Ignore the Workforce Assets of Intelligence Community at Your Own Risk

The Intelligence Community (IC) faced significant capability gaps before and during the 9/11 attacks, with a lack of personnel who could speak certain foreign languages, gather intelligence undercover, and skilled analysts to interpret collected data. These gaps highlighted the importance of a balanced and skilled workforce, consisting of about 100,000 military, civilian, and contractor personnel, which is considered a valuable asset.

The IC's workforce is spread across various bureaucratic divisions with separate budgets, staffs, and chains of command. This complexity makes the integration of all Intelligence disciplines and agencies a challenging task. The development and deployment of various skills take time to form a cohesive whole within the IC.

Tulsi Gabbard, a former US Representative from Hawaii, has expressed concern over the larger issue of the health of the Intelligence Community's human capital. In a YouTube interview, she emphasised the need for the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to ensure the IC has the right skills to avoid a repeat of the 9/11 attacks.

The DNI, as an honest broker, can judge the capabilities of individual agencies and find the right collective balance. For instance, the IC needs a balanced number of military, civilian, and contractor personnel for intelligence operations to avoid redundancy. The IC also requires a diverse set of skilled "collectors," such as undercover FBI, CIA, DEA, and DIA agents, both domestically and overseas.

In addition, the IC requires expert accountants, financial specialists, and cybersecurity experts, often referred to as "cyber ninjas." Neglecting human capital issues can lead to consequences many years down the line. The DNI's leadership commitment is crucial for addressing these challenges.

The Congress created the DNI to address this integration issue. The DNI's role is to herd these divisions into a more integrated, coherent whole. However, there have been concerns about the impact of budget cuts on human resources within the IC. These concerns have been expressed by various government officials and former directors of national intelligence, although a specific person or year without further details is difficult to identify.

Despite these challenges, the IC continues to strive towards a more effective and efficient human capital strategy. The need for a diverse, skilled, and integrated workforce remains crucial for the success of the IC in safeguarding national security.