Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/476674
42 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015 www.vanguardcanada.com INTellIgeNce cOMMaND S SecuRITy Bgen (Ret'd) Dr. James cox is the vice-president, Academic Affairs, with the Canadian Military Intelligence Association. He served over 35 years in the Canadian Forces and as a Library of Parliament Analyst supporting House of Commons and Senate committees dealing with national security and defence issues (www.cmia-acrm.ca). unity of the annual Canadian Intelligence Conference, conducted by the Canadian Military Intelligence Association, aims to provide a forum for informed and responsible discussion of Canadian intelligence issues. When it gathered in October in Ottawa, broader issues related to military intelligence were front and centre. T he opening keynote was some- thing of a "state of the union" address by the Commander of the new Canadian Forces Intel- ligence Command (CFINTCOM). Ma- jor-General Paul Wynnyk outlined his first impressions of the organization, which for the first time brings all Canadian military intelligence capabilities under one com- mand, having a status equal to each of the three services, Special Operations Forces and Joint Operational Commands. Among General Wynnyk's strategic pri- orities is the consolidation of the various CFINTCOM elements into one cohesive whole. He expressed satisfaction with the degree to which Canadian military intelli- gence works and cooperates with all other government and allied intelligence orga- nizations, and acknowledged there were opportunities to be exploited in coming to grips with evolving threats to the na- tional defence of Canada. There has long been understated con- fusion surrounding the conceptual spec- trum linking "military intelligence" and "defence intelligence." At one end, mili- tary intelligence is clearly that which sup- ports military commanders executing mil- itary missions in an operational theatre. Military intelligence is a function of the profession of arms, led by the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS). There is also clarity at the other end of the spectrum. Defence intelligence is that which emanates from the Department of National Defence (DND) in support of national defence strategy or in support of overall government grand strategy. De- fence strategy, while rooted in military intelligence, is not within the purview of the profession of arms. It is derived by the Deputy Minister of DND who sits on important interdepartmental intelligence bodies in support of Cabinet. Challenges related to the morphing of military intelligence into defence intel- ligence lie throughout the middle of the spectrum. One fundamental difficulty rested on the dispersed nature of mili- tary intelligence personnel and capabili- ties. While former Chiefs of Defence In- telligence (CDI – a two-star level Flag/ General Officer appointment) managed the defence intelligence staff in National Defence Headquarters, answering to both the DM and CDS, most military intelli- gence practitioners worked for the Navy, Army, Air Force and Task Force Com- manders leading operations abroad. The Canadian Forces School of Military In- telligence answered up a training chain of command to the Chief of Military Personnel in NDHQ. Collection capa- bilities and analysis cadres tended to act as independent silos. Such dispersion made it difficult for the CDI to exert effective professional guidance or control over the broader military intelligence function. Moreover, it tended to thwart efforts to promulgate clear, coherent intelligence policy and programs across DND and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). The creation of CFINTCOM brought a new sense of unity of command to the military and defence intelligence functions and, while operational commanders still drive their organic intelligence staffs, the Commander CFINTCOM now enjoys Photo: Cpl Eric Girard