
In 2022, the 902nd Military Intelligence (MI) Group will become a brand new command: The U.S. Army Counterintelligence (CI) Command (USACIC), putting a Brigadier General in command of all Army CI (ACI) Special Agents for the first time since the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) was disbanded in 1961. This new command is set to become a direct reporting unit, subordinate to the Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM), with a CI technical reporting channel directly to the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (G2), Headquarters, Department of the Army. USACIC is set to become the 5th Defense Criminal Investigative Organization (DCIO) through legislation that now legitimizes civilian ACI Special Agent's arrest and warrant authorities beyond that of just Army regulations.
While many within ACI are celebrating this change, it is not necessarily a "fix all" for the many problems that have plagued ACI for decades since the CIC ended. MI commanders with very little or limited CI knowledge have often misused agents under their command, and USACIC's creation may not completely repair all of those relationships without serious reorganization efforts. Additionally, with ACI's counterparts in the Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC) undergoing drastic changes as well, including now being led by a civilian director, many are asking if the USACIC should take a similar civilian-led approach. The most common example is in the almost complete civilian Special Agent force of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), who also share the counterintelligence mission within the DOD with ACI and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI).
One thing a civilian majority enables is a greater focus on the CI mission to go after threats without the need for the mandated military activities which often detract from the focus that many CI investigations require. Many military agents within ACI are often forced by their commanders to put down their operational hats and participate in actions or events that have nothing to do with their CI mission. This has led to many leaving ACI and/or investigative activities, and the resultant CI capabilities degradation. Only time will tell if USACIC will enable ACI to improve agent focus and investigative capabilities to take on near-peer threats such as Russia and China. Hopefully USACIC will still be able to continue adjusting its organizational structure when problems are discovered in order to become a truly optimized federal intelligence and law enforcement agency.
I'm curious to see how this will affect CI units in other INSCOM Brigades - will they move to the new CIC or remain with their units?