Photo By Erin Thompson | Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower served as the Army Chief of Staff from 1945–1948.... read more read more
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by Erin E. Thompson, USAICoE Staff Historian
EISENHOWER OUTLINES RESPONSIBILITIES OF INTELLIGENCE
On 3 March 1947, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Army Chief of Staff, published a memorandum entitled “Intelligence Functions and Responsibilities.” Eisenhower’s observations reflected a complete overhaul of the expectations of Army intelligence moving forward.
General Eisenhower began the letter by explaining the failures on the part of the government and the various military branches to prioritize intelligence as a major function of military work. He wrote: "Resulting from our experiences in two wars and from our painful surprise at Pearl Harbor, it has been acknowledged on the highest levels that Intelligence services of the Government must be rehabilitated and brought to high efficiency. Such acknowledgement has previously been voiced on the general principle that as our positive power to provide national security, i.e., military strength, is decreased, the efficiency of our Intelligence services must be correspondingly increased in order to insure sufficient advance warning of hostile intent and capabilities to allow mobilization of our national resources." As tensions continued rising between the Western world and the Soviet Union, the letter highlighted the importance of intelligence in national security. Eisenhower further lamented the “lack of full understanding and appreciation of all levels” for the role intelligence had fulfilled in the war and continued to provide for the government.
Eisenhower suggested the reason intelligence oversight and training had fallen to the wayside was due to demobilization at the end of World War II. This lack of attention had resulted in: "…assignment of inexperienced personnel to Intelligence duties; lack of stress of Intelligence training in all echelons; frequent turnover of trained personnel on Intelligence duties, thus sacrificing benefits of experience and continuity; and inadequate incentive to attract and continue on Intelligence duty the highest type of military personnel."
The letter also noted that, of those intelligence officers continuing to work for the U.S. government, few resources or personnel were being employed for “collection, evaluation, and dissemination” of intelligence to the proper channels. Inconsistent intelligence sharing between branches and between the organizations frequently resulted in disaster. Eisenhower further ordered the military to participate in: "[The] continued decentralization of selected functions by appropriate commanders and by the Director of Intelligence within the Army structure where efficiency will not be sacrificed, [and the] continued efforts by the Director of Intelligence through the National Intelligence Agency to pass functions not of primary interest to the War Department either laterally to other departments of the Government or to the Central Intelligence Group where efficiency will be gained."
A new system of curriculum, field inspections, and oversight was organized to address the problems found within the government’s intelligence system. Training of intelligence personnel was further stipulated to include specific levels of training dependent upon the officer’s rank and intended duty station. The new requirements for intelligence personnel meant senior positions within Army intelligence and officers joining the military attaché system were required to attend both a General Service School and the Strategic Intelligence School.
Finally, Eisenhower noted the allocation of intelligence personnel from within the military was a necessity with the growing foreign relations crisis overseas. Eisenhower instructed: “Allocate personnel to Intelligence, recognizing the principle that as our positive power for security declines, our reliance on Intelligence to determine the strength and direction of threats to our security increases.”
//See the full memo at https://www.nsa.gov/Portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/friedman-documents/pearl-harbor/FOLDER_148/41714019075332.pdf
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| Date Taken: | 03.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.01.2024 14:49 |
| Story ID: | 465132 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 82 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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