Intel nerd, veteran, Gen X. ‘I didn't spend all those years playing Dungeons and Dragons and not learn a little something about courage
Aug 13, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
A couple of weeks ago, I informally asked people seeking to become intelligence analysts or new to the field what their top career concerns were. A thread of the answers (in no particular order).
1) Institutional knowledge - Lack of it is a BIG obstacle 2) Mentors - Where are they? How to find them? 3) Career paths - What do I need to do to enter and move up in the field? There's lot of confusion here. Job titles are all over the place, no standard skill sets, etc.
Oct 6, 2021 • 12 tweets • 2 min read
I just finished a process for hiring a new analyst and it was the hardest hiring decision I've ever made. There were a LOT of excellent candidates! Where did all these sharp new people come from?
I really wished I could have hired 4-6 people...my mind reeled from the potential!
The flip side of that means that it's a lot harder for candidates to get noticed and considered. So, here's a brief thread of tips/ideas if you're a newish analyst looking for your first/second gig.
Oct 5, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
A few observations on @DHSgov's report evaluating the agency's response to the Portland civil unrest last year.
Important to remember this is 2 decades after the agency was created & they theoretically serve as the model for state & local efforts. cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2021/image…
"Knowledge of basic intelligence community and government underpinnings appeared
inconsistent in the staff..." and they found "...Lack of
training and understanding of rules, roles, standards, and processes..." among intelligence personnel.
Mar 7, 2021 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
Examination of the 3%er #militia movement by @DTAnalytics & Alejandro Beutel. A summary 🧵
While most attention has been on #whitesupremacist angle of the far right, this piece looks at anti-Islamic sentiment as the glue that binds much of the movement
…c3hdi6ss66vpc-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/upl…
"...anti-Muslim hate is one of the few issues that brings together otherwise disparate and fractious elements of the far-right, both within and beyond national borders."
Mar 7, 2021 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
After years of various far right & conspiracists yelling “false flag” at 9/11, school shootings, etc we shouldn’t be surprised if they try to add that to their bag of tricks.
Some good items here you’ll see in the wider anti-government movement 🧵
washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03…
Despite the flag waving, pro-military, blue lives matter rhetoric, you’ll note how easily they rationalize violence against law enforcement.
The essence of their being is preparing for a war against the US military & law enforcement.
These folks are NOT your friends.
Mar 6, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Some maddening things about this: 1) We literally had armed militia members storm govt buildings & call for violence against elected officials this year but state legislators overwhelmingly went "BuT DEh 2nd aMeNDmEnT".
2) In NJ, we attributed one key reason why animal/environmental extremism never really took hold (despite an otherwise favorable environment) was legal recourse was seen as a viable option. The more you shut that down, the more likely you push committed folks to extremism.
Mar 5, 2021 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Getting ready to give a new presentation to students for @RUIntelStudies today about the uses (and abuses) of the word "terrorism".
Proto-versions of this generated some great discussions so fingers crossed for more of that!
So, this went *really* well. An amazing amount of interaction with the ~40 attendees (phenomenal questions) which isn't easy on a Zoom call.
Flash of panic before I started: Am I really going to try to talk to people about definitions for 90 minutes? Yes, damnit!
I'm still sad we have to make the case for #intelligence analysts to use #OSINT and it's 2020.
I ran an intel shop for several years where the vast majority of our customers didn't have security clearances, so we made the decision to primarily rely on unclassified information.
The results were excellent!
Jan 2, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
I have my students (and analysts) make sure they can answer 5 questions as they begin thinking about their #intelligence product/brief: 1) when is it due (that’ll allow you to backwards plan & know how much time you’ll have for collection, analysis, editing, rehearsals
2) Who is the primary customer? Audience analysis is easy to overlook. How do they absorb information? What are their interests & things that will shut them down?
Also: how might secondary customers (mis)use this information/product?
