WIESBADEN, Germany – Alpha Company, 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion (MI BN), of the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade – Theater (MIB-T) is offering a blueprint for success to the U.S. Army to combat a critical retention crisis among its 35M, Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Collector, population. While the Army is seeing alarmingly low retention rates for these highly specialized Soldiers, Alpha Company, 2nd MI BN achieved over 200 percent of its retention goals for fiscal year 2025 by fostering a leadership-driven culture that values the individual Soldier, provides a mission with tangible purpose, and invests in professional mastery.
The Army is currently facing a significant challenge in retaining its 35M talent, with retention rates for first-term Soldiers hovering at a mere 12.7 percent. This exodus of skill wastes millions of dollars in training and threatens overall mission readiness. The core of the problem often lies in a systemic underutilization of these Soldiers' specialized skills, leading to widespread dissatisfaction.
Many 35Ms, who undergo extensive training that can exceed two years, arrive at their first duty stations only to find themselves assigned to tasks far removed from their expertise. This has led to a profound sense of disillusionment and the creation of disparaging terms like “35Motorpool.” As one Soldier described the feeling, “It’s hard to not have imposter syndrome. You are trained to be an interrogator and a debriefer, but all you do is motorpool and details. Some 35Ms never end up doing what they signed up to do, even after an entire contract.” In stark contrast, Alpha Company, 2nd MI BN has cultivated an environment that directly counters these issues, built upon three foundational pillars:
Pillar One: Leadership That Values the Soldier
The most cited reason for the company's high retention is its outstanding leadership philosophy, which is built on mutual respect, candor, and integrity. This creates an environment of psychological safety where Soldiers feel heard and valued. “If I come to them with a problem, I know they’re actually going to do what they can to fix it, rather than telling me to deal with it and do what I’m told,” one re-enlisting Soldier stated. At the time that Sergeant First Class (SFC) Joshua Rose took responsibility of Alpha Company, 2nd MI BN, retention was just slightly above 15 percent for Alpha Company. Rose made one of his first orders of business to take stock of his Soldiers and hold a non-commissioned officer (NCO) call to discuss issues they were facing. Using this open dialogue, he and incoming Commanding Officer Capt. Brad Lenkeit championed several developments to improve work-life balance and operational readiness.
When questioned on how Alpha Company varies from other units in the Army, Rose said, “I don’t think it’s different than the rest of the Army, but one thing that we really focus on is giving time back where we can," he explained. "When a Soldier conducts a mission over the weekend or takes on additional tasks that run through the duty day, we give them that time back through a pass or an early afternoon on a Friday." This level of localized control is only possible due to top-down support. "The leadership from brigade down has full trust and confidence in us at the company level to do what we believe is best for the people and culture of our organization," Rose noted. "Brigade and battalion leadership’s willingness to participate in company events such as PT or Axe Academy highlights their investment into our Soldiers.”
To further develop the force, the company initiated Axe Academy, which is a regularly occurring series of professional development classes geared towards training and empowering NCOs within the company to understand their roles and responsibilities, and how to use them concurrently with the commander’s intent.
“We focus on training and developing HUMINT Soldiers. While we do have our fair share of non-HUMINT taskings, we spread those taskings out," said Rose. "We created Axe Academy to focus on basic Army leadership and HUMINT skills.” The company also transformed its non-operational "Red-Cell" platoon into an asset, transforming it into On-The-Job-Training (OJT) Platoon. “We have our OJT Platoon, which is a training platoon for our newer collectors who are given classes developed by our HCT team leaders and warrants, and they fill the gaps on our platforms when we have collectors out on long term TDYs or a surge in activity," Rose stated.
By far, the largest change that the leadership made was ensuring Soldiers feel validated as critical members of a team. Alpha Company initiated Tuesday breakfasts, cycling between different ranks to ensure all voices are heard, and regularly highlights Soldier successes at Hail and Farewells. “One of our major successes that I would like to highlight is the ability to empower our junior leaders," said Rose. "We trained, developed, and gave them the tools to be successful, while supporting their decisions or providing feedback when necessary to course correct.”
Pillar Two: A Mission That Provides Purpose and Impact
Alpha Company, 2nd MI BN ensures its Soldiers are engaged in meaningful work. With an active mission set, 35Ms are performing their jobs, directly combating the "imposter syndrome" felt elsewhere. “Every Soldier wants to do what they joined the Army to do, and for 35Ms there is no better place to be than right here in the 66th MIB-T,” Rose emphasized. “Our collectors’ ability to do real operations that impact current events is arguably the biggest driving factor for retention. Most of our Soldiers reenlist for stabilization to stay in 66th MIB-T to continue those operations.”
When retention issues do arise, leadership takes a hands-on approach to find purpose for their Soldiers, even if it requires external coordination. “At the company level, we have been able to establish a relationship with Human Resources Command and the 35M talent managers to help give our collectors better opportunities to get after their career goals," Rose explained. "We’ve had multiple one-on-one calls or meetings with the talent managers to discuss the goals of our Soldier and how to facilitate those goals.”
This customized talent management saved two highly trained 35Ms—a married couple set on leaving the Army. SFC Rose and Capt. Lenkeit met with them extensively and coordinated with 35M branch managers to adjust how the company utilized them. Following this, both Soldiers reenlisted. One is currently a military language instructor (MLI) at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), and the other volunteered for the Drill Sergeant Academy and is now a drill sergeant at DLIFLC.
Another Soldier, who continuously told leadership they had no interest in reenlisting, changed their mind after regular mentorship, open discussions regarding professional development, and experiencing a year within Alpha Company after the new initiatives were implemented. This Soldier reenlisted for six more years and is currently preparing for Special Mission Unit (SMU) selection.
Pillar Three: An Environment That Invests in Mastery
The company demonstrates its commitment by proactively investing in professional development, dedicating significant time and resources for Soldiers to attend advanced training at institutions like the HUMINT Training – Joint Center of Excellence (HT-JCOE) and DLIFLC. Consequently, Alpha Company has increased its percentage of graduates from the Defense Strategic Debriefer Course (DSDC) to 72 percent of its 35M population.
To achieve this, the company overhauled its internal pipeline. “We recently launched our Job Qualification Standard (JQS) to create a training pipeline that culminates into a DSDC course date," said Rose. "With our JQS/OJT system, we were able to not only create a clear path to being put on to a platform, but it has created transparency on how manning decisions are made. Rather than a standard HCT rotation through each platform, we look at each Soldier individually and try to put them in the best position to not only be successful but improve their skills holistically.”
This focus sends a clear message that Soldiers are valued assets worth developing, bringing renewed confidence and bolstering the unit's overall capabilities. The success of Alpha Company, 2nd MI BN, 66th MIB-T demonstrates that the Army's 35M retention problem is solvable. The solution lies not in a new, expensive program, but in a return to the fundamental principles of leadership. By treating Soldiers with respect, providing them with a mission that matters, and investing in their professional mastery, the U.S. Army can retain its critical HUMINT talent, enhance mission readiness, and honor the commitment made by these skilled warriors. In essence, a problem in HUMINT nature can be solved by focusing on the “Human Element."
| Date Taken: | 06.18.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 09.02.2026 18:24 |
| Story ID: | 573845 |
| Location: | WIESBADEN, DE |
| Web Views: | 24 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Human Element: How the 66th MIB-T is Solving the Army's HUMINT Retention Crisis, by SGT Ryan Greenwood, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
