Intelligence—The Profession of Specialists

"Over the course of my career, I have often engaged in discussions regarding whether Naval Intelligence professionals are generalists or specialists. At times, I have agreed with each side of the debate. That is, until recently.

As we move further into an information-intensive era, this debate becomes increasingly moot. The future of the Naval Intelligence profession, and the success of our Navy, depends on our professionals becoming ever more specialized…specialized in the profession of Intelligence.

What does that mean? That means Naval Intelligence has been, and will continue to be, a profession of specialists…specialists who have a deep, as well as broad, understanding of the fundamentals of intelligence, and a superior ability to employ those fundamentals for the benefit of our nation. A few of those fundamentals include a penetrating knowledge of our adversaries; competence employing our ISR systems; an ability to execute kinetic and non-kinetic targeting and effects based operations; situational awareness of the maritime domain; effectiveness in analysis; and conveying assessments and teeing-up implications for commanders, operational forces and national decision-makers."

VADM David "Jack" Dorsett, Director of Naval Intelligence
INTELLIGENCE - THE PROFESSION OF SPECIALISTS