Regionalization: The Cure for an Ailing Intelligence Career Field

Abstract : The Strategic Intelligence Officer career field (FA34) must organize regionally and re-focus in order to effectively provide the Army with regional and analytic expertise. The branch s current path will languish into obscurity and fail to deliver the products Army leaders need. A majority of FA34s expressed frustration over the functional area's lack of vision or purpose. This paper examines the root cause of the problem and offers recommendations to reimage the branch. At the forefront of change is a new vision and centralized approach to the apportionment and disposition of FA34s. This includes a quantitative approach to build, assign, and develop its manpower. Also key in this makeover is modeling the FA34 closely after its strategic counterpart, the Foreign Area Officer. The goal must be to establish FA34 as a complementary but distinct component to Military Intelligence. Regionalization is the single most distinguishing characteristic that separates the two. The Army's MI leadership stands at an important juncture to reshape the career field or continue the status quo. Organizational change is always hard, but the time is ripe for the FA34 career field to realize its true potential in shaping the Army s strategic direction.