Debriefing branch: defense strategic debriefing course. (2024)

Introduction

How important is it for the defense of our nation to anticipate anadversary's reaction or to have a complete understanding of themilitary tactics and capabilities they will use? "Very" wouldbe the response given by any commander faced with this question. Havingthe foresight into an individual leader's decision making processand character allows for a more comprehensive plan of action whenpreparing battle space or dealing with foreign policy. A good chessplayer will tell you that if you know how your counterpart plays and cananticipate not only his moves but also his defensive strategy, it iseasier to calculate the outcome ahead of time and anticipate thevictory. The ability to plan, conduct, debrief and report accurately isparamount in continuing the important mission of protecting the U.S.,its interests, and most importantly its people from all things thatjeopardize its sovereignty. The advance training provided by HT-JCOEemphasizes the importance of collection through its various trainingplatforms. The Debriefing Branch is just one such pillar of trainingoffered.

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The Debriefing Branch of HT-JCOE consists solely, thus far, of theDefense Strategic Debriefing Course (DSDC). This course is one of thecenter's four Joint Certification courses and the graduates alsoreceive an additional skill identifier (ASI). Created in 1983, the DSDCis the oldest and most-established of all HT-JCOE courses. Prior toHT-JCOE stand-up, it was a joint Department of Defense (DOD) courseunder Army executive agency. DSDC is a five-week course conducted eighttimes a year, with a ninth iteration dedicated to the joint reserveforce. All graduates are certified as DOD strategic debriefers.

Overview

DSDC's mission is to train the art of strategic debriefing-thecollection and reporting of national-level information acquired fromusually willing and cooperative U.S. and foreign sources. Althoughsimple in concept-talk to people, get information, write reports-thecourse addresses the various complexities and subtleties involved in thedebriefing process. As one senior instructor explains it,

 "The focus of the course is not just asking questions and taking notes. We don't shy away from the reality of human interaction, which is that people are unpredictable. Some are difficult to deal with, and they don't always provide clear and clean-cut information. Experienced debriefers understand that there is no one style, no one correct way to do this business, because there's no one right way of interacting with other people."

DSDC's consumer base is extremely wide-ranging. Each branch ofservice-Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard-has requirementsfor debriefers, and sends military and civilian students fromoperational field units, staffs, and analytic centers. Several jointagencies and combatant commands also have requirements, including theDefense Intelligence Agency (DIA), U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM),Special Operations Command, and U.S. Southern Command, and NorthernCommand. There is also non-DOD interest in the course, with occasionalstudents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department ofJustice.

Today, DSDC graduates serve throughout the U.S. IntelligenceCommunity. The richness in consumer diversity is matched by individualstudent diversity. On day one, a newly-hired DIA Human Intelligence(HUMINT) collector-in-training, for example, may be sitting next to acombat veteran Soldier or Marine with multiple deployments. During anengagement drill, a Navy Lieutenant Commander may be partnered with anAir Force Staff Sergeant or mid-grade Army civilian. Rank and servicetake a back seat to HUMINT skills development in an environment thatstresses functional performance as individuals as well as cooperativemembers of a HUMINT collection team.

Student diversity is deliberately factored into the course, withstudents placed in Detachment teams that distribute by service, gender,and experience. Because DSDC from day one promotes a teamwork approachto HUMINT collection, this facilitates the learning experience. Forexample, the experienced student Soldier fresh from an Iraq deploymentassists the newly hired DIA student preparing for a debrief session onIraqi atmospheric or human terrain issues. In turn, the DIA student, whois one year out of graduate school, reciprocates with report editingassistance for the Soldier whose writing skills may be out of practice.The student from CENTCOM, familiar with the commander's priorityintelligence requirements, provides insight on the issues that thedebrief and report should emphasize. The mobilized reservist Marine whois a corporate salesman in civilian life advises his teammates onself-confidence and interaction techniques. As one instructor assignedto Detachment duty said,

 "Students learn from each other, not just from us instructors. By the end of the course, they're a tight knit team, drawing and benefiting from each others' strengths and individualities. It's gratifying to see, as this is training for the reality of field operations, where operating alone means limiting success."

One of the more interesting DSDC student trends in recent years hasbeen the increase in female attendance. This probably reflects fieldawareness of the unique insight and skills women bring to HUMINT. Whilewomen in DOD HUMINT were a rarity in decades past, nowadays any givenDSDC class usually includes 12 to 15 percent of female students, fromall agencies and branches of service. Most do extremely well in thetraining environment, and feedback from the field clearly demonstratestheir abilities, skills, and contributions in the operationalenvironment, either peacetime or active theater of operations.

Another welcome student trend has been the inclusion of WoundedWarrior members in recent classes. These are usually former combat armsSoldiers and Marines wounded in battle and transitioning to theintelligence field. These students bring a unique perspective to thetraining environment, as well as exemplary attitudes and motivation.Those with severe hand and arm injuries are provided withvoice-activated software, and Secretary of Defense-funded tailoredtraining on its usage to facilitate report generation. Of note, WoundedWarrior graduates maintain the same standards, and meet the same courserequirements, as any other DSDC student.

Paralleling the intelligence community's increased emphasis onHUMINT in general, DSDC has experienced explosive growth over the pastseveral years. For 20 years, from standup in 1983 to around 2003, ittrained 12 to 15 students per class, or about 100 per year. This numberexpanded incrementally and gradually, to its current capability of over72 students per class, or more than 600 per year, with plans toincrease.

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As student throughput increased over the years, the schoolrelocated to larger facilities or added classroom annexes. The recentmove to Matlack Hall, in May 2010, provides both state-of-the-arttraining facilities as well as the potential for future expansion. DSDChas managed the expansions of the past without compromising quality orcontent of the training. Further expansion will also retain thecommitment to high quality training.

Training

DSDC students spend the first few days of the course learning theprinciples and theory of HUMINT, specifically the task of debriefing andreporting which are present throughout the full spectrum of HUMINToperations to include legalities and regulations. Mechanics andtechnical details such as systematic questioning, note-taking, reportformatting, and special software applications are also introduced duringthis first phase. Several hands-on drills are inserted to reinforce thematerial, including writing exercises and short interaction vignettes topractice interpersonal skills. This stage of training, although somewhatdemanding on students, is extremely beneficial to DSDC instructors as itidentifies student strengths as well as areas needing improvement. Thisfacilitates individualized mentoring as the course progresses,especially for students requiring additional instruction.

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At the conclusion of this initial academic phase, the realcoursework begins. Rather than passive classroom instruction, alltraining is conducted in individual learn-by-doing mode. The courseliterally intensifies in both focus and pace, as every day includesone-on-one debriefing scenarios and the resultant report writing.Fortunately, by this stage students are ready to apply what they'velearned, and anxious to engage in hands-on practice. As a recentgraduate expressed it: "Enough PowerPoint. Bring on thesources."

The heart of the DSDC program, as with other HT-JCOE courses, isimmersive role-playing. Experienced instructors play roles simulatingany number of debriefing situations and types of sources, with studentsconducting the cycle of planning, preparation, execution and reporting.Students conduct many graded debrief sessions, some of them severalhours long, never with the same instructor. These are challengingevents, especially for students new to HUMINT interaction. Not only arethey expected to apply effective questioning/interview skills thataccurately capture all pertinent information, they must also establishthe appropriate level of rapport that is often the key to success. Overthe span of the course, DSDC students not only develop their skills andconfidence but also emerge with their own style, melding individualskills and personalities to effectively manage a HUMINT source.

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Roles vary by the specific type of debrief program, as well as bythe instructor. There are hundreds taught at DSDC. Each also varies incomplexity and volume of technical detail as well as in theinterpersonal issues. Students are expected to adjust the balancebetween the two, and are evaluated and graded on both factors. Forexample, debriefing a cooperative engineer or scientist, while generallystraightforward and requiring only minimal attention to people skills isextremely challenging if questioning and note-taking is weak. Pursuingevery detail of every issue, and asking smart questions, is mentallyexhausting.

Conversely, debriefing an emotional source, or one prone tosuspicion or lack of cooperation, presents an entirely differentchallenge. Debriefers must adjust their focus to the critical soft skillof establishing trust and rapport. For many sources, depending on thesituation and scenario, this is the key to success. Although theintangibles make this component of instruction difficult to teach aswell as evaluate, it is emphasized throughout DSDC training. Studentspractice overcoming hesitant or suspicious sources, through common senseapplication of politeness and empathy, and are given feedback and gradedon their ability to do so. This is challenging for some students. As onegraduate observed,

 "I was surprised by the resistance factor inserted into one of the teaching scenarios. I was asking what I thought were good questions, and had clearly established why I was there and what I needed. But the information just wasn't flowing. As the debrief continued, it became clear that the role-playing instructor was forcing me to consider that this particular source felt compelled to debrief, but was nervous and deep down didn't want to cooperate. I had to adjust my whole approach, and pay attention not just to source's information but his concerns about meeting me."

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From the student perspective, the most well received phase of thecourse, both for its reality and training value, is the final exercise,dubbed Strategic Operations Exercise (SOX). The SOX, conducted duringthe last six days, is a freeform training event in which studentstelephonically contact their role-player "sources," makearrangements for meetings which can take place outside the classroom toinclude in public venues, and manage their own schedules to includereport production.

SOX is designed to simulate a busy week in an operationalcollection unit, incorporating planning factors such as source-drivenavailability, meeting site conditions, and the importance of thoroughtime management. Outside of operational role-play sessions,student-instructor contact is deliberately limited, to force teamworkamong the students. After four weeks of strict schedule anddeadline-driven training, students enjoy the freedom and independence ofthe final exercise. It is during this exercise that students discoverfor themselves how effective they can be as collectors with only minimaldirection. It is their "solo" qualification.

Through the years, DSDC has adjusted its curriculum and training asthe intelligence threat has changed, and as customers have modifiedtheir requirements. Reflecting its early-80s conception period,DSDC's original focus was on Soviet Cold War scenarios. Mostdebrief sessions dealt with such issues as the Sovietmilitary-industrial infrastructure and ballistic missile submarine operations. But as times changed, so did the training.

Currently, there are scenarios on terrorist/insurgency groupfunding and intentions, dual-use technology, maritime piracy andsmuggling, and cyber warfare. Generating new role packages, whichincludes technical content details as well as source particulars, isresearch-intensive and time-consuming. However, doing so is critical forcourse relevancy and credibility, especially given the extensiveexperience level of today's students, who demand immersive andrealistic training.

DSDC doesn't just teach a collection methodology, it alsocomplements the training of other HUMINT schools. DOD recognizesdebriefing as a distinct HUMINT discipline and DSDC graduates, unlessthere is any additional training required by their particular DefenseHUMINT Executor, are fully authorized to conduct collection operations.However, debriefing is widely regarded as a supplemental andfoundational skill for all other HUMINT disciplines, including moresensitive source operations, attache operations, counterintelligence,liaison, and interrogation. Simply put, all HUMINT encounters at somepoint require interaction with a source to gather information. The DSDCfocus on the meeting itself and information acquisition as the centralcritical process has obvious application for HUMINTers trained in sourcehandling. As a senior DSDC instructor explains it,

 "We teach the activity within the bubble-what happens between collector and source, and how to acquire the information. Everything outside the bubble, including security measures required to travel to the site and protect both source and collector-these are taught at other schools, including those within HT-JCOE."

Since its inception, the DSDC training methodology has alwaysemphasized constant and continuous student feedback. This is especiallycritical given the highly subjective nature of HUMINT, witheffectiveness difficult to measure and quantify. At the conclusion ofeach debriefing session, students are scheduled a full half-hour ofcritique from the instructor, in which all aspects of the meeting arediscussed, to include the efficiency of the questioning as well as theinterpersonal elements. For example, instructors will evaluate thethoroughness and flow of the questioning with such questions as:

 Were reportable issues identified? Was there proper follow-up that ensured collection of every important detail known to source? Was the questioning style appropriate to the source and situation? If a cooperative source was in a position of authority, was the questioning conversational in nature rather than overly direct and interrogation-like? If the source is foreign, or there are language barriers or cultural differences, were the questions precise and non-colloquial?

Critiques of students' people skills address the moreintangible and subtle teaching points. Instructors discuss and evaluatethe student's over-all demeanor, self-confidence, body language,use of humor as appropriate and other aspects of interaction. Reflectingthe reality that some debriefs are more rapport-dependent than others,grading of interpersonal skills is weighted, varying with the type ofsource and situation.

In addition to immediate verbal feedback after each debriefsession, students are also provided a written evaluation report coveringthe same teaching points and recommendations for improvement. As manystudents note, the written evaluations make it much easier to tracktheir progress through the course, and identify trends both positive andnegative. As a final feedback tool, all debrief sessions within thebuilding are videotaped, and provided to students for self-evaluationpurposes.

Given the sheer volume of potential issues and problems facing anynew debriefer, it is impossible to cover all possible scenariosnecessary to prepare students for the realities of field operations. Inresponse, DSDC staff members some years ago instituted a voluntary'brown bag lunch' program to address some of the morenon-traditional, real world training topics. These candid and informaldiscussions have become very popular, especially with students justentering the HUMINT community. Some of the topics available, andselected at student request, include HUMINT career opportunities,interagency and interservice operational coordination, and a"lessons learned/mistakes I've made" seminar led byhonest instructors.

One of the most popular brown bags is a female-only 'ladieslunch,' with the female instructors sharing their experiences andproviding insight and advice on breaking down barriers and stereotypesthat often challenge the roles of women in the world of HUMINT. Althoughit may not be apparent to the female students, their lunchtimediscussion and very presence at DSDC is a tribute to the person for whomthe building is named-Mrs. Dorothe K. Matlack, a pioneer in her time whodirectly influenced overt collection in the intelligence community andvalidated the contributions of women.

DSDC has enjoyed a healthy partnership with the DOD Reserve Forcefor many years, providing a dedicated version of the course to both Armyand DIA reserve units. Logistically, it's a complicated trainingevent demanding close coordination due to multiple staffs and locations.Essentially, the staff elements of both the Army and DIA reservecomponents provide students with 'Phase One' academicstraining. Upon completion, both groups of students converge on DSDC forpractical exercise role-play sessions. Notably, although the training issplit into two phases, the material is identical and graduation confersthe same debriefer certification.

DSDC is fully online, with all student reports, regulations andsupporting documentation, research material, evaluations, and videotapeddebrief sessions residing within an internally-maintained local areanetwork (LAN). Tech-savvy students appreciate the web-based, home-pagedriven system that puts all necessary information at the studentworkstation. Except for hardcopy report editing and printing of materialto take into debrief sessions, from the student perspective the courseis essentially paperless. All staff functions, including generation andmaintenance of lesson plans, presentations, and role packages, are alsoconducted on the LAN.

Conclusion

Over the past 27 years, DSDC has produced 5,000 debriefers, all thewhile enjoying a reputation of professionalism and responsiveness to theintelligence community. From its beginning in the final stages of theCold War era to the current period of transnational asymmetric threats,DSDC has prepared HUMINT collectors throughout DOD to conduct the basic,bedrock process of intelligence debriefing. As the threat and consumerrequirements change, DSDC will transform and adjust to ensure DODHUMINT's quality edge. DSDC graduates have made significantintelligence contributions and impact in meeting the needs of the U.S.and DOD Intelligence Communities.

CW4 Parker has over 23 years of service in the U.S. Army as aHUMINT Collector (351M) with training in Spanish, Portuguese, Italianand Arabic languages. Mr. Parker is currently assigned to HT-JCOE as theBranch Chief for the Debriefing Branch. He has served multiple tours inKosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan and has a diverse background in theSpecial Operations Forces community, tactical assignments at divisionand below and strategic assignments with DIA. CW4 Parker holds an MA inInternational Relations from the University of Oklahoma.

Mr. Russell is a DIA civilian assigned to DSDC as the CourseDirector. He has been an overt strategic debriefer for 25 years withassignments in Japan, the Middle East, and CONUS. He has served thecommunity both as a DIA civilian and as a U.S. Navy IntelligenceOfficer.

Mr. Pahle has been a contractor instructor at the DSDC for the past7 years. He previously served for 38 years as a HUMINT Officer with theU.S. Navy, U.S. Army, and DIA. Mr. Pahle has served in Germany, Iran,Cuba, Panama, as well as CONUS. He is a retired DIA Senior IntelligenceOfficer.