The National Clandestine Service (NCS) is the American national authority for coordinating U.S. human intelligence (HUMINT) services. The organization absorbed the entirety of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)'s Directorate of Operations, and also coordinates HUMINT between the CIA and other agencies, including, but not limited to, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Diplomatic Security Service, Defense Intelligence Agency, Air Intelligence Agency, Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM), Marine Corps Intelligence Activity, and Office of Naval Intelligence. The current Director of the NCS is Michael Sulick. The Director of the NCS reports to the CIA Director. The creation of the NCS was officially announced in a press release on October 13, 2005. [1] The NCS was created by a bill from U.S. Senator Pat Roberts in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. The investigation by the 9/11 Commission reported that HUMINT had been severely degraded in the past two decades, principally because of the end of the Cold War and because of startling revelations about CIA operations uncovered by the investigations of the Church Committee of the U.S. Senate. The NCS has analogues in the National Security Agency (signals intelligence), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (imagery intelligence), and the Defense Intelligence Agency .
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Background
The Directorate of Operations was the branch of the CIA that ran covert operations and recruited foreign agents. The DO reportedly employed 1,000–2,000 people and was headed by a deputy director for operations (DDO). This directorate consisted of, among other subdivisions, a unit for political and economic covert action (the Covert Action Staff, or CAS), for paramilitary (PM) covert action (the Special Operations unit), for counterintelligence (the CI staff [CIS]), and for several geographic desks responsible for the collection of foreign intelligence. The Directorate of Operations also housed special groups for conducting counterterrorism and counternarcotics, for tracking nuclear proliferation, and other tasks. Administrated by the DO, the PM group (Special Operations) maintained an elite cadre (Special Activities Division) that are highly skilled in weaponry; covert transport of personnel and material by air, sea, and land; guerrilla warfare; the use of explosives; and escape and evasion techniques. They were prepared to respond quickly to myriad possible needs, from parachute drops and communications support to assistance with counternarcotics operations and defector infiltration. Special Activities maintained a symbiotic relationship with the Special Forces, and is run largely by ex-Special Forces soldiers. For PM tasks (special operations missions) and its other responsibilities, the Special Operations staff attempted to recruit assets with the appropriate specialized skills, though the geographic desks remain the principal units involved in the recruitment of personnel in so-called denied areas (Libya, Iraq, Iran, etc.). Special operations also provided special air, ground, maritime and training support for the Agency's intelligence gathering operations. The DO has been subject to harsh criticism in the media, and due to its covert and independent nature did not, or could not, effectively respond. Its capabilities had been in decline since the public outcry resulting from the revelations of activities seen as highly questionable by the Church Committee. Furthermore, the DO fought frequent "turf" battles amongst the Executive Branch bureaucracies, most prominently with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, State Department and the Department of Defense. This was one of the principal reasons that the NCS was formed.
Officers
The National Clandestine Service consists of three different types of officers: 1. Collection Management Officers: the connection between the Operations Officer in the field and the U.S. foreign policy community, both in the United States and abroad. They guide the collection of intelligence and direct the dissemination of that intelligence. Managing the collection effort requires contact with US policymakers to determine what they need to know, and then communicating those requirements to the Operations Officers in the field for collection. They must understand operations and local operating environments, as well as maintain substantive knowledge about the countries and issues against which the Agency is collecting information. 2. Staff Operations Officers: These officers contribute to the Clandestine Service mission primarily from the CIA's Washington, D.C. area headquarters, providing fast-paced research and case management in support of colleagues overseas. This includes monitoring counterintelligence issues and providing support needed to deal with our foreign contacts in the field. Staff Operations Officers must be knowledgeable on both operational tradecraft and international issues in order to enhance their interaction with field-based officers. 3. Operations Officers: These officers are also known as "Case Officers" and are responsible for the actual recruitment of sources (also known as agents) or collecting intelligence themselves. They work undercover, both diplomatic and non-official. The job is described on the CIA's website as follows:
For the extraordinary individual who wants more than a job, this is a way of life that will challenge the deepest resources of your intelligence, self-reliance and responsibility. It demands an adventurous spirit, a forceful personality, superior intellectual ability, toughness of mind and the highest degree of integrity. It takes special skills and professional discipline to produce results and to deal with fast-moving, ambiguous and unstructured situations that will test your resourcefulness to the utmost. The Clandestine Service is the vital human element of intelligence collection - on the cutting edge of American intelligence. This is an elite corps that gathers the vital information needed by our policymakers to make critical foreign policy decisions. The Central Intelligence Agency's Clandestine Service Trainee Program (CST) is the gateway to a unique overseas experience.
See also
- Intelligence Community
- Special Operations
- "Wild Bill" Donovan
- Office of Strategic Services
- Church Commission
- Defense HUMINT Service
References
- CIA Press Release: DNI and D/CIA Announce Establishment of the National Clandestine Service
- "Senator Roberts Calls for Real Intelligence Reform with 9/11 National Security Protection Act"
- "CIA acquires new US clandestine leadership role", The Washington Post, October 13, 2005.
- "US setting up new spying agency", British Broadcasting Corporation, October 13, 2005.
External links
 Intelligence agencies and organizations of USA |
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| Intelligence Community: CIA · AFISRA · MI · DIA · MCIA · NGA · NRO · NSA · ONI · CGI · FBI · DEA · INR · OIA Others: ODNI · SSB · NCS · NCTC · PFIAB · CIFA Defunct: OSS · OSP |
