Core Competency of the United States Army Reserve Military Intelligence Force

The thesis examines the organization, roles, capabilities, and contributions of the U.S. Army Reserve Military Intelligence force. It investigates the perception that the individual Military Intelligence soldier--not Military Intelligence units--forms the core competency of the U.S. Army Reserve Military Intelligence force. It examines the U.S. Army Reserve Military Intelligence force in terms of size and composition, skills and training, and participation in contingency deployments and intelligence contributory support missions. It also examines the evolution of the U.S. Army Reserve Military Intelligence force and explains why the Modification Table of Organization and Equipment force dominates and ultimately affects the fate of the total U.S. Army Reserve Military Intelligence force. The thesis concludes that the individual Military Intelligence soldier does form the core competency of the U.S. Army Reserve Military Intelligence force, but attributes that competency to associated unit structure. The study proposes that the U.S. Army Reserve Military Intelligence Modification Table of Organization and Equipment structure be realigned with the active component Military Intelligence structure or be eliminated in lieu of a more specialized Table of Distribution and Allowance structure.