The Citadel thrives in intelligence studies, becomes first to embrace new federal strategy By Caitlin Bell 3 hrs ago While the general perception of spies and espionage is conflated with secrecy, The Citadel is working to dispel conspiracy and invite the study of open-source information in the college's largest single major.
In doing so, the Charleston-based military school has acted on newly recommended intelligence strategies from the federal government, becoming the first U.S. college or university to act on the goal of the Office of Director of National Intelligence to enhance partnerships with academia and industry, according to Citadel officials.
The school recently hosted a conference on open-source intelligence months after ODNI released its six-goal strategy for the federal Intelligence Community to focus on in the coming years. In essence, open-source intelligence involves gathering and analyzing publicly available information found posted on social media, collected in databases and buried in government records.
Students heard from nearly every “three-letter” intelligence agency — the CIA, FBI, DHS and more — as well as those in the private sector, including Microsoft, AT&T, security and defense contractor QinetiQ U.S., and Parsons Corp., a technology-focused defense, intelligence, security and infrastructure engineering firm.
While the process of gathering intelligence, or collecting information that can benefit the missions of the federal government, has been in practice for decades, a newly emerging understanding of open-source information has spurred changes in study.
For those working in the intelligence field, open-source intelligence, or OSINT, is a vital, unclassified tool.
The interest in open-source intelligence has ballooned over the past two-plus decades since 9/11, used often to counter terrorism threats in the new century. Its emergence has caused a shift in the broader intelligence community.
When Melissa Graves began teaching over a decade ago, the curriculum denoted OSINT as a valuable asset but didn’t necessarily teach students how to get it, she said.
“The shift I’ve seen has been the feeling that we need to prepare the students to know everything that they can about intelligence,” said Graves, head of The Citadel's Department of Intelligence and Security Studies.
Anyone can collect and analyze intelligence, especially students, she said.
“In fact, the only thing that’s really standing in the way of you and good analysis is just your skill set,” Graves said.
Pros of military education When considering methods of collection and the skills required to utilize intelligence, several federal agencies provide oversight to the training processes of intelligence agents.
Following the U.S. terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Congress ordered a thorough investigation and examination of the nation's intelligence community, headed by the 9/11 Commission. When it released its final 585-page report in 2004, one of the key recommendations was to create a presidential cabinet-level position of Director of National Intelligence.
Today, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, or ODNI, leads the federal intelligence community and produces the President's Daily Brief — a top-secret rundown given to the U.S. president each morning containing highly classified intelligence information and analysis.
In March, the ODNI, in partnership with the CIA, released an official strategy outlining how the intelligence community and their partners should utilize open-source intelligence. The strategy makes explicit mention of a necessary collaboration between the federal government, the private sector, foreign allies and academia.
It’s that request for collaboration between academics and the intelligence community that sparked The Citadel faculty interest in an event to bring that strategy plan into action.
While countless U.S. universities have intelligence studies programs, The Citadel’s standing as a public military college sets it apart.
“I think I’ve always seen the value added of a military education,” student Cadet Sgt. Sean Kelly told The Post and Courier. He is majoring in Intelligence Studies.
Both the opportunities he’s been given as a sergeant mentor to freshman cadets and the breadth of learning he receives in and outside of the classroom sets The Citadel apart from other, non-military academic spaces, Kelly said.
Nearly a third of cadets go into the military, said Frank Emerson, The Citadel's Gov. John C. West Chair of International Politics and American Government. Military and intelligence go hand-in-hand, which provides an important background of understanding for cadets already entrenched in military training, he said.
Emerson would know.
He served internationally with the Central Intelligence Agency and Department of State, leading an intelligence center in South America to disrupt and dismantle terrorist and drug trafficking organizations and as a diplomat/lawyer in Europe leading legal and policy engagements to enhance international criminal prosecutions.
Shaking hands with intelligence leaders In late October, The Citadel hosted an OSINT conference that brought in leaders and professionals from federal, private and academic sectors across the nation.
The Citadel represents the first U.S. school to facilitate the ODNI’s strategy in terms of connecting and providing space for partnership between academics and practitioners of open-source intelligence, Emerson said.
Bringing in various government intelligence agencies to present to cadets is nothing new — a long-standing speaker series, past conferences related to intelligence studies and multiple agency-retired professors provide a networking haven.
October’s conference marked the unique and official handshake between ODNI, the broader intelligence community and academia in Charleston.
The two-day conference covered a variety of topics related to OSINT, including the visions of leaders at federal agencies and in the private sector for expanding partnerships, the ethics of collecting open-source information, advancements in artificial intelligence and the collaboration with academia.
A barrage of Citadel cadets outfitted in their Wednesday camouflage filled the center block of seats in the Capers Hall auditorium. On the left and right, federal government and civilian practitioners watched on, the room nearing its capacity of 250 people.
Jason Barrett from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence was a keynote speaker. He holds the first executive position dedicated to open-source information in the broader intelligence community, encapsulating 18 agencies.
Barret commented on the unease he suspected many attendees felt, as the nature of his position, and many others’ in the intelligence community, is usually shrouded in confidentiality.
"We don't typically like to come out and talk in depth about the work that we're doing, but that's the beauty of OSINT, right?" Barrett said.
He emphasized the need for collaboration, especially as the field of OSINT has expanded and evolved over the past two decades after threats of terrorism "changed the identity of the intelligence community and the country," he said
"I can tell you from long experience that this event is not the culmination," said Brian Jones, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Science at The Citadel. "It's just the beginning of a long dream that The Citadel has had to bring together this kind of community in this space to pursue answers and questions relevant to OSINT and beyond."
The future of intelligence studies Having multiple opportunities at The Citadel to network and meld minds with agency professionals and private practitioners “puts our field of study into context,” said Kelly, the cadet sergeant.
As member of an “airline family,” his dad a pilot for American Airlines, Kelly grew up in the shadow of 9/11 and the war on terror, he said.
“I came to understand that good policy, whether it be national security or even healthcare, is fundamentally rooted in timely and accurate intelligence,” Kelly said.
He was drawn to The Citadel and the intelligence field. Attending the conference gave him the opportunity to connect with professionals.
As a graduating cadet, the chance to network with potential future employers is undoubtedly important, said Kelly. Folding open-source intelligence into the college experience also allows students to develop intelligence-gathering skills without the need for a government security clearance, he said.
Emerson feels that providing students with every opportunity to learn and succeed is extremely important. “When I’m old and sitting on the front porch, I want to know that I passed the baton off to some competent leaders who are going to further our nation’s security,” he said.
Watching students go through their studies then enter the intelligence community or military service and put their skills into practice is exciting — and sobering, said Graves. Deep into her ninth year of teaching at The Citadel, she has loved seeing the dedication and excitement students have toward the intelligence field.
Additionally, talks are already underway in regards to a second OSINT-related conference next year. Donors are interested and the team of Citadel professors have to think up a new theme, Emerson said. They’ve got a few ideas, including a deep-dive into the world of artificial intelligence.
Kelly has immense “gratitude and humility” for opportunities like the conference as well as countless other chances for learning his school has provided him.
“When you’re gifted something as precious as access to higher education, especially in the caliber this university provides, you feel responsibility to do something good with it,” Kelly said.
"Not just for yourself, but for everyone else. For the public.”
| 
