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Subj: INTERNSHIP AFTER ACTION REPORT: OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE

General Information: During first block, I had the opportunity to participate in an internship at the Office of Naval Intelligence in Suitland Maryland. I was assigned to the 4-1 Information Technology division.
Experience Gained : Although I was assigned to the 4-1 Information Technology division, most of the worthwhile experience occurred while I explored the other divisions in ONI. I gained a much greater appreciation for the role of ONI in preparing tactical and strategic intelligence products for the fleet. I owe a great deal to two officers with whom I worked in my division for arranging my access to the other divisions. Without their assistance, I would have remained isolated in my cubicle and left with no understanding of the intelligence process.
Projects: My primary project was to develop a template for a new website in the ONI intranet. Unfortunately, the amount of time it took for me to gain access to an Internet account limited my ability to implement the template.
Highlights: The highlight of my experience was the briefs that I received concerning the work going on in the other divisions at ONI. In particular, I enjoyed the Collections Division.
Recommendations: I would highly recommend not assigning other midshipmen to the Information Technology division. The IT division has relatively little exposure to the actual intelligence product creation process. To facilitate the process, I would also recommend streamlining the indoctrination and online account process. I spent half of my internship in indoctrination briefs and working my way through bureaucracy. My final recommendation would be to assign every midshipman an officer who works in Divisions 1-3 so that they have a mentor who can truly teach them about the intelligence community.
To future midshipman interns, I would definitely make them more aware about how expensive this internship can be. The cost of food and gasoline alone can be quite a drain on a salary of $300 per month. They should be forewarned to set aside at least $300 for four weeks of internship.

Subj: INTERNSHIP AFTER ACTION REPORT: OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE (ONI)

1. The Office of Naval Intelligence is center for National Maritime Intelligence collections and analysis for use by governmental intelligence agencies, specifically the United States Navy. It consists largely of civilians but includes approximately 40% military personnel.

2. This internship offered me the unique opportunity to both apply the knowledge I had gained through my USNA FP407 Intelligence and National Security course, research skills, and public speaking training. I was encouraged to explore various topics of personal interest and also trusted with valuable information.

3. During my four weeks at ONI, I was required to complete a project about ONI and a specific topic of interest at ONI, and to present it to the entire command. This project served more than one purpose. First, it compelled me to interview the counter-narcotics, counter-proliferation, ship characteristics, and counter-terrorism departments and acquire an understanding of their purposes. Second, I was able to pursue knowledge on a point of interest (i.e. terrorist organizations). Last, it developed my public speaking skills by forcing me to present in front of the entire command, including many high-ranking officers, analysts, and officials. This will absolutely be of assistance as an officer when I am required to speak in front of large numbers of people.

4. One of the highlights of working at ONI was meeting the various officers and analysts whose expertise we rely upon. I felt privileged to be a part of the team that assists in keeping our country safe. Another key point was discovering how much the intelligence community had altered post-9/11 from insiders’ viewpoints. Finally, I now am strongly considering laterally transferring into the intelligence community. This was an enormous development for me as a future officer.

5. Although interning at ONI was a fantastic opportunity, cost of transportation was a significant burden on a midshipman. The traffic in and out of Washington, D.C. is very dense and cost me considerably on gasoline ($40 per week). In my situation, carpooling was not an option and I suffered financially because of it. I would recommend reimbursement in part, or in total, for cost of transportation in the future. Another possibility would be prior arrangement for a midshipman to reside with an officer/civilian in the command.

15 SEP 05

MEMORANDUM

Subj: INTERNHSHIP AFTER ACTION REPORT: OFFICE OF INTELLIGENCE

1. General Information: My Political Science Internship took place at the Office of Naval Intelligence in Suitland, MD. I was part of ONI-2431 SWORD division where I was responsible for sorting through intelligence related to submarine warfare in my specific region. On top of my SWORD duties, I was also allowed access to various departments where I gained a greater understanding of ONI’s daily functions.

2. Experience Gained: The most valuable experience I believe I obtained dealt mainly with the nature of intelligence and the intelligence community. By working on every aspect of my project from initial collection to input from subject matter experts and ending with a detailed analysis I gained insight into the capabilities as well as the limitations on our intelligence collecting and evaluation techniques. This will no doubt prove invaluable in my near future as a naval officer in a war on terror that places a significant emphasis on the reliability of information. The Lieutenants assigned to SWORD division also gave me significant insight into the submarine community as a whole, and because of this I am more interested than ever in selecting this service after graduation.

3. Projects: The achievement I am most proud of is that although my time at SWORD was limited and my project involved time-consuming coordination between several departments, I was able to produce a Maritime Intelligence Assessment on recent events in my assigned region. By working on my project I was able to witness the progression from the initial collection of intelligence through its analysis and onto its dissemination to the fleet along with predictions and assessments. I believe it is inappropriate for me to discuss the particulars of my project in this forum, but I was nonetheless fulfilled to have contributed, albeit in an almost insignificant manner, to the preparedness of the fleet to submarine threats.

4. Highlights: I was very well taken care of at ONI. I received a workspace, phone, and computer complete with TOP SECRET/SCI clearance within the first few days of my arrival and my midshipman advisor was ready and willing to answer any questions I had or direct me to someone who did. In addition to SWORD division, I was lucky enough to visit ONI’s Foreign Material Exploitation Labs where foreign weapons were dismantled and examined, the Acoustic Intelligence Rider School where expert sonar analysts are trained for highly demanding special assignments in the fleet, as well as the Maritime Watch Floor where thousands of ships are tracked and monitored twenty fours a day.

5. Recommendations: I have two major recommendations which mirror other suggestions from prior after action reports I have come across. My first recommendation is to somehow allow for a more flexible schedule to allow for a longer internship. The training for the internship at ONI was only offered at the beginning of the summer, and because the Naval Academy’s summer training program took precedence, I was only able to work at ONI for three weeks. Had I been allowed more time, I would have undoubtedly been able to work on a project significantly larger than a Maritime Intelligence Assessment. My second recommendation is to provide some sort of financial support; had I not had a very understanding and generous sponsor family, I think I would have been unable to participate in the ONI internship. There simply is no public transportation between Annapolis and D.C. that is both inexpensive and practical enough for midshipman use, and the only alternative is to dip into one’s own pocket.

16AUG2005

MEMORANDUM

Subj: Internship After Action Report: Office of Naval Intelligence

General Information: I spent over three weeks, 27JUL-16AUG, at the Office of Naval Intelligence as a part of ONI-236. I worked on the Computer Network Defense (CND) Team and took part in day to day tasks. CND is not my area of expertise, but the Team was undermanned when I arrived and had been tasked with a very vital intelligence analysis to be completed during the time I was there, so I was taken off Denial & Deception to work the CND task.

Experience Gained: After starting with very little computer networking background I believe I learned a tremendous amount about navy networks and hackers. In addition, I gained great exposure to civilian government employees. The team leader was the only active duty military person on the team, so most of my day to day contact was with the civilian government employees. This was a great opportunity to learn about their backgrounds, experiences, and aspirations. From my point of view, ONI is truly run by the civilian government employees because unlike the military personnel in the building, they do not rotate out every 3 years. This gives them the opportunity to gain an expertise in a particular area. As an analyst, I monitored CND related intelligence traffic, and identified threat items of significance. I performed technical and analytical research on foreign CNA (Computer Network Attack) and CND organizations to characterize computer intruders, tactics, techniques, procedures, motivations, and intentions. Finally, I provided the team and the director of ONI-2 with detailed, all-source fused intelligence via written and oral reports.

Projects: As a part of the CND team I worked on a tasking for the Commander of ONI (COMONI) to conduct an analysis for the U.S. Navy. The overall project was classified and cannot be indulged further. As an analyst for the team, I helped to work on the final assessment for COMONI. This involved researching TOP SECRET networks, reading and disseminating classified reports, and analyzing subject matter for relevance and usefulness. The project was due after I left ONI, so the culmination of my work was preparing a briefing for the director of ONI-2. The briefing was a background of the tasking, an update on the team’s progress, and what still needed to be done. I was an intricate part of the task and my assistance was greatly needed and appreciated.

Highlights: The highlight of my time at ONI was the people. Being around multiple people who are experts in their particular fields was overwhelming. For the most part, everyone was very helpful when they weren’t extremely busy. Going around to the different divisions of ONI and being able to hear a little bit about them was very useful and interesting. Briefing the ONI-2 director was also a great highlight of my time at ONI. It was a great source of experience and showed me how the directors stayed up to date on the workings of the smaller divisions. Being able to read the TS daily briefings and message traffic was of great interest to me and made me feel like I was “in the know.” The final highlight of my internship was learning new information, especially information about computer networks.

Recommendations: Naval Intelligence is my first choice for service selection and as such, this was a great opportunity for me to be exposed to the Intel community and its place in the navy, and would be for anyone in the same situation. The people at ONI are extremely busy, so it’s important to be persistent, don’t wait for them to come to you. The expenses accumulated during the internship as expressed in year’s passed After Action Reports are extremely high. However, in my opinion the expenses were well worth it for such a great opportunity. Get out and experience all of the different divisions at ONI and meet as many people as possible. Keep as many business cards as possible, for it is a great opportunity to begin networking.