USAIC fields two new intelligence manuals

Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin, April-June, 2004 by Stephen C. Clarke

The U.S. Army Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca (USAIC&FH) is in the final stages of producing a new field manual called FM 2-22.3 Human Intelligence Collector Operations, and has recently fielded an approved special text, ST 2-91.6, Small Unit Support to Intelligence, dated March 2004. The new FM on human intelligence (HUMINT) is the first for the 97E military occupational specialty (MOS) since its change in designation from Interrogator to HUMINT Collector. Its tentatively scheduled for final approval this Fall.

FM 2-22.3

FM 2-22.3 will supersede FM 34-52, Intelligence Interrogation, which was published in 1992. FM 2-22.3 is currently in Final Draft form and USAIC&FH has placed it on our Army Knowledge Online (AKO) Collaboration web site for review by all Army proponent agencies. You may contact ATZS-FDC-D@hua.army.mil for authorization to access the draft.

The Army is developing FM 2-22.3 in response to a recognized need for a document that contains updated tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP). FM 2-22.3 also tackles the change from a relatively narrow focus on tactical interrogation to the broader spectrum of HUMINT collection activities. In addition, it addresses the employment of HUMINT collection teams within the framework of changing Army doctrine. (Figure 1 shows the tactical HUMINT organization.) The inclusion of the J2X/G2X element and streamlined command and reporting channels has brought the depiction of command and control (C2) functions up to date.

Why the changes? In 2003, USAIC&FH approved new operation and organization (O&O) plans for both HUMINT and counterintelligence (CI) operations, which effectively separate the two disciplines. Consequently, FM 2-22.3 describes the deployment of HUMINT collection teams (HCTs), whose military component consists of enlisted 97Es (HUMINT Collector) and 351E (Human Intelligence Collection Technician) warrant officers. Previously a mixture of CI and HUMINT personnel had deployed as a tactical HUMINT team (THT). This new employment strategy acknowledges the different missions that CI and HUMINT have and aims at employing HUMINT collectors more closely in accordance with their training and capabilities (see Figure 2).

There have been significant advances in technology since we fielded FM 34-52, and FM 2-22.3 brings the subject up to date. The new manual addresses the automation, biometric, and communication technologies that are vital to the success of HUMINT collection in the modern Army. The automation piece explains the hardware and software capabilities required to allow the HUMINT collector to access and interface with distributed databases and digital communications on the battlefield and elsewhere.

"Biometrics" is the study of measurable biological characteristics and the Army currently fields equipment that uses this technology. FM 2-22.3 describes the current capabilities of man-packed equipment to record identifying characteristics, such as fingerprints and unique iris patterns and store them in a database for retrieval by any authorized user of the system. There is also a discussion of biometric equipment to help HUMINT collectors determine the truthfulness of a source. The new FM also presents automated analysis tools such as time and event charts, association matrices, and link-analysis diagrams that increase predictive analysis capability.

The introduction of FM 2-22.3 brings about other changes. The chapter on Approach Techniques has been expanded and introduces some additional rapport-building methodologies that support debriefing and elicitation rather than only addressing interrogation in the tactical setting. Other methodologies include expanded questioning techniques for debriefing, and a discussion of various types of HUMINT contacts.

Instruction on analysis for HUMINT collectors had previously been available only in the Warrant Officer Technical Certification Course, but it is now part of the 97E enlisted curriculum. As a result,

FM 2-22.3 devotes an entire chapter to HUMINT analysis. The manual contains detailed descriptions and examples of time and event charts, association matrices, and link-analysis diagrams (see Figure 3), and other analytical tools.

FM 2-22.3 has greatly expanded appendices to include extensive extracts from the Law of Land Warfare (FM 27-10 dated 18 July 1956 as changed 15 July 1976) and Allied Joint Publication (AJP) 2.5, Handling of Captured Personnel, Equipment and Documents, which contains the complete guide to the international system of allocating interrogation serial numbers. In the past, this document has been difficult to obtain; with increased emphasis on coalition operations, it is a sorely needed asset. FM 2-22.3 includes a guide for S2s as well as a questioning quick reference guide for the trained HUMINT collector, example forms, and a source and information reliability index. The final appendix in the FM contains instructions for document exploitation (DOCEX) and handling.

The HUMINT collectors' participation in DOCEX has been deemphasized. In the past, HUMINT collectors were assumed to be the proper people to conduct DOCEX due to their language capabilities. Current doctrinal thought acknowledges that a document exploiter does not need HUMINT training to translate a document, and that the unit can better employ the HUMINT collector in pursuit of the mission he or she was trained to do. FM 2-22.3 not only addresses HUMINT support to DOCEX, but also DOCEX support to HUMINT. This approach to the topic recognizes that DOCEX is an Army-wide responsibility and that HUMINT is one part of it and a consumer of DOCEX information, rather than the major provider.