I'm at NIOBC right now and got orders to a helo squadron. I'm looking for all the advice I can get from other intel O's. What parts of the NIOBC curriculum do you think will be most applicable? Should I begin studying up on other stuff....if so...what?
There are about six things that a spy can do that genuinely helps the squadron out - here's a brief summary:
1) Tell them about things that can hurt them: On deployment or in exercises, this means adequately knowing the threat and ably briefing the threat. (And those are different by the way - you can suck at one and excel at the other, making you useless. You need to be good at both.) For you, it will mean largely forgetting about strat SAMs and many of the other things TACAIR guys care about. Become a "one-stop shopping" resource for MANPADs and small arms/AAA - know this stuff cold. And I mean really get into it - don't just know the parametrics (max range, altitude, etc.) - know how they are used and employed. This means getting on the MSIC site on SIPR or JWICS and really studying these systems. Get hands-on time with them; I've fired Stinger and SA-14/16 simulators several times, and knowing what an operator has to do to really make them work gives you tremendous insight. Take any and every opportunity to talk to subject matter experts in these fields across the community. Find relevant conferences and beg/bribe Ops to send you.
Know your Powerpoint. I've joked about this before, but if you can quickly and easily format data in presentable forms, then you'll be ahead of the power curve.
Practice your briefing / public speaking skills. If you are uncomfortable in front of an audience, you are in trouble - work on it. Knowng your subject also helps here - I've seen way too many spies fall to pieces and look stupid because they couldn't even answer basic questions about the very material they were briefing. Sometimes people will throw you a fastball just to see if you know what you are talking about; if you park enough of these fastballs early, then people will trust your judgement. If you fumble, then it takes a long time to recover. Your ultimate goal is to actually have people listen when you talk - sounds silly, but it's amazing the number of spies who tend to be ignored by the very people they are supposed to help.
2) Tell them about their targets: Know your platform's weapon and sensor systems cold. Get out the WSOM (or whatever your platform calls it) and study it; know the terminology, system capabilities and limitations. Nobody's going to ask you to fly the mission, but you are expected to understand everything the platform and its crew might be asked to perform - again, this is where I see a huge number of spies fail; they never learn about their platform. Take every opportunity you can to get to know the platform better; have someone walk you through the systems when the a/c has power on it sometime. Get a flight physical (Selected Passenger), then throw your hat in the ring for water survival so you can fly if the opportunities present themselves. When/if you do get to fly, be an information sponge. Look, listen, learn. If your platform has simulators co-located with your home station, see if you can weasel time on them - huge SA builder.
If you work ASW targets, it will become incumbent on you to become a foreign submarine expert. You've got to live, breathe, and sleep this stuff. Become the "go to guy" on foreign submarine capabilities - or at a minimum, know where to quickly and efficiently find out answers to people's questions. If you work CSAR/PR, know the mission profile and what can go right/wrong - study previous successes and failures in this area. This means having a big "Favorites" list on SIPR or JWICS so you can quickly hunt down info.
Being able to read an ATO never hurt.
3) Tell them about the world in general: In a lot of Ready Rooms, the spy might be expected to be the guy who knows what's going on in the world. North Korean nuclear test? Work the SIPR and JWICS side so you have some insight. Iraq political situtation? (Even if you are sitting at home in JAX) - know the players and what's going on. Read the MNF-I BUA (on SIPR) every day so you get a sense of what the issues are. Read the J2 Morning Brief and the Early Bird (also on SIPR...detect a theme here?) every day. I start out every morning with about 10 different SIPR/JWICS web sites that I go to for current reporting; takes about an hour, but you are expected to be the one "in the know".
4) Be a good Security Manager: This is a SLJ, but it needs to be done and can get the command in deep kimchi if you f* it up. Get a JPAS account and keep your command's security clearances in order; have background investigations initiated when necessary, have clearances forwarded where necessary. Keep a good classified accountability system - lose a piece of classified info, and your world caves in on you. Watch classified thumb drives like a hawk - they will be the death of all of us.
5) Take care of your troops: If you have IS's working for you, look out for them personally and professionally.
6) Be a good sh*t: This means being an active participant in the Ready Room. Go out drinking with the boys; don't stay home playing Dungeons and Dragons. When the ready room gets an Admin, be a part of it. You will be fundamentally different in that you are an Army of One, and the ready room environment and Japan have a lot in common - the nail that sticks up will be hammered down. This doesn't mean be a conformist, or don't be an individual - it means that a ready room functions a certain way on both a formal and informal level, and you'll have to work within those constraints and social norms. Or else you'll get hammered down....
Anyway, I don't have any helo-specific experience to share, so I hope this general stuff is of some help. Remember - Douglas S. Freeman (biographer of Lee) was once asked "What does it take to be a good leader?" He said "Know your stuff. Be a man. Take care of your men." Whatever your job happens to be - I think that about sums it up.
