Our Units

1 Military Intelligence (MI) Battalion is a regular Army unit under the operational command of 1st (UK) Division.

It is tasked with providing intelligence to help Commanders make informed decisions as well as providing predictive assessment of our adversaries intentions. It supports the headquarters of 1st (UK) Division, the subordinate Brigades, and the UK’s rapid reaction forces; the UK’s troops who can be called upon, often at very short notice, to deploy overseas.

The Battalion is composed of four Companies:

• Headquarters Company. The support element of the Battalion, enabling the outputs of the MI Companies and the Battalion Headquarters.
• 14 Military Intelligence Company. Provides intelligence support to the General Officer Commanding 1st (UK) Div and the divisional headquarters, provides a bespoke reachback facility for globally deployed operations, and has a Military Intelligence Data Specialists.
• 11 Military Intelligence Company. Provides intelligence support to the Brigade Commanders and staff within 1st (UK) Div with a variety of roles and commitments. These include 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team (7 LMBCT), the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force; 11th Security Force Assistance Brigade, 4th Infantry Brigade, and 8 Engineer Brigade.
• 16 (Very High Readiness) Military Intelligence Company. Provides intelligence support to the UK’s rapid reaction forces: 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, 3 Commando Brigade, and Joint Force Headquarters.

The Military Intelligence Companies each support a bespoke formation at readiness in the UK and each Company has a range of capabilities including:

• Close Support (CS) Intelligence Sections understand the current battle, threat, or activities happening now and in the immediate (48hrs) future.
• General Support (GS) Intelligence Sections evaluate and assess our adversaries activities in the medium to long term.
• Battle Group Intelligence Support Sections (BGISS) work alongside the combat elements in the field help them understand the environment and adversaries they are facing.

2 Military Intelligence (Exploitation) Battalion is a regular Army unit under the operational command of the 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade. The Unit’s mix of capabilities are unique in the Army, Defence, and wider Government.

Material and Personnel Exploitation (MPE)
The Battalion is Army's lead unit for forensic technical exploitation, including biometrics, fingerprinting, and the examination of electronic media and weapons.

Analysts in 2MI deploy around the world with cutting edge forensic technology to conduct exploitation, and are also trained in all-source analysis techniques to put their findings into context.  

To give one example - this could mean analysing the information contained on a mobile phone seized in a counter-terrorism raid and combining it with other information obtained on the open-internet and by sensitive means.  This may lead the 2MI analyst to identify another terrorist cell which can then be targeted by other intelligence assets.

Counter Intelligence (CI)
In addition to MPE, the Battalion is the Army’s sole specialist CI collection asset.

In this guise, operators seek to generate intelligence and understanding in order to protect Army and Defence assets, such as personnel, infrastructure and information, from a range of traditional and non-traditional threats.

There are a variety of roles available for CI Operators, each requiring extensive and demanding training. 

3 Military Intelligence Battalion is an Army Reserve unit under operational command of the 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade.  They are based in London and Cambridge.

The Battalion has four Military Intelligence (MI) companies:

• 31 MI Coy is co-located with the Battalion Headquarters in Ashford House Army Reserve Centre on Worship Street, very close to the City.
• 32 MI Coy is located at Coldham’s Lane Army Reserve Centre in Cambridge.
• 33 and 34 MI Coys are located in Hampstead, in Edinburgh House on Fitzjohn’s Avenue.

The Battalion delivers competent MI Operators who are highly capable analysts and confident leaders and soldiers. As analysts the training emphasis is on building strong, core Operational Intelligence (OPINT) skills, overlaid by an understanding of actual and emerging threats and theatres of operation.

Analysts need to be able to draw information from a wide range of sources, classified or open. They must be able to understand complex situations and then communicate their conclusions to decision makers - often under significant pressure.

The largest concentration of Int Corps personnel in the Army, focused on supporting the Warfighting Division.

4 Military Intelligence Battalion is a regular Army unit under the operational command of the 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade. It is tasked with supporting the warfighting Division of the British Army: 3 (UK) Division with its Armoured Infantry and Strike Brigades.

The Battalion is structured into two Companies supporting the Armoured Infantry Brigades, two Companies supporting the Strike Brigades, a Company supporting the Division and a Headquarters Company. There is also a Section dedicated to providing support to a Logistics Brigade. Each Company has the following capabilities:

• Close Support Intelligence 
• General Support Intelligence
• Battle Group Intelligence Support
• Intelligence Apps and Information Requirements Management.

They are located in Bulford and Aldershot Garrisons.

5 Military Intelligence Battalion is an Army Reserve unit under the operational command of the 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade. Our headquarters is in Edinburgh, with sub-units / detachments located in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Gateshead, Leeds and Nottingham.

The Battalion supports the Army in two main ways. Firstly we recruit and train Military Intelligence soldiers and officers so that they are ready to deploy on operations. Secondly, using advanced military IT systems at our bases, we have the capability to conduct real-time intelligence work during training nights and weekends. This work then feeds back into the wider Defence Intelligence community, to help inform our commanders and enable them to make decisions about complex threats.

6 Military Intelligence Battalion is highly operationally focused. Most of its officers and soldiers have completed operational deployments to the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan. When deployed they are completely integrated with and work alongside their regular army Intelligence Corps counterparts. 

The Battalion’s strength is its people. Their common motivation for joining is to seek an intellectual and physical challenge. We provide the necessary training to enable recruits to become Military Intelligence analysts.

The training emphasis is on building core Operational Intelligence (OPINT) skills and an understanding of actual and potential theatres of operation. Analysts need to be able to draw information from a wide variety of sources, ranging from open source material from the news media to highly classified information. They must be able to understand complex situations and then communicate their conclusions to decision makers.

7 Military Intelligence (MI) Battalion is an Army Reserve unit based in the south and has three Companies.

• 71 MI Company based in Bristol and Exeter.
• 73 MI Company in Hermitage.
• 74 MI Company in Newport.

7MI delivers direct support to operational and tactical level intelligence capabilities within Defence. Members of the Battalion work alongside their regular counterparts both in the UK and on deployments around the world.

The Battalion has three core outputs: deriving operational intelligence for division and corps level warfighting, producing detailed thematic analysis of adversary capabilities, and analysis of complex data requiring expertise not held in the regular army.

The Battalion seeks to match the subject matter expertise of Reservist soldiers and officers with real world, operationally relevant intelligence requirements from the Army.

The training emphasis is on building core Operational Intelligence (OPINT) skills and an understanding of actual and potential theatres of operation. Analysts need to be able to draw information from a wide variety of sources, ranging from open source material from the news media to highly classified information.