical-old intelligence is rarely useful.
(2) Driven by battlefield events - during contact, some intelligence becomes more critical than others.
(3) Brief - reports cannot be so verbose that they become unusable.
(4) Higher, lower and adjacent communication - dissemination of intelligence can go to any user.
(5) Given only to units who need it - when they need it and in the form they can use it.

Another way of defining dissemination is shown on this slide.

b. Objectives of dissemination. We attempt to obtain a number of objectives during the dissemination phase of the intelligence cycle. This will assist commanders to make better decisions and in understanding orders given to them.

c. Methods of Dissemination. The methods of dissemination are through messages, personal contacts and intelligence documents (estimates, summaries, PERINTREPs, Intel Annex to OPORD), and through the Analysis of The Battlefield Area.

STUDENT CHECK:
How is this dissemination
of intelligence or
information accomplished?

3. CONCLUSION.
a. Review of Main Points:
During this block of instruction you have been introduced to the Intelligence Cycle and the Collection Management Process. We discussed the four phases of the Intelligence Cycle: directing, collecting, processing, and disseminating. We learned in the directing phase to translate the Cdr's concept of the mission into PIRs and IRs; then in the collecting phase to translate PIRs and IRs into intelligence indicators, and requirements into mission statements. We learned that it is in the collecting phase that units are tasked. Once the information is collected it becomes intelligence and targeting data. It is analyzed and correlated with other information and intelligence during the processing phase. In the Produce phase we learned you integrate, evaluate & analyze information from single or multiple sources into intelligence and produce products which determine which predicted ECOA the threat has chosen.
Finally, in the disseminating phase we discussed various methods of distributing the intelligence to the decision makers.
Throughout the Intelligence Cycle there must be a means of evaluating and reporting the various actions taken during the cycle. We learned that this is done through the Collection Management Process. We discussed the receipt and analysis of requirements, the determination of resource availability and capability, the tasking of collection resources, and finally, the evaluating and reporting procedures. We also learned how to effectively update the collection plan by using the collection plan worksheet.

Ask students for
questions/comments
pertaining to this
material. b. Questions or Comments: What are questions or comments pertaining to Tactical Intelligence?
c. Tie-in: Although this was a single block of instruction, the information presented forms a base for understanding subsequent intelligence instruction.

Slide 15 (IR/PIR Development)
	b. IR - Those items of information regarding the enemy and his environment which need to be collected and processed in order to meet the commander's intelligence requirements. Intelligence requirements provide intelligence which is less critical to the commander's tactical decisions. Here is an example of a PIR: Where will the enemy attack?, and a corresponding IR: What avenues of approach are available to the enemy? Slide 16 (Good PIR) Good Priority Intelligence Requirements (PIR) are always time phased, ask one question and are tied to a decision the commander must make.
STUDENT CHECK: Ask students for examples of PIRs and IRs. Slide 17 (Collect)t) Notes: Go over some collection assets dealing with diffrent INTs SIGINT HUMINT ELINT IMINT FISINT	PHASE II - COLLECTING. Collecting is the process of gathering information from all available sources. The collection effort begins on cue from the commander or his G2/S2. The collection process is guided by the commander's intelligence requirements and is facilitated by the use of the collection plan and the database. The collection plan will be discussed in a moment. A database is an information file that can be referenced to aid the focusing of or answering the commander's intelligence requirements. The collection management process, shown on the slide, is a system for analyzing requirements, matching a collector with the requirement, and then updating the collection plan based on the information gathered by the collector. The PIRs and IRs are developed from the commanders concept of the operations, indicators are developed to support the PIRs and IRs, then further broken down into specific orders and requests.

Slide (Indicators) Have the students give examples of the following indicators Slide 18 (Intelligence Indicators)	Indicators are any positive or negative evidence of enemy activity or any characteristic of the battlefield area which points toward enemy capability, vulnerabilities or their intentions. Two people arguing is an indicator that a problem exists between them.

Slide 19 (CM)	The Collection manager uses the collection plan to analyze the requirements in conjunction with the analysts. Indicators are provided by the analysts for the PIRs and IRs; specific orders and requests are determined to include reporting requirements; and resources tasking is determined.

Ask students for questions/comments pertaining to this material.	b. Questions or Comments: What are questions or comments pertaining to Tactical Intelligence? c. Tie-in: Although this was a single block of instruction, the information presented forms a base for understanding subsequent intelligence instruction.