FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq – Members of the Wasit intelligence community met July 20 at the Iraqi Police Provincial Headquarters for the Iraqi Security Forces Intelligence Conference and discussed innovations in professional development available through their own intelligence community.
Iraqi Air Force 1st Lt. Thamir Hamid briefed the group of intelligence professionals including members of 41st Fires Brigade; 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment; 32nd Iraqi Army Brigade; Iraqi Police; Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement; National Information and Investigations Agency; Director General for Intelligence and Security and other intelligence agencies that would benefit from the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities the Iraqi Air Force can offer.
“I briefed today on the King Air aircraft’s capabilities for reconnaissance targets provided by the Iraqi Air Force, to include different kinds of products and targeting capabilities the customer might want,” explained Thamir.
The Iraqi Air Force’s King Air aircraft is similar to the U.S. Air Force’s MC-12 Liberty aircraft, which provide aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support to the ground force commanders for their respective countries.
The added capability of imagery intelligence, combined with human intelligence, paints a better picture for the Iraqi intelligence community, according to Maj. Jennifer Finch, 41st Fires Bde., intelligence officer. “What the (Iraqi) Air Force brought in was another intelligence discipline which they can use for imagery intelligence to cross-queue with human intelligence to fortify collection, said Finch, who hails from Goose Creek, S.C. “It gives the Iraqis another capability that they don’t have to rely on any other forces for.”
Finch said the ability to have self-sustaining imagery intelligence is a huge step for the Wasit intelligence community.
“What’s monumental about it is that this is now an Iraqi system that they will use by processing the request and reporting through Iraqis, by Iraqis and solely for Iraqis,” said Finch.
The intelligence fusion group has grown from the agencies not even talking to each other 14 months ago to nine different Iraqi intelligence agencies meeting weekly to share information, said Finch, who said she is glad to have been a part of this historical evolution.
Other service members had a hand in assisting the Iraqis with this new development as well.
“I feel really good to be able to participate in this historic event, working with the Iraqi Air Force and the Wasit intelligence community,” said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Paul Valenzuela, advisor to the Iraqi Air Force on Forward Operating Base Delta, from Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
Valenzuela’s coordination between the Iraqi Air Force, 41st Fires Bde. intelligence section and the Wasit Intel Fusion Group made the presentation possible and provided the opportunity for future joint operations between the Iraqi military and security forces, said Finch.
The Wasit intelligence community still has plenty of room for improvement Finch added, but through the hard work of Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces, she hopes to see the Iraqi intelligence community continue to evolve under the leadership of the Wasit Province Director of National Investigations and Information Agency.
