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1 [1] (January 23, 2026)

handle is hein.crs/govetho0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con res ~onaI Research Servcc Inkn mu t 1ev Ii ~ve d Ia e 1914 Updated January 23, 2026 Defense Primer: Intelligence Support to Military Operations The statutory responsibility for resourcing and coordinating the activities of the Intelligence Community (IC) in support of military activities belongs to two senior executive branch officials: * The Director of National Intelligence (DNI), who serves as the principal intelligence advisor to the President as commander in chief (and in the President's other constitutional responsibilities), is responsible for national intelligence strategy, and the overall resourcing and coordination of intelligence activities across multiple agencies in support of the military's strategic, operational, and tactical priorities. * The Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security (USD(I&S), using Under Secretary of War for Intelligence and Security as a secondary title under Executive Order (E.O.) 14347, dated September 5, 2025) is the senior-most Department of Defense (DOD, which is using a secondary Department of War designation, under E.O. 14347) official responsible for managing the resources, capabilities, and activities of DOD intelligence elements. This position is dual-hatted. When acting as the USD(I&S), the incumbent reports directly to the Secretary of Defense (using Secretary of War as a secondary title under E.O. 14347) and serves as the Secretary's principal staff assistant on intelligence, counterintelligence, security, and other intelligence-related matters. When acting as Director of Defense Intelligence (DDI), the incumbent reports directly to the DNI and serves as principal advisor on defense intelligence matters. Many of the 18 statutory intelligence elements, such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), directly support the military. Nine of these reside within the Department of Defense providing integrated intelligence support to military strategy, planning, and operations. They include the National Security Agency (NSA), National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency (NGA), National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the intelligence components of the five military service (along with the Coast Guard intelligence element when operating as part of DOD). The Intellience Process for Supporting Mihtary Operations The IC supports the entire spectrum of DOD missions, from peacetime to combat operations. Joint Publication 2-0, Joint Intelligence, (or, JP 2-0, the Joint Chiefs of Staff publication that provides definitive guidance on intelligence support to military operations) notes that the intelligence process for supporting joint (i.e., multi-service, integrated) military operations consists of six interrelated categories of intelligence operations, all aimed at providing to commanders and national-level decisionmakers relevant and timely intelligence. These categories include planning and direction; collection, processing and exploitation; analysis and production; dissemination and integration; and evaluation and feedback. Intelligence professionals participate in the planning and decisionmaking processes to align intelligence resources with operational objectives. Collection managers ensure collection resources support specific intelligence requirements pertaining to operational objectives. Because the operational environment is dynamic, the intelligence process is iterative: each category or phase of the process is ongoing and complements the other phases for the duration of the military campaign or operation. koint Intellience Roles and Respons bihties Table 1 summarizes the roles and responsibilities of joint intelligence to assist commanders in deciding which forces to deploy; when, how, and where to deploy them; and how to employ them in a manner that accomplishes a specific mission consistent with the commander's priorities. Table I. Roles and Responsibilities of Joint Intelligence Source: joint Fublication 2-U,Joint Intelligence, p. 1-5. According to JP 2-0, intelligence should support a commander's planning, execution, and assessment of the impact of military operations. It should, therefore, include a comprehensive analysis, under JP 2-0, of the threat and relevant aspects of the operating environment in assessments enabling the commander to create and exploit opportunities to accomplish friendly force objectives. In describing the operational environment, JP 2-0 specifies that intelligence should describe the operational environment for the commander, to include the political context; governance; leadership intentions; military capabilities and tactics; communications and critical