Definition of the IC
Leadership of the IC
Management of the IC
Members of the IC
Relationships with Other Government Organizations |
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The Defense
Intelligence Agency is a major producer and manager of intelligence
for the Department of Defense (DoD). Intelligence is the exclusive
business of the Agency, and as such, DIA in its entirety is
considered to be a member of the IC.
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DIA’s Contribution
to Intelligence
Established
in 1961, and in 1986 designated a combat support agency, DIA’s mission
is to provide timely and objective military intelligence
to warfighters, policymakers, and force planners. The Director of the
Agency is the primary adviser to the Secretary of Defense and the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on military intelligence matters.
Under the auspices of the Military Intelligence Board, DIA unites
the Defense Intelligence Community on major issues dealing with
support to deployed forces, assessments, policy, and resources.
In addition, to assist weapon systems planners and the Defense acquisition
community, DIA plays a key role in providing intelligence on foreign weapon systems.
During the period
following World War II until the Agency's establishment, the three
Military Departments separately collected, produced, and disseminated
intelligence for their individual use. The system proved duplicative,
costly, and ineffective as each Service provided their estimates
to the Secretary of Defense, the Unified and Specified (U&S)
Commands, or other governmental agencies.
The Defense
Reorganization Act of 1958 sought to correct these shortcomings
by assigning responsibility for U&S Command intelligence support
to the J-2 of the JCS. However, DoD intelligence responsibilities
remained unclear, coordination poor, and products lacked dependability
and national focus. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, therefore, appointed
the Joint Study Group in 1960 to determine better ways of effectively
organizing the nation's military intelligence activities.
Acting on the
recommendations of the Joint Study Group, Secretary of Defense Robert
S. McNamara in February 1961 advised the JCS of his decision to
establish a Defense Intelligence Agency and tasked them with developing
a concept plan that would extensively integrate the military intelligence
efforts of all DoD elements. The JCS completed this assignment by
July, and published DoD Directive 5105.21, "Defense Intelligence
Agency" on 1 August, effective 1 October 1961.
According to
the plan for the new Agency, DIA reported to the Secretary of Defense
through the JCS. It was a union--not a confederation of Defense
intelligence and counterintelligence activities, and it did not
add administrative layering within the Defense intelligence community.
The Agency's mission was the continuous task of collecting, processing,
evaluating, analyzing, integrating, producing, and disseminating
military intelligence for the DoD. Other objectives included more
efficiently allocating scarce intelligence resources, more effectively
managing all DoD intelligence activities, and eliminating redundancies
in facilities, organizations, and tasks.
During the summer
of 1961, as Cold War tensions flared over the Berlin Wall, Air Force
Lieutenant General Joseph F. Carroll, soon to become DIA's first
director, planned and organized this new agency. It began operations
with a handful of employees in borrowed office space on 1 October
1961.
Following DIA's
establishment, the Services transferred intelligence functions and
resources to it on a time-phased basis to avoid rapidly degrading
the overall effectiveness of defense intelligence. Specifically,
DoD assigned DIA the mission of collecting, processing, evaluating,
analyzing, integrating, producing, and disseminating military intelligence
for the Department.
A year after
its formation, the Agency faced its first major intelligence test
during the superpower confrontation that developed after Soviet
missiles were discovered at bases in Cuba. Yet, even in the midst
of this crisis, Agency organizational efforts continued. In late
1962, DIA established the Defense Intelligence School, and on 1
January 1963, it activated a new Production Center. Several Service
elements were merged to form this production facility, which occupied
the "A" and "B" Building at Arlington Hall Station, Virginia.
The Agency also
added an Automated Data Processing (ADP) Center on 19 February,
a Dissemination Center on 31 March, and a Scientific and Technical
Intelligence Directorate on 30 April 1963. DIA assumed the staff
support functions of the J-2, Joint Staff, on 1 July 1963. Two years
later, on 1 July 1965, DIA accepted responsibility for the Defense
Attache System--the last function the Services transferred to DIA.
During these
early years of DIA's existence, Agency attempts to establish itself
as DoD's central military intelligence organization met with continuing
Service opposition. At the same time, the Vietnam War severely tested
the fledgling Agency's ability to produce accurate, timely intelligence.
In particular, the war increased defense intelligence's involvement
in efforts to account for American service members missing or captured
in Southeast Asia.
DIA analysts
focused during the 1960's on: China's detonation of an atomic bomb
and the launching of its cultural revolution; increasing unrest
among African nations; and, fighting in Malaysia, Cyprus, and Kashmir.
In the late 1960's, crises that tested intelligence responsiveness
included: the Tet offensive in Vietnam; the Six-Day War between
Egypt and Israel; continuing troubles in Africa, particularly Nigeria;
North Korea's seizure of the PUEBLO; and the Soviet invasion of
Czechoslovakia.
Whether managing
the deployment of a multi-agency National Intelligence Support Team,
which provides tailored intelligence support to the military commander
during crises, or developing innovative concepts toward a virtual
collaborative environment for intelligence analysis such as the
Joint Intelligence Virtual Architecture, DIA is "Committed
to Excellence in Defense of the Nation."
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Related
Links
DIA’s
Web Site
DIA Organization
What's New at DIA
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