Military Intelligence Corps (United States Army)

Intelligence personnel were a part of the Continental Army since its initial founding in 1776.

In 1776, General George Washington commissioned the first intelligence unit. Knowlton's Rangers, named after its leader Colonel Thomas Knowlton, became the first organized elite force, a predecessor to modern special operations forces units such as the Army Rangers, Delta Force, and others. The "1776" on the United States Army Intelligence Service seal refers to the formation of Knowlton's Rangers.

In January 1863, Major General Joseph Hooker established the Bureau of Military Information for the Union Army during the Civil War, headed by George H. Sharpe. Allan Pinkerton and Lafayette C. Baker handled similar operations for their respective regional commanders. All of those operations were shut down at the end of the Civil War in 1865.[2]

In 1885, the Army established the Military Intelligence Division. In 1903, it was placed under the new general staff in an elevated position.[3]

In March 1942, the Military Intelligence Division was reorganized as the Military Intelligence Service. Originally consisting of just 26 people, 16 of them officers, it was quickly expanded to include 342 officers and 1,000 enlisted personnel and civilians. It was tasked with collecting, analyzing, and disseminating intelligence. Initially it included:

• an Administrative Group
• an Intelligence Group
• a Counter-intelligence Group
• an Operations Group
• a Language School

In May 1942, Alfred McCormack established the Special Branch of the Military Intelligence Service, which specialized in communications intelligence.

On 1 January 1942, the U.S. Army Corps of Intelligence Police, founded in World War I, was re-designated as the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps. In 1945, the Special Branch became the Army Security Agency.

On June 19, 1942, the Military Intelligence Training Center at Camp Ritchie, Maryland, was formed. This group is now widely known as the Ritchie Boys and are credited with gathering over half of the actionable intelligence in the European Theatre. Most Ritchie Boys were fluent in European languages and could easily interrogate prisoners of war and civilians who knew vital information.

At its peak in early 1946, the MIS Language School had 160 instructors and 3,000 students studying in more than 125 classrooms, graduating more than 6,000 students by the end of the war. What began as an experimental military intelligence language-training program launched on a budget of $2,000 eventually became the forerunner of today's Defense Language Institute for the tens of thousands of linguists who serve American interests throughout the world.[4]

The school moved to the Presidio of Monterey in 1946. Renamed the Army Language School, it expanded rapidly in 1947–48 during the Cold War. Instructors, including native speakers of more than thirty languages and dialects, were recruited from all over the world. Russian became the largest language program, followed by Chinese, Korean, and German.[5]

The sphinx stands guard in front of the former headquarters of the Counter Intelligence Corps at Fort Holabird

On 1 September 1954, the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence (ACSI) officially redesignated the CIC Center, Fort Holabird, Maryland, as the United States Army Intelligence Center, and the Chief of the Counter Intelligence Corps became its Commanding General. The following year, the Intelligence Center expanded further with the addition of the Photo Interpretation Center. Additionally, combat intelligence training (including order of battle techniques, photo interpretation, prisoner of war interrogation, and censorship) was transferred from the Army General School at Fort Riley, Kansas, to Fort Holabird, giving the commanding general the additional title of commandant, U.S. Army Intelligence School. This arrangement centralized nearly all intelligence training at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and School, Fort Holabird.

The Intelligence Center and School remained at Fort Holabird until overcrowding during the Vietnam War forced its relocation to Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Fort Huachuca became the "Home of Military Intelligence" on 23 March 1971, and the last class graduated from Fort Holabird on 2 September 1971, almost 17 years to the day after the Army Intelligence Center was established there. USAINTCS Established at Fort. Holabird, MD

On 1 July 1962, the Army Intelligence and Security Branch was established as a basic Army branch to meet the increased need for national and tactical intelligence.[6] The redesignated branch came with the creation of a new dagger and sun branch insignia, replacing the sphinx insignia that had been in place since 1923.[7]

A number of intelligence and security organizations were combined in July 1967 to form the military intelligence branch.[8][9][10] In 1977, they recombined with the Army Intelligence Agency and Army Security Agency to become the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command.

On 1 July 1987, the Military Intelligence Corps was activated as a regiment under the U.S. Army Regimental System.[11] All United States Army Military Intelligence personnel are members of the Military Intelligence Corps.

Approximately 28,000 military personnel and 3,800 civilian personnel are assigned to intelligence duties, comprising the Military Intelligence Corps. Some of the key components include:

Name	Insignia	Function	Garrison
Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Intelligence (G-2)		As the Army's Chief Intelligence Officer, the responsibilities of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence include policy formulation, planning, programming, budgeting, management, staff supervision, evaluation, and oversight for intelligence activities, as well as overall coordination of the major intelligence disciplines.	Fort Belvoir
U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM)		INSCOM is the U.S. Army's major intelligence command.	Fort Belvoir
U.S. Army Military Intelligence Readiness Command (MIRC)		MIRC is the U.S. Army Reserve's intelligence command.	Fort Belvoir
U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence (USAICoE)		USAICoE is the U.S. Army's school for professional training of military intelligence personnel.	Fort Huachuca

Major military intelligence units

Name	Insignia	Supports	Garrison
1st Information Operations Command (Land) Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment 1st Battalion 2nd Battalion Army Reserve Element (ARE)		United States Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER)	Fort Belvoir
58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade (Army National Guard) Headquarters and Headquarters Company 629th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Battalion 110th Information Operations Battalion 221st Military Intelligence Battalion (Georgia Army National Guard)		Maryland Army National Guard	Maryland
66th Military Intelligence Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion 24th Military Intelligence Battalion 323rd Military Intelligence Battalion (Army Reserve)		United States Army Europe	Lucius D. Clay Kaserne (Wiesbaden, Germany)
71st Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade (Army National Guard) Headquarters & Headquarters Company 250th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Battalion (California Army National Guard) 636th Military Intelligence Battalion		Texas Army National Guard	Texas
111th Military Intelligence Brigade Headquarters & Headquarters Company 304th Military Intelligence Battalion 305th Military Intelligence Battalion 309th Military Intelligence Battalion 344th Military Intelligence Battalion		USAICoE	Fort Huachuca
116th Military Intelligence Brigade (Aerial Intelligence) Headquarters & Headquarters Company DCGS-Army Operations and Exploitation Unit 138th Military Intelligence Company (JSTARS-Army element) (Robins AFB) 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation) (Camp Humphreys) 15th Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation) (Fort Cavazos) 204th Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation) (Fort Bliss) 224th Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation) (Hunter Army Airfield)		INSCOM	Fort Eisenhower
201st Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company 109th Military Intelligence Battalion 502nd Military Intelligence Battalion		I Corps	Joint Base Lewis-McChord
207th Military Intelligence Brigade (Theater) Headquarters & Headquarters Company 307th Military Intelligence Battalion (collections) 522nd Military Intelligence Battalion (operations) 337th Military Intelligence Battalion (Army Reserve)		United States Army Africa	Vicenza, Italy
259th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade (Army Reserve) Headquarters & Headquarters Company 301st Military Intelligence Battalion (Phoenix, AZ) 368th Military Intelligence Battalion (Dublin, CA) 373rd Expeditionary Military Intelligence Battalion (Tumwater, WA)		MIRC	Joint Base Lewis–McChord
300th Military Intelligence Brigade (Linguist) (Army National Guard) Headquarters & Headquarters Company (Utah) 141st Military Intelligence Battalion (Utah) 142nd Military Intelligence Battalion (Utah) 223rd Military Intelligence Battalion (California) 260th Military Intelligence Battalion (Florida) 341st Military Intelligence Battalion (Washington) 415th Military Intelligence Battalion (Louisiana)		INSCOM	Draper, Utah
336th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade (Army Reserve) Headquarters & Headquarters Company 325th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Battalion (Massachusetts) 378th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Battalion (New Jersey)		MIRC	New Jersey
470th Military Intelligence Brigade Headquarters & Headquarters Company 312th Military Intelligence Battalion 717th Military Intelligence Battalion 338th Military Intelligence Battalion (Army Reserve) 377th Military Intelligence Battalion (Army Reserve)		United States Army South	Fort Sam Houston
500th Military Intelligence Brigade Headquarters & Headquarters Company 205th Military Intelligence Battalion 311th Military Intelligence Battalion 715th Military Intelligence Battalion		United States Army Pacific	Schofield Barracks
501st Military Intelligence Brigade Headquarters & Headquarters Company 524th Military Intelligence Battalion 532nd Military Intelligence Battalion 719th Military Intelligence Battalion		Eighth United States Army	Camp Humphreys, (South Korea)
504th Military Intelligence Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company 163rd Military Intelligence Battalion 303rd Military Intelligence Battalion		III Corps	Fort Cavazos
505th Military Intelligence Brigade (Army Reserve)[12] Headquarters & Headquarters Company 383rd Military Intelligence Battalion 549th Military Intelligence Battalion		United States Army North	San Antonio, Texas
513th Military Intelligence Brigade Headquarters & Headquarters Company 202nd Military Intelligence Battalion 297th Military Intelligence Battalion 345th Military Intelligence Battalion (Army Reserve)		United States Army Central	Fort Eisenhower
525th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Company 319th Military Intelligence Battalion 519th Military Intelligence Battalion		XVIII Airborne Corps	Fort Liberty
650th Military Intelligence Group[13][14] Headquarters & Headquarters Company Region I, AFSOUTH Region II, AFNORTH Region IV, AFCENT Region V, SHAPE		Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe	Mons, Belgium
704th Military Intelligence Brigade Headquarters & Headquarters Company 741st Military Intelligence Battalion 742nd Military Intelligence Battalion 743rd Military Intelligence Battalion		National Security Agency	Fort George G. Meade
706th Military Intelligence Group Headquarters & Headquarters Company 707th Military Intelligence Battalion		Central Security Service	Fort Gordon
780th Military Intelligence Brigade Headquarters & Headquarters Company 781st Military Intelligence Battalion 782nd Military Intelligence Battalion 915th Cyber Warfare Battalion		ARCYBER	Fort George G. Meade
902nd Military Intelligence Group Headquarters & Headquarters Detachment 308th Military Intelligence Battalion 310th Military Intelligence Battalion 752nd Military Intelligence Battalion (Army Reserve) Army Counterintelligence Center Army Operations Security Detachment		INSCOM	Fort George G. Meade
Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center Defense Language Institute–Army element 229th Military Intelligence Battalion		United States Army Training and Doctrine Command	Presidio of Monterey, California
National Ground Intelligence Center Headquarters & Headquarters Company Army Geospatial Intelligence Battalion (Fort Belvoir, VA) 203rd Military Intelligence Battalion (Technical Intelligence) (Army Reserve) (Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD)		INSCOM	Charlottesville, Virginia
U.S. Army Reserve Interrogation Group Unknown subordinate units		MIRC

The United States Army Intelligence Museum is located at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. It features the history of American military intelligence from the Revolutionary War to present. In the Army Military Intelligence Museum there is a painting of "The MI Blue Rose". The back of this painting indicates Sgt. Ralph R Abel, Jr. created it. The painting was photographed and distributed worldwide. Sgt. Abel also painted a replica of the corps flag.

The title of Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, G-2 appeared in 1985. Prior to 1985, this office was known as Chief, Military Intelligence Division (1917–1920), Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2 (1920–1945, 1948–1985), and Director of Intelligence (1946–1948).

No.	Deputy Chief of Staff		Term
	Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Term length
1		Colonel Ralph H. Van Deman (under title Chief, Military Intelligence Division)	June 1918	August 1920	~2 years, 61 days
2		Brigadier General Marlborough Churchill (under title Chief, Military Intelligence Division)	June 1918	August 1920	~2 years, 61 days
3		Brigadier General Dennis E. Nolan	September 1920	September 1921	~1 year, 0 days
4		Brigadier General Stuart Heintzelman	September 1921	November 1922	~1 year, 61 days
5		Colonel William K. Naylor	November 1922	June 1924	~1 year, 213 days
6		Colonel James H. Reeves	July 1924	April 1927	~2 years, 274 days
7		Colonel Stanley H. Ford	May 1927	September 1930	~3 years, 123 days
8		Brigadier General Alfred T. Smith	January 1931	January 1935	~4 years, 0 days
9		Brigadier General Harry E. Knight	February 1935	November 1935	~273 days
10		Colonel Frances H. Lincoln	November 1935	June 1937	~1 year, 212 days
11		Colonel R. Warner McCabe	July 1937	February 1940	~2 years, 215 days
12		Brigadier General Sherman Miles	April 1940	December 1941	~1 year, 244 days
13		Brigadier General Raymond E. Lee	December 1941	March 1942	~90 days
14		Major General George V. Strong	May 1942	February 1944	~1 year, 276 days
15		Major General Clayton Bissell	February 1944	January 1946	~1 year, 334 days
16		Lieutenant General Hoyt Vandenberg (under title Director of Intelligence)	January 1946	June 1946	~151 days
17		Lieutenant General Stephen J. Chamberlin (under title Director of Intelligence)	June 1946	October 1948	~2 years, 122 days
18		Major General S. Leroy Irwin	November 1948	August 1950	~1 year, 273 days
19		Major General A. R. Bolling	August 1950	August 1952	~2 years, 0 days
20		Major General R. C. Partridge	August 1952	November 1953	~3 years, 92 days
21		Major General Arthur G. Trudeau	November 1953	August 1955	~1 year, 273 days
22		Major General Ridgely Gaither	August 1955	July 1956	~335 days
23		Major General Robert A. Schow	August 1956	October 1958	~2 years, 61 days
24		Major General John M. Willems	November 1958	October 1961	~2 years, 334 days
25		Major General Alva R. Fitch	October 1961	January 1964	~2 years, 92 days
26		Major General Edgar C. Doleman	January 1964	February 1965	~1 year, 31 days
27		Major General John J. Davis	September 1965	October 1966	~1 year, 30 days
28		Major General William P. Yarborough	December 1966	July 1968	~1 year, 213 days
29		Major General Joseph A. McChristian	August 1968	April 1971	~2 years, 243 days
30		Major General Philip B. Davidson, Jr.	May 1971	September 1972	~1 year, 123 days
31		Major General William E. Potts	September 1972	July 1973	~303 days
32		Major General Harold R. Aaron	November 1973	August 1977	~3 years, 273 days
33		Major General Edmund R. Thompson	August 1977	November 1981	~4 years, 92 days
34		Major General William E. Odom	November 1981	May 1985	~3 years, 181 days
35		Lieutenant General Sidney T. Weinstein	August 1985	September 1989	~4 years, 31 days
36		Lieutenant General Charles B. Eichelberger	November 1989	September 1991	~1 year, 304 days
37		Lieutenant General Ira C. Owens	October 1991	February 1995	~3 years, 123 days
38		Lieutenant General Paul E. Menoher	February 1995	February 1997	~2 years, 0 days
39		Lieutenant General Claudia J. Kennedy	May 1997	July 2000	~3 years, 61 days
40		Lieutenant General Robert W. Noonan	July 2000	July 2003	~3 years, 0 days
41		Lieutenant General Keith B. Alexander (born 1951)	July 2003	July 2005	~2 years, 0 days
42		Lieutenant General John Kimmons	August 2005	February 2009	~3 years, 184 days
43		Lieutenant General Richard P. Zahner	February 2009	12 April 2012	~3 years, 71 days
44		Lieutenant General Mary A. Legere	12 April 2012	2016	~3 years, 264 days
45		Lieutenant General Robert P. Ashley Jr.	2016	~3 October 2017	~1 year, 275 days
46		Lieutenant General Scott D. Berrier	~3 October 2017	~14 September 2020	~2 years, 347 days
47		Lieutenant General Laura A. Potter	~14 September 2020	Incumbent	~3 years, 41 days

• Combat Support
• Company Level Intelligence Cell
• G-2 (intelligence)
• Military Intelligence Corps careers
• Military Intelligence Corps Band
• Office of Naval Intelligence
• Sixteenth Air Force
• United States Army Counterintelligence

• McChristian, General Joseph A. (1994) [1974]. The Role of Military Intelligence, 1965–1967. Vietnam Studies (reprint ed.). United States Army Center of Military History. CMH Pub 90-19.
• Ruiz, Victor H. (2010). A Knowledge Taxonomy for Army Intelligence Training: An Assessment of the Military Intelligence Basic Officer Leaders Course Using Lundvall's Knowledge Taxonomy. Applied Research Projects. Texas State University Paper 331.

• University of Military Intelligence