Photo By Naomi VanDuser | SUITLAND, Md. (July 24, 2025) - U.S. Navy graphic illustration created for the 50th...... read more read more
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SUITLAND, Md. — “I’ll never forget watching the Tomahawks launch and the departing airstrikes from [USS] Midway and [USS] Ranger on the first night of combat operations in Operation Desert Storm,” recalled retired Intelligence Specialist (IS) Chief Petty Officer Barry McDaniel.
“Hostilities commenced at 0200, 17 January 1991. It wasn’t a surprise to me, as I had been given notice by the CO [commanding officer] several hours prior. I was updating my briefing notes for the next morning, when there was a knock on my office door. It was Capt., later Rear Adm., [Ernest] Tedeschi and he showed me the alert order. Typical of his low-key style and concern for his crew, he told me to keep it to myself for the moment, but to knock off and get a couple hours rack time and be in the [Combat Information Center] just after midnight, as it would probably be the last sleep I would have for quite some time. He was right and it would be some time before I could hit the rack.”
As the independent duty IS aboard USS Valley Forge (CG 50), McDaniel had the enormous responsibility of keeping the ship and her crew out of harm’s way by recognizing and identifying mines and other incoming threats.
“When the CO, Capt. Tedeschi, presented me with the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal for my service during the war, he told everyone present that ‘This is the guy that kept us safe from the mines’,” said McDaniel. “I played an important role but was just one member of a genuine team effort by a crew at the top of their game and under the leadership of a superb CO and XO [executive officer].”
This year, the Naval Intelligence community recognizes and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the enlisted Intelligence Specialist. Since 1975, ISs like McDaniel have been at the tip of the spear, collecting, analyzing and disseminating critical intelligence and analysis to Fleet commanders and decision makers alike.
The modern IS can trace their beginnings to the earliest days of photography. During WWI, aerial photography was useful for reconnaissance and recording combat action. WWII saw the evolution of photointerpretation into an essential intelligence discipline, and enlisted photographers were sent to the Naval Photographic Intelligence School to learn photointerpretation skills and techniques, an opportunity that was previously only available to intelligence officers. The Vietnam War further increased the demand for technically skilled photo interpreters, and the enlisted Photographic Intelligenceman (PT) rating was established in 1957, becoming the cornerstone for the future enlisted Intelligence Specialist.
As the PT rating was being established, the Bureau of Naval Personnel created the 2505 Intelligence Clerk Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC). This NEC allowed Yeomen (YN) to hold special clearances and perform administrative tasks within the intelligence community. In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, the Naval Intelligence community implemented sweeping changes throughout its officer and enlisted ranks to draw down forces and improve Sailor performance. As the general naval and air intelligence officers were being united under one designator, an occupational study of the PT rating and related YN-2505 NEC concluded that both specialties would be better for the Navy and Navy Intelligence as one rating: the enlisted Intelligence Specialist.
Retired Rear Adm. Tom Brooks, former Director of Naval Intelligence, worked in the intelligence officer detail shop during these transitional years and recalls the challenges these changes presented to both officers and enlisted. The fear that the smaller general naval intelligence officer community would be swallowed by the larger aviation intelligence community, affecting promotion opportunities, was similar to sentiment amongst enlisted leadership.
“I remember one YNC [Yeoman Chief Petty Officer] telling me, ‘They’re going to make a photo interpreter out of me,’ but others hoped that the new rate would improve their promotion opportunities,” said Brooks. “The YN rate leadership was very much opposed to losing all those YN-2505s because it would result in reduced promotion opportunities for the YN rate at large.”
Within the initial group of Sailors selected to convert to the IS rating was now-retired Intelligence Specialist Chief Petty Officer (ISC) Joel Pickett. Pickett started his career in 1966 as an undesignated seaman before striking as a YN. Through the encouragement of his leadership at Commander, Submarine Flotilla Seven, Pickett applied for and received the 2505 NEC.
As a YN-2505, Pickett participated in mission planning during the Vietnam War, performed courier duties at Whidbey Island, and was one of several intelligence YN for Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe in London. Despite Pickett’s extensive knowledge and exposure to the intelligence community, like many other YN-2505s at the time, he was at a disadvantage when it came to promotions.
“The difficulty in being a YN-2505 was that you were expected to be knowledgeable of the entire yeoman program,” said Pickett. “This presented a problem in YN-2505s passing the rating exam because we weren’t exposed to other facets of the yeoman rating. I applied for the IS rating conversion as soon as it was announced.”
Retired Photographic Intelligenceman Chief Petty Officer Paul Heinrich was also amongst those first few Sailors who transitioned to the new IS rating. Though he retired as an IS, Heinrich began his career as an Aviation Ordnanceman in 1959, serving with aviation patrol and reconnaissance squadrons. As the Vietnam War continued, Heinrich saw an opportunity to cross-rate to the PT rating and spent the rest of his career serving at various fleet intelligence centers and aboard USS America (CVA-66).
As a PT, Heinrich worked closely with Naval photographers as they captured and developed film that he would then analyze on a light table for potential targets and other useful intelligence. Heinrich recalled taking great pride in his work and his part in mission planning. However, when the time came for the PT community to join the YN-2505s under a new rating, Heinrich and his fellow PTs were apprehensive.
“None of the PTs wanted to change,” said Heinrich. “Most were not the clerical types.”
Brooks had also noted a similar sentiment amongst the few PTs he spoke to at the time.
“It was my impression that there was a great deal more reluctance to moving on the part of the PTs, who wanted to remain a green-stripe community and saw little benefit to being put together with YNs in the new rate.” said Brooks.
Though both legacy rating communities had concerns, the IS was formally established in July 1975. The PT curriculum was revised and updated, and the IS “A” school took its place at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado. Sailors like Pickett were now challenged with learning new skills in addition to their current duties.
“I think the transition was equally hard for each rating,” said Pickett. “The [YNs] had to learn photo interpretation and other PT related duties, and the PTs had to learn administrative functions, SSO duties, etc. There was definitely a need for a true intelligence clerk that had the abilities of a yeoman and the analytical abilities of the PT rating. Since it was a “new” rating, it had growing issues.”
In the decades following, the mission of the IS evolved from its beginnings in photointerpretation and clerical work to become the adaptable, highly skilled, and technically trained subject matter expert that make today’s modern IS. Behind the scenes, aboard carriers, destroyers and across fleet intelligence centers, ISs would become ingrained in the planning and execution of naval operations throughout the Cold War, Gulf War, and into the 21st century.
For McDaniel, the challenge and reward of being an IS was, as he describes, “right up my alley!”. McDaniel joined the Navy in 1977 as an Aviation Boatswain’s Mate – Aircraft Handling (ABH) before his leading petty officer aboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65), IS1 Gary Henwood, inspired him to switch to IS. He was transferred to the ship’s intelligence division to receive on the job training before attending IS “A” school in September 1981.
McDaniel graduated in January 1982 and entered the world of Naval Intelligence as tensions between the United States and Soviet Union were rising once again. During these years, advancements in computing and digital imagery meant faster intelligence collection and analysis. At the same time, new weapons systems, such as the Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile and Tomahawk cruise missile, were added to the Navy’s arsenal in response to Cold War threats. Global challenges were becoming increasingly complex, and ISs across the fleet were responsible for identifying and assessing threats within the global maritime domain.
With these shifts, the days of analyzing simple film photography were over. Using new imagery technologies such as infra-red and photogrammetry, ISs improved their ability to gather and analyze intelligence on foreign threats and capabilities. To better provide intelligence where it was needed most, ISs now had the opportunity to serve aboard smaller cruisers and destroyers as independent duty ISs, no longer confined to the larger carrier intelligence centers (CVIC). This not only provided ISs more career opportunities but improved coordination and intelligence sharing across the board.
“The expansion of assignments of ISs aboard smaller ships, with the creation of the IS-3905 NEC was another significant improvement for professional opportunities for enlisted intelligence professions,” said McDaniel.
The breadth of IS responsibilities and opportunities continued to expand even after the Cold War. During the Gulf War, Naval intelligence saw increased integration between the other services and amongst allied partners. Keeping true to their clerical and photointerpretation roots, the IS was responsible for preparing recognition guides and threat briefs as well as participating in the Ship’s Nautical or Otherwise Photographic Interpretation and Examination (SNOOPIE) team, documenting foreign naval and aerial contacts. ISs like McDaniel were expected to provide critical insight and analysis at a moment’s notice to senior Naval leadership.
“Our access to the bigger picture gave me a deeper appreciation for the factors that had to be considered by senior command authorities in their decision making, an insight afforded to few enlisted personnel,” said McDaniel.
Now, 50 years since its inception, the IS community continues to deliver war-winning intelligence analysis, giving Fleet commanders the advantage in any battlespace. From serving aboard ships and aviation squadrons to supporting the Naval Special Warfare and Expeditionary Warfare communities, ISs work diligently to provide timely assessments in rapidly changing threat environments. Like their predecessors, today’s IS community continues to embrace evolving intelligence gathering methods, technologies, and techniques in order to keep America’s Navy one step ahead of increasingly capable adversaries.
In June 2025, the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, Calif. opened its fully restored CVIC exhibit, the same one McDaniel served on during the Cold War. Throughout the decades, ISs have served aboard similar CVICs, having a vital role in many of the naval operations that have marked American and global history in the past 50 years. For the first time, visitors can immerse themselves in the world of Naval Intelligence, and the IS, through an interactive experience and hear the real-life stories of the Sailors who were there. This exhibit not only pays homage to this historic milestone for the IS community, but it also preserves an era in U.S. Navy history as we celebrate 250 years of American Naval power.
As retired Navy Capt. Wyman Packard, former deputy director of naval intelligence, once said, “Everyone in the Navy, whether or not he or she realizes it, is an element of the naval intelligence effort. Each participates in it as a contributor, user, or both.” Through shifting geopolitics, emerging threats and rapid advancements in technology, one thing will always stay the same according to McDaniel; “The constant need for relevant intelligence to be supplied to the decision makers and warfighters in a timely fashion, regardless of changes to the collection systems, techniques and transmission process.”
For 143 years, the Office of Naval Intelligence has continued to deliver war-winning maritime expertise that promotes our Nation’s prosperity and security, deters aggression, and provides options to our leaders. For more information on the Office of Naval Intelligence, visit www.oni.navy.mil.
| Date Taken: | 07.24.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.24.2025 14:47 |
| Story ID: | 543761 |
| Location: | SUITLAND, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 919 |
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