by LT David Newcomb
Submarines long have been used for intelligence gathering and aviation squadrons have their own intelligence officers, but the surface Navy traditionally has not had many interactions with the intelligence community - until now.
SABER - a branch of the Operations and Tactics Department in the Office of Naval Intelligence - is committed to bringing the fleet timely, tactically relevant intelligence products that give a staff or wardroom the information they need to operate in today’s complex maritime environments.
By combining the support and expertise of dedicated, intelligence professionals with the practical, hands-on experience of surface warfare officers (SWOs), SABER is able to bring new insight into intelligence assessments on surface and coastal warfare.
Analysts in SABER take raw intelligence data and turn it into finished intelligence products in two primary forms: "SABER cuts" and country-specific capability briefs. Each of these products is tailored to the war fighter. By looking beyond the order of battle to the doctrine, training and material condition of a country’s forces, SABER provides realistic, tactically relevant, near-term intelligence assessments based on demonstrated capabilities.
"We look out about 6-18 months - about as far as the next deploying battle group is going to see on their deployment," said LT Chris Wichman. "We try to keep our assessments realistic by focusing on demonstrated capabilities, rather than what a country may-or may not-be developing five years down the road."
SABER cuts are detailed studies into one particular warfare area for a specific country. Recent SABER cuts cover Chinese mine warfare, worldwide, very shallow water mines, Indian surface warfare, Iranian coastal-defense cruise missiles, Iraqi coastal-defense capabilities and improvements, Syrian surface warfare capabilities, Iranian small boat warfare, and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia surface warfare and coastal-defense threats. By focusing on one specific warfare area, a SABER analyst can produce an in-depth study that can serve as a definitive reference for the war fighter. For example, in developing the SABER cut on Iranian small boat warfare, LT J.B. McCall was able to draw on the expertise and knowledge of a variety of civilian intelligence analysts at several different intelligence agencies to look at the platforms, weapons, doctrine, bases and observed tactics in an integrated and detailed analysis. But he also was able to add his own experience as a SWO who has deployed to the Persian Gulf and provide insight into the Iranian’s capabilities that intelligence experts specializing in imagery intelligence (IMINT) or human intelligence (HUMINT) could not otherwise have done. "We are team builders - we try to combine the strengths of analysts from different fields and build upon that to give better support to the fleet," said McCall.
Recognizing that naval warfare is increasingly joint warfare, in the last year, SABER also has developed IWAs - Integrated Warfare Assessments. These take the expertise from SPEAR and SWORD (SABER’s sister organizations in the aviation and submarine communities, respectively) and provide a comprehensive look at how specific countries operate in joint, multidimensional warfare environments. One of the authors of the first IWA, McCall said, "when [the Iran team in SABER] looked at some Iranian exercises, we realized that we would be omitting a big part of their capabilities if we stayed strictly within our warfare area and didn’t also look at how they incorporate their Kilo-class submarines and the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. We recognized the need to work with SPEAR and SWORD to get their input and provide a more complete - and correct - assessment."
SABER analysts also develop briefs on their specific area of responsibility. The intent of the briefs is to provide a comprehensive overview of a country’s maritime capabilities. Designed specifically to be delivered to a staff, wardroom, or squadron, the briefs focus on the tactical capabilities of naval forces rather than the general strategic objectives of the subject country. The day-to-day intelligence of what ships are underway or what exercise a country may be conducting is left to the theater intelligence staffs. And because the briefs focus on capabilities, rather than current operations, they can be given at any point in the inter-deployment training cycle, though usually they are targeted to be given right before a battle group deploys so that the information is fresh in the minds of the deployers. In fact, some of the briefs are given just days before entering the theater - McCall has twice met ships in the Indian Ocean and briefed them on Iran and Iraq just before transiting the Straits of Hormuz. LT John Jones went by highline and helicopter to ships in the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Battle Group to brief a half dozen ships on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Navy while transiting the Atlantic at 30 knots to get in theater to support Operation Allied Force.
However, SABER support does not stop there. Once back at the Office of Naval Intelligence, Jones together with LT Bryan Haas continued to provide near daily support to the battle group commanders throughout Operation Allied Force. With IT-21 technology becoming widespread throughout the fleet, Jones and Haas were able to assist theater intelligence staffs by communicating directly via e-mail to embarked battle group staffs. As Jones explains, because he and Haas were able to concentrate on maritime forces, they were able to provide critical insight into the intentions and capabilities of Yugoslavian naval forces throughout Operation Allied Force. "It was a highlight of my work here at SABER to have a direct input to real-world operations," said Jones.
Although Operation Allied Force had sharply increased the requirements on these SABER analysts, better and better connectivity and the unique strengths of SABER continue to keep their intelligence assessments in demand. "We routinely get RFI’s - Requests For Information - on a variety of topics from deployed naval forces around the world" said LT Lynne Corso. "Because we can access the resources of intelligence agencies around the [Washington, D.C.] beltway, and because we have that operator’s perspective, many times we are the best source of information for specific questions." It is precisely that operator’s perspective that is SABER’s biggest advantage. As LT John Wesson said, "Our unofficial motto is ‘Intelligence support by operators, for operators.’" Although some analysts come to SABER with significant knowledge about a particular theater - one Iran/Iraq analyst came to SABER directly from Destroyer Squadron 50 - most analysts start from the ground floor. The immersion into the subject matter and the daily contact with other civilian analysts at ONI, who are experts in their own field, allows the new SABER analyst to quickly come up to speed. Moreover, it is the hands-on experience that really counts.
Ben Yates, a captain in the Navy Reserve, has been at SABER almost since it started. "Having people doing intelligence analysis who have that operator’s perspective is absolutely invaluable. They can bring insights into the analysis that someone who has only looked at this academically cannot. What’s more, having stood watch in [CIC] and on the br"
SABER was started because of lessons learned from the Gulf War about the importance of having an operator’s perspective when analyzing tactics and operations, and to support "Forward...From the Sea." At the start of Operation Support Democracy, Yates was doing two weeks of Naval Reserve duty in USS Clark (FFG 11). Because he also was a civilian employee of ONI, he was appointed the ship’s Intelligence Officer on the spot. He found that the ship’s "intelligence library" consisted of a copy of Jane’s and the intel messages accurately described the corruption and the price of oil in Haiti, but gave no information on Haitian naval or military forces. SABER stepped up to the plate and within days published a study on Haiti’s small naval forces.
From those modest beginnings, SABER has developed into three teams: Team East, Team West, and Special Operations (Spec Ops). Analysts in Team East follow North Korea, China, Pakistan, and India. Analysts in Team West follow Iran, Iraq, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Russia, Syria, Algeria, and Libya. The Spec Ops team, staffed with SEAL, Small Boat Unit, and EOD personnel, follow mine warfare and special operations teams world wide. As an SH-60 pilot forward deployed to Japan for three years and SABER’s North Korean analyst, LT JohnWesson brings his unique experience to SABER, and SABER analysts also work with their submarine and aviation counterparts in SWORD and SPEAR.
SABER’s reputation for solid assessments and unique insight has placed its analysts in increasing demand within the intelligence community. However, serving the fleet always remains the primary mission. "Some of the intelligence that we draw upon as all-source analysts can be academic in nature, but neither SABER nor the units that we support are academic institutions," said Wesson. Keeping that foremost in their minds, SABER analysts continue to bring quality intelligence products to wardrooms around the Navy.
Editor’s note: LT Newcomb is an intelligence team leader in the SABER detachment at the Office of Naval Intelligence.
For more information contact SABER at (301) 669-3487/4109 or e-mail: SABER@nmic.navy.smil.mil
