Intelligence Community Organization - Coursework Example

The Structure of the U.S. Intelligence Community The Structure of the U.S. Intelligence Community Introduction The U.S Intelligence Community is a large complex structure that involves a multitude of laws that governs its operations, orders and policies. Its ultimate function is to provide timely, relevant information to the U.S. policymakers, decision makers and war fighters that is guided by the community’s mission of collecting, processing, analyzing and disseminating of intelligence that is locally known as intelligence cycles.

In the recent years, the U.S. Intelligence Community has grown especially after the president signed the Intelligence Reforms and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 that lead in the creation of the office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) influencing in the birth of the current structure of the Intelligence. The U.S. Intelligence Community consists of 17 agencies that encompass the Intelligence Community itself. The paper describes the structure of the U.S. Intelligence Community and further illustrates whether its meeting its primary purpose.

The structure of the U.S. Intelligence Community The structure of the U.S Intelligence Community consists of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) at the top, headed by the director of national intelligence (DNI); who is the principal intelligence adviser to the president. In addition, he guides other senior personnel such as the National Security Council (NSC), the Homeland Security Council (HSC) as well as leading the other 16 agencies that includes Intelligence Community (IC). According to Aldrich & Rawnsley(2013), the main agenda of the IC involves directing and coordinating the National foreign intelligence activities of the U.S. government.

The principal deputy director is the second in command after the DNI then followed by four deputy directors that are responsible for the leadership in their specialized areas: office of the Deputy Director for Policy, Plans and Representatives, Office of the Deputy Director for Collection, Deputy Director for Analysis and Deputy Director for Future Capabilities (Freedman, 2014). The ODNI serves as the central Intelligence Community but all the other bodies are interconnected with the ODNI and with each other at different levels.

Logan (2010) illustrates that each agency has been entitled to work independently at its own capacities and focus on area of duty but together as a unit to protect the national security. Other agencies include the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); it is an independent agency known as the America’s spy Agency, involved in collection, analyzes and disseminates intelligences about foreign nations. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also referred as National Security Branch (NSB) established in 2005 with an aim to oversee counter terrorism and intelligence gathering (Garthoff, 2007).

The agency has been able to integrate high intelligence on national security and criminal threats from wide sources with intend to protect the U.S. interests by developing mass destruction of weapons. Other include, the Coast Guard Intelligence (CGI) provides information on the marine security and homeland defense. It is instrumental in providing information on maritime and port security, search and rescue, and counter-narcotics. The Treasury’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis is involved in collecting information on terrorism and their finances to aid combating illicit financial transactions and terror activities (Freedman, 2014).

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agency collects and provides information to other law enforces units to fight and hunt down drug handlers and issue guideline during policy making about trends of drug. The Marine Corps is a unit on its own and is able to collect, analyze information on the ground for the troops in events of corps’ battlefields. While on the other hand, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency provides advanced information of the earth, mapping various locations for the military forces and National Reconnaissance Agency collects information from the satellites data due to the enhanced technological advanced spy satellites.

The impact Intelligence Community The creation of Homeland security Councils and ODNI has been essential in provision of security and enhancing communication that is vital in curbing and fighting terrorism within the United State. Indeed it is effective because with an Intelligent Community, the government and rightful agencies are able to access to insightful information on time to enable implementation of timely measures to combat insecurity thus protecting the interest of the U.S. population.

The government has be able to attain support from all the agencies instrumental in combating insecurity hence gaining sustainability as the government core agenda in protecting the citizen’s interest is covered.Possible changes Advancement in technology has lead in the dramatic expansion of the U.S. Intelligences with the official 17 agencies. To keep up with the trends, adoption of more superior mode of intelligences has resulted in the increases of private companies collaborating with the Homeland Security in the U.

S in fighting terrorism and modern crimes such as the Northrop Grumman. The intelligence community will have an upper hand dealing with information because the modern technology allows fastest access to insightful information from reliable source that will facilitate actions by the agency on attacks, drug trafficking among other illegal practices. ReferenceAldrich, Richard & Rawnsley, Ming-Yeh (2013). The clandestine cold war in asia, 1945-65: western intelligence, propaganda and special operations.

Cass series--studies in intelligence, issn1368-9916. Canada: Routledge.Freedman, Lawrence (2014). U.S. intelligence and the soviet strategic threat. Princeton legacy library. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Garthoff, Douglas (2007). Directors of central intelligence as leaders of the u. s. intelligence community, 1946û2005: of the u. s. intelligence community, 1946-2005. New York: Potomac Books, Inc. publisher.Logan, Keith Gregory (2010). Homeland security and intelligence. California: Santra Barbara Inc.