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48 <a href="http://www.mca-marines.org/gazette">www.mca-marines.org/gazette</a> M a r i n e C o r p s G a z e t t e • M a y 2 0 0 9 IDEAS & ISSUES (INTELLIGENCE) motion, while the 0231 has no require- ment for additional MOS training. This disparity in training has resulted in a wide variance of abilities from one intelligence section to another, and the resulting lack of intelligence ability has been the topic of debate for the last sev- eral months within the schoolhouse among the instructors and directors within the Marine Corps Detachment, NMITC and Marine Corps Intelli- gence Schools. Even while the debate continues among intelligence profes- sionals, 28 of the 60 MISCC seats on average continue to go unfilled each fiscal year. Reasons for Unfilled Seats There is no tangible reason to attend MISCC—no additional MOS award- ed, no promotion or professional mili- tary education (PME) requirement, no consequence for not attending, and no real reason to attend in the minds of many intelligence Marines. In fact, if the individual Marine feels that he has been successful in his career to this point, then some believe there is no need to attend a formal school for training in 1900-level tasks that he feels he has already mastered. Another reason for poor attendance is the wide variety of billets to which an 0231 can be assigned. Constantly referred to as a “jack of all trades, mas- ter of none,” the 0231 fills many dif- ferent roles at many different units. Given this mentality, there is often lit- tle standardization in either experience or training among 0231s, especially at the sergeant to gunnery sergeant ranks (intelligence chief billets), with billet descriptions ranging from S–2 (intelli- gence) section administration and lo- gistics chief (one who specializes in rosters, clearances, and maps) to S–2 senior analyst.2 Also, while analysis is inferred in the performance of duties for an 0231, it is never formally trained until MISCC, and even when trained, depending on the unit to which an 0231 is assigned, little to no analysis may be done by that Marine. The current operational tempo is also mentioned frequently as a reason for not attending MISCC. While the deployment cycle makes it tough to send Marines to MISCC, analysis done at the National Defense Intelligence College shows that over the last 13 years, only 50 percent of the allocations for MISCC have been filled each year. (See Figure 3.) Currently, there are 691 0231s who qualify to attend this course, not in- cluding other qualified MOSs or those who have already taken the course. Using this number as a bench- mark average for the last 13 years, this means that only 4.34 percent of the intelligence field attends the course each year.3 The Way Ahead Arguably, the Marine Corps cur- rently has the most experienced group of intelligence professionals in its his- tory. These Marines have participated in numerous combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and have the ex- perience necessary to continue devel- oping as intelligence professionals; however, they must be provided the opportunity and incentive to attend their career-level MOS school. If the Marine Corps is serious about profes- sionalizing its intelligence community, then it must address enlisted training and the lack of interest and participa- tion in MISCC. It is an exciting time to be an 0231, and the opportunities to hone abilities in a combat environ- ment do not appear to be going away in the near term. Additionally, the reemergence of the 0205 MOS (se- nior all-source intelligence analysis of- ficer) provides an additional career path for intelligence Marines. The 0205 MOS lists the completion of MISCC as a desired skill, but this must change to a required skill, ensur- ing that Marines take their career pro- gression seriously and that those who desire selection consideration to be- come 0205 warrant officers are the most highly trained and technically proficient in their field. To further professionalize intelli- gence specialists and encourage Ma- rines to attend MOS PME, Headquar- ters Marine Corps should award an ad- ditional MOS upon the successful completion of MISCC, much like the attainment of 0202 by MAGTF intel- ligence officers. The MOS should be 0269 (intelligence section leader) and would denote that a Marine has grad- uated from MISCC. This new MOS could then be used as a desired MOS for key billets and as a precept for pro- motion boards and officer selection boards. While the creation of a new Figure 3.