Army Intelligence constantly pushes technological boundaries to deliver accurate, timely, and relevant Intelligence to the Army while increasing the Intelligence professional’s productivity. More recently, Army Intelligence has contributed to the Army’s enhanced Counter-Terrorism capabilities. It has also been transforming the training of the Intelligence professionals in the Army to ensure that the Intelligence professionals in the Army are always competent to meet the evolving Intelligence demands and kept abreast with capability developments.

It is evident from history that Intelligence is an indispensable component of military victory. Rarely have armies emerged victorious in battle without accurate and timely Intelligence. Even in a game of cards, knowledge of the opponent’s hand and foreknowledge of how he will deal is almost certain to give one a greater chance of winning. Good Intelligence therefore, gives combat advantage to military forces, and it is indispensable for the following reasons:

a. Intelligence is necessary because the stakes of defeat are significant. Poor Intelligence, or ignoring Intelligence warnings in conflict, results in more than just mission failure. Poor situational awareness or being surprised during battle leads to the death of soldiers and civilians, and ultimately the destruction of cities and countries. The fall of Singapore and Malaya underscores this point. Lessons from the Cold War, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis, have shown that good Intelligence is necessary to prevent wars, and in a similar vein, good Intelligence was crucial to the eventual Allied victory in World War Two.

b. Intelligence is necessary because it gives clarity amidst the uncertainty of battle. Combatants on both sides are determined to hide their intentions and actions in order to deal a surprise blow to their enemy. In addition, battlefield situations will change due to a variety of factors such as the unexpected commitment of forces, the weather, and the influence of civilians. Intelligence helps the Commander arrive at sound decisions amidst the proverbial “fog of war”. It does so by making realistic assumptions of the battlefield situation, and then verifying these assumptions through reconnaissance and surveillance. The Battle of Midway was a demonstration of how accurate and reliable Intelligence led the United States Pacific Fleet to locate and destroy four of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s aircraft carriers, turning the tide of victory in the Pacific over to the US.