INTRODUCTION
Purpose
Sentinel Force 2000+ identifies strategies to acquire, train, develop,
utilize, maintain and enhance a high-quality intelligence force to support
Air Force wartime and peacetime missions and operations. This guide also
identifies force development goals, objectives and policies to respond
to these challenges. It is designed to facilitate understanding of the
intelligence career field at all levels. It provides general information
for resource and career managers, supervisors, commanders and individuals.
Sentinel Force 2000+ was constructed in a teaming environment--mandated
by the ongoing changes in the budget, threat environment, and the Air Force
mission at large. It is designed as a quick-reference document and is not
intended to replace Air Force or DoD directives, which are referenced throughout
this document.
Objectives
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The objectives of Sentinel Force 2000+ are as follows:
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Provide a broad look at the Intelligence Career Field
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Describe the Air Force Intelligence professional--to include functions,
career opportunities and philosophies
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Provide a cohesive, logical approach to long-range force management including
accessions, utilization, development and maintenance and enhancement
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Support Air Force strategic goals
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Provide a road map for personnel to use in career planning and resource
management
Scope
This guide encompasses the total Air Force intelligence force--active duty,
Air Reserve Component (ARC), and civilian--and intelligence-related specialties.
It focuses on military and civilian personnel holding intelligence and
intelligence-related specialties.
Air Force Intelligence Vision
"Air Force Information Operators--warriors on the combat team--who know,
predict and shape the operational environment through information superiority."
Air Force Intelligence Mission
Intelligence operators gaining, exploiting, and defending the information
domain; delivering on-time, tailored intelligence to users worldwide, from
the crewmember to the Commander-in-Chief.
Values
Values are the fundamental beliefs that drive behavior and decision making.
They identify the foundation of Air Force Intelligence. Air Force core
values are integrity, service, and excellence. Additionally, Air Force
intelligence professionals subscribe to the values of vigilance, credibility,
teamwork, and people. As the Air Force designs and manages the force of
the 21st Century, these values must be imparted to all personnel.
Relationship to Air Force Strategic Plan
Sentinel Force 2000+ is based on goals outlined in Sentinel--the Air Force
Intelligence Strategic Plan. Table 1-1 shows the Goal Focus Areas of Air
Force Intelligence designed to assure information dominance.
| Products and Services: Focus on customer needs...modernize and continuously
improve our products and services to see, shape, and dominate the operating
environment. |
| Modernization: Leverage innovative concepts, organizational processes
and human potential with new technologies |
| Information Warfare: Maximize intelligence participation in aerospace
operations based on evolving Information Warfare doctrine |
| Resources: Champion the increasing value of intelligence in the information
age...identify and marshal our resources |
| People: Recruit, train, and retain the highest caliber people...emphasize
service, personal and professional development, and quality-of-life |
| Training: Produce intelligence experts thoroughly versed in Air Force
operations...institutionalize flexible, responsive training processes |
| Readiness: Guarantee intelligence is continuously engaged to preclude
surprise...and is ready to execute...anywhere, anytime |
The principles identified above have been incorporated into this Force
Development Guide.
Relationship to Other Plans
Sentinel Force 2000+ closely parallels the Air Force Intelligence Mission
Support Plan and the Air Force Personnel Beyond 2000 Plan in both its goals
and objectives.
Intelligence Role in Air Force Operations
Air Force Intelligence personnel provide warfighters, policy makers, and
the acquisition community comprehensive intelligence across the conflict
spectrum. This role is designed to build the foundation for information
superiority and mission success by delivering on-time, tailored intelligence.
Air Force Intelligence customers include U.S., allied, and coalition forces
at all levels.
The demand for intelligence by warfighters, policy makers and the acquisition
community is expanding. The role of intelligence is far-reaching, especially
in non-traditional areas due to the end of the Cold War and the increase
in regional threats. The increasing need for intelligence was addressed
by President Clinton in Feb 95, in the National Security Strategy of
the United States:
Because national security has taken on a much broader definition...intelligence
must address a much wider range of threats and dangers. [It] will continue
to monitor military and technical threats, to guide long-term force development
and weapons acquisition, and to directly support military operations. Intelligence
will also be critical for directing new efforts against regional conflicts,
proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), counterintelligence,
terrorism, and narcotics trafficking. In order to adequately forecast dangers
to democracy and U.S. economic well-being, the intelligence community must
track political, economic, social, and military developments in those parts
of the world where U.S. interests are most heavily engaged and where overt
collection of information from open sources is inadequate. Finally, to
enhance the study and support of worldwide environmental, humanitarian,
and disaster relief activities, technical intelligence assets (principally
imagery) must be directed to a greater degree towards the collection of
data on these subjects.
Reorganization of the Air Staff
The Air Staff recently reorganized to enable the service to more effectively
employ its warfighting capabilities. This change draws heavily from the
Air Force's "Global Engagement" strategic vision. The new organization
will help take the Air Force into the 21st century and further enhance
the role of airpower.
A specific focus of the Air Staff reorganization is the formation of
a new direct-reporting unit with responsibility for force protection. The
new direct-reporting unit will focus on quick and effective responses to
protect airmen around the world.
Another significant change restructures the Deputy Chief of Staff for
Operations so the staff can focus on day-to-day operations and policy.
Operations will be responsible for functions in intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance; weather; command-and-control and air and space operations.
It will also have a single focal point to address nuclear and other counter-proliferation
policy matters. Incorporating Intelligence into Operations gives the Air
Force one single point of contact for Intelligence to work national issues.
It will also lead to creation of an information-operations culture. The
intell-ops merger enhances the role of personnel involved in information
-- such as reconnaissance, surveillance, and intelligence. The Operations
restructure also provides the opportunity to define Air Force requirements
better and participate in the joint policy and oversight activities. Operations
will also maintain a strong, focused approach to joint issues. At the same
time, it will make sure any requirements encompass the entire range of
Air Force core competencies.
The Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs was created to bed
down all long-range planning work. This institutionalizes the revitalized
long-range planning process. It also ties the long-range plan into the
programming plan to meet national objectives. Plans and Programs will also
provide force-planning tools for the entire programming process. At the
same time, it will formalize strategic outsourcing and privatization work.
Intelligence Role in Information Warfare
"...every practitioner of the profession of arms has a responsibility to
understand the impact of information warfare..." (Excerpt from Cornerstones
of Information Warfare)
Information warfare (IW) offers important means to accomplish Air Force
missions, including the intelligence mission. IW is defined as any action
to deny, exploit, corrupt, or destroy the enemy's information and its functions;
protecting ourselves against those actions; and exploiting our own military
information functions (aka information operations). Traditional means of
conducting information warfare include psychological operations, electronic
warfare, military deception, physical attack, and various security measures.
Information Operations is a broader term and includes surveillance, reconnaissance,
command and control, communications, combat identification, precision navigation,
and weather. While IW crosses the entire spectrum of the battlefield, it
is important for all functional areas to forge a common understanding of
how to use IW to enhance joint warfighting capabilities.
Role of Related AFSCs/Civilian Occupational Series
in Intelligence
The Air Force Intelligence team includes numerous Air Force Specialty Codes
(AFSCs) and Civilian occupational series. These related AFSCs or Civilian
equivalents enhance intelligence operations and functions. They provide
technical knowledge, experience, and perspectives in the sciences, engineering,
electronic warfare and communications-computers, or conduct essential intelligence
sustaining functions. They are critical assets in accomplishing technical
portions of the Air Force Intelligence mission.
