The 902d Military Intelligence Group and Homeland Security

Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin, July-Sept, 2002 by Ginger T. Pratt

The 902d Military Intelligence Group, headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, is the U.S. Army's largest strategic counterintelligence (CI) organization. Activated as the 902d Counter-Intelligence Corps (CIC) Detachment in New Guinea on 23 November 1944, the "Deuce" has a proud history as a CI organization. The 902d's role in 1944 was basically the same as it is now: to counter the foreign intelligence services (FISs) and organizations that attempted to collect against the U.S. Army. Over time, the organizations and techniques may have changed but the threat of espionage against the U.S. Army remains. During the Cold War, the threat was from the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact; today, the threat exists from traditional organizations like the former KGB (1), as well as new FISs and international terrorist organizations. The diversity of these threats to the U.S. Army requires us to apply our traditional counterintelligence capabilities in innovative ways to defeat these increasingly complex threats. The focus of the 902d MI Group's contribution (five articles) to this professional journal is how the "Deuce" has evolved to meet these new threats to the U.S. Army.

An Evolving Mission

The mission of the 902d MI Group is to protect our nation's forces, secrets and technologies by detecting, neutralizing, and exploiting FISs and international terrorist organizations. The traditional mission of the 902d has always been the detection, neutralization, and exploitation of FISs; however, as the threat from international terrorism increased against the U.S. Army, the 902d by direction focused its capabilities against this threat as well.

During the past ten years, the FISs and international terrorist organizations have improved their methods of collecting against the U.S. Army. These techniques include exploitation of digital Internet links and telecommunications as well as improved methods of information elicitation. As the diversity and sophistication of the threat increased, the 902d evolved its capability to counter these threats. The "Deuce" accomplished this by focusing its core competencies of collection, investigations, operations, analysis and production, functional services, and training against these "asymmetric approaches" used by FISs and international terrorist organizations. The 902d was already redirecting its core competencies against these asymmetric approaches when the terrorists struck on 11 September 2001. Since then, the 902d has continued to refine and focus these core competencies against these newest threats of international terrorism.

The attacks on September 11 resulted in the 902d MI Group assuming a major role in support of the Homeland Security (HLS) mission. However, before September 11, Army Regulation 525-13, Antiterrorism Force Protection: Security of Personnel, Information and Critical Resources (dated 10 September 1998), mandated that the 902d MI Group collect, analyze, and disseminate foreign threat information to the U.S. Army. Before September 11, the terrorist attacks against U.S. Army organizations and installations were all in foreign countries, which restricted the 902d's ability to collect because our primary area of responsibility is the continental United States (CONUS). However, the Army Counterintelligence Center (ACIC)--the analytical and production component for the 902d and Army counterintelligence--produced and disseminated products on international terrorism threat throughout the U.S. Army. The attacks on September 11 caused the 902d to focus entirely on the investigation of those attacks and the prevention of fu ture attacks in the United States, thus thrusting the 902d into the HLS arena as the U.S. Army's primary CI organization.

902d Support to the Army HLS Mission

The U.S. Army's role for the Homeland Security mission is still under development. However, the newest version of AR 525-13, Antiterrorism (dated 4 January 2002), mandates antiterrorism (AT) requirements at all levels, from Department of the Army level to installation. The Army Deputy Chief of Staff (DCS) G3 is responsible for operating the Army's Antiterrorism Operations Intelligence Cell (ATOIC) in the Army Operations Center (AOC). The 902d supports the ATOIC by providing collected foreign and international terrorist threat information to them. The 902d fulfills a major role for the U.S. Army's Antiterrorism Program from the Department of the Army level to installation level, as illustrated in the examples below.

TRADOC. The Commanding General (CG), U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), is responsible for developing, implementing, and updating appropriate AT training programs across the U.S. Army. The "Deuce" supports the CG, TRADOC, by providing foreign and international terrorist threat information to all TRADOC installations and organizations.

INSCOM. The CG, U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM), is responsible for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of foreign and international terrorist threat information to U.S. Army commanders. The "Deuce," as one of INSCOM's major subordinate commands, functions as the primary Cl organization responsible for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of this foreign and international terrorist threat information to INSCOM.