Intelligence Corps Role

Officers conduct a night-time planning brief during Exercise Grand Prix 5 in Africa.

Intelligence Corps Officers and Soldiers are employed in a wide variety of challenging and rewarding roles in many different locations. Intelligence Corps Operators are provided an unique opportunity to cross train in Material and Personnel Exploitation (MPE), covert surveillance duties, debriefing and interrogation, foreign languages, imagery analysis, close operational intelligence support, strategic level assessment, counter intelligence duties, electronic warfare support, cyber threat analysis and much more.

Operational Intelligence (OPINT)
Finding things out is only part of what we do. The information we gather is useless until it has been analysed and interpreted to reveal the significant intelligence it contains. Operational Intelligence involves the core skills of processing and analysing information.

One important example of this is Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB). Used correctly IPB answers vital questions such as where, when, how and why an enemy is likely to attack. IPB often provides a graphic representation of an area, illustrating crucial details and giving an insight into likely enemy strategy.

Counter Intelligence (CI)
Counter Intelligence involves the identification of, and protection against, enemy intelligence operations such as espionage, sabotage, subversion or terrorism. CI comprises two main areas: security intelligence and protective security. Security intelligence seeks to find the identity, capability and intention of the enemy, learning how he operated in the past, how he is operating in the present and how he is likely to operate in the future.

Protective security is the systematic implementation of physical and personal defensive measures. While working in protective security, we may examine sites of national importance, such as power stations and government buildings, and design complex security systems. We may also investigate breaches of security.

Specialist skills
Supporting the core disciplines of OPINT and CI are four specialist areas that employ specific skills and equipment. These are:

An Army Major of the Military Stabilisation Support Team (MSST) talks to an Afghan woman via an interpreter

Human Intelligence (HUMINT)

HUMINT operators provide commanders with timely, accurate and often unique intelligence on an enemy's intentions, capabilities and way of working.

HUMINT

Whitehall and surrounding area as seen from the air.

Signal Intelligence (SIGINT)

SIGINT specialists glean information from enemy transmissions and use leading-edge technology to intercept anything from faxes, to emails and satellite communications.

SIGINT

Int Corps teams on ops

Electronic Warfare (EW)

EW specialists employ similar skills and technology to those in used in SIGINT, working at a tactical level, intercepting battlefield transmissions.

EW

A RAF Reaper UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) is pictured airborne over Afghanistan during Operation Herrick.

Imagery Intelligence (IMINT)

IMINT specialists interpret images taken from a variety of sources including satellites and reconnaissance aircraft.

IMINT

This image shows an officer from the Royal Ghurkha Rifles (RGR) shadowing his Afghan counterpart prior to entering the village of Saidan near Gereshk, Afghanistan on day one of Operation Omid Char.

Operational Intelligence (OPINT)

OPINT is one of the mainstream roles and includes Close Support (CS) at the operational and tactical levels. CS OPINT Sections provide direct support to Bde HQs and smaller teams operate at Battlegroup (BG) and Company (Coy) level.

OPINT

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