Starfleet Intelligence: Difference between revisions

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* For historical SB118 references, please visit [[Black Tower/Intel]]. This was compiled after learning various simmers across four sim ships have been utilizing SFI.
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{{SFI}}


Similar to the more famous Intelligence Agencies of the past such as the CIA, KGB and MI6 (or SIS) the role of Starfleet Intelligence (SFI) is to provide the Federation with a galactic covert capability to promote and defend the security and well-being of the Federation and it's member
worlds.
Ultimately an Intelligence unit or taskforce is made up of a number of different sections, all with section leaders who report to the Head or Director of the taskforce.  The Director may be required to pass on relevant mission related data to the ranking Starfleet Officer on site. While the work that SFI does in generally inclusive the end result can have far reaching consequence.  While SFI does have a mandate to operate independently the best results are brought about by working alongside other branches of Starfleet. 


==Introduction==
==Sections==
After the closure of the [[USS Albion]], Intelligence operations within the SB118 Fleet were regulated to the individual ships within the Fleet without a centralized Division. SFI as it exists today lies within the discretion of the ship’s CO, and not as a centralized body.
The sections within an Intelligence unit can broadly be broken down into 3 different areas, Field Operations, Operational Technology and Analysts.  Given the wide variety of jobs within each of these sections, officers specialise in one particular area of the section which they are within.


Commanding Officers hold the guidelines of how Intelligence interfaces with their respective UFOP ships, and not often with a governing guideline that allows for uniformity between ship sims. Every CO is different in their approach and view/experience, but as it has become apparent recently with reports over several ships, simmers need to understand the rules, regulations and guidelines on how Intel operates.
===Field Operations===
Field Operations governs the deployment and control of Field Operatives or Agents deployed from the Intelligence taskforce. Agents can be deployed in a number of formats ranging from anything  tactical insertion to the covert placement of a single operative.  Length of deployment
depends on the source of the Intelligence unit, on the whole sort term operations are deployed from Starships while longer term operations including undercover operations are from Starbase's or other fixed position sites.


==The Historical Aspect==
In general, Field Operatives are the muscle of the Intelligence Department when needed, yet there is more to the job than that.  Specialities within are wide ranging from 'Human' Intelligence to such tasks as covert surveillance, electronics and demolition.  Other more obvious specialties that fall within the realm of Field Operations would include interrogation and the art of getting into somewhere where you should not be.
There was a time when we did actively allow simmers to sim as actual Intelligence officers. Through the course of the mid to late 1990s into the early 2000s, several incidents in the abuse of OOC vs IC information and how it used in respective sims lent a specific kind of simming that is destructive to group participation as well as drive plots to premature closure.


Following the closure of both Intel sims and some revamping, decisions were made to remove Intel as an option for PC simmers. Usually what you will see today is references to the SFI within the capacity of updates from posts made from various COs and XOs… occasionally, very occasionally, from simmers who have obtained permission.
===Operations Technology===
Operation Technology (or Op Tech.) work to enhance standard equipment, to come up with new solutions to problems and to maintain the Intelligence units equipment ranging from phasers to computers.  From the planning stage of a mission Op Tech need to be made aware of the particularly of the mission to determine whether changes to existing equipment is needed or whether customer built specialist equipment is required for the mission to be successful.


==Reasoning Behind the Removal==
Depending on deployment location the job can have more mundane duties to perform.  Given the type of jobs that need to be performs by Op Tech the skill base is wide and varied.  It should be noted that in all but the largest Intelligence units Op Tech works on a rather small scale, anything larger than something a normal person can carry would require the assistance engineering.
The primary reason is most cannot distinguish the power/cowboy sim style of a certain type of Intel officer that inevitably finds its way in, despite the best attempts from the simmer (seasoned or otherwise). There has never been a simmer in history who has not succumb to the James Bond effect.


With that reason, the most important reason is when the power/cowboy style comes into play, it influences every single player within the ship sim. COs and XOs know this, which is why SFI is limited to reports only. Your fellow members, from LtCmdr downward to Ensigns, especially, can and will act similarly on the principle that we show the example of what the sim environment is, and take that singular, individualist element and apply it to their sims.
===Analyst===
The Analyst section is generally regarded as the largest section although this would depend on the mandate of the Intelligence unit. The Analyst section two main sections are between Data and Communication analysts.  The jobs of both are to collect, compile and analyze information from any number of different sources and pass any value information onto the Director.  When an ongoing mission in underway Communication Analysts are tasked with keeping the Field Operatives in contact with the ship and to keep the contact hidden while monitoring all on going
Communications.


The end result: Abuse of both authority, the chain of command, and unaccountability.
The Data Analysts monitor what the Field Operatives are actually doing remotely while providing support information to any problems that the Field Operatives face.  The section leaders of both Data and Communication Analyst report directly to the Director who has overall control of the operation.  Data Analysts are also tasked with Crypto-analysis, the task of deciphering and analysing enemy cryptographic codes.


==Principles of the Intelligence Community==
==Director of Intelligence==
First and formost, understand the difference between the Intelligence Officer and the Intelligence Agent:
The Director of the Intelligence unit ultimately has to govern when, where and how the unit operates with relation to the overall mission of the ship or facility that they are on. Strong links with the XO or CO with the parent unit are required that that both know what they other is broadly doing. Other than serving as a liaison the Director is also required run the Intelligence unit in the same manner in which a department head runs any other grouping of officers.
# Intelligence Officer: a person employed to collect, compile and analyze information (aka intelligence)
# Intelligence Agent: a field officer who actively collects intelligence from the source, usually through his/her network of resources that was assembled over the years (*note: years)
 
As an Starfleet Intelligence Officer, you would not actively be in the field acquiring the information yourself. In sim, you would actually be compiling what was already collected from other verified (and unverified) sources and analyzing the information, which is the core of what Intelligence is.
 
In the capacity of the Intelligence Agent (or as the UFOP tends to call Undercover Operations Specialists), that is mandated by the CO of the ship one serves on. In reality, they are rare and have undergone specialized training that allows them to work alone or with one, maximum two other agents. SFI Undercover Operation Specialists (which includes Black Ops) are not characters that generally work as team players.
 
Referencing the historical aspect of SFI, the problem is clearly defined. Too many simmers act as UOS agents instead of actual intelligence officers and do not have the training or the experience to differentiate the two. Plus, acting as a field agent influences others who also cannot differentiate and will be more likely to run off with that particular style without realizing the concequence.
 
==The Role & Responsibility of the Intelligence Officer==
The actual Intelligence officer would be resourcing what information is acquired by his fellow crewmembers for a number of goals/objectives, such as determining the identity, intention, capability and activity of hostile bodies/ships as well as developing/planning the necessary outline to prevent a hostile force to submit to the CO and XO.
 
In this role, the Intelligence Officer is a team player, rather than striking out. A PC cannot simply access another PC’s thoughts and interpretations at whim through the ship’s computer network. The Intelligence Officer must interact with every single character on ship at a daily basis, which makes the Duty Post one of the hardest to play to be successful. There are no short cuts. You cannot, at any time, simply make up a means of how you acquired said information (as in every case, determines the actions of another PC).
 
There are no excuses. As an Intelligence Officer, you cannot, at any time, sim in such a manner that would encourage similar behavior from your fellow simmers. Your sims have to be free from any signifiers that would damage the proper sim. In some cases, an Intelligence Officer faces an upward battle (which is why long-time COs are usually the only ones who work with them) because as a player, you are in effect setting the example.
 
==Query Procedures==
* Under no circumstance is any simmer to act in the capacity of Intelligence without acquiring permission from your CO.
* Obtain permission from your CO. Depending on the CO, you may or may not be required to participate in Academy Training first.
* One must have attained the rank of Lt. and held it for at least six (6) months.
 
==Rules & Regulations==
* If permission is obtained, until the Executive Council (EC) remits a verdict, the Intelligence Officer is not a duty post. It will always be secondary.
* At no time can a simmer utilize OOC information in IC
* Despite what has been established in Canon, Sect. 31 is simply Undercover Operations within SFI Branch. There is no separation between the two, and nor should there be reference in sim that alleges Section 31 is a separate entity.
* Do not act in the capacity of an undercover operations specialist. If an opportunity comes up for you to engage in intelligence gathering missions, your CO will let you know.
 
>>>MORE TO COME<<<

Revision as of 16:01, 1 January 2008


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Similar to the more famous Intelligence Agencies of the past such as the CIA, KGB and MI6 (or SIS) the role of Starfleet Intelligence (SFI) is to provide the Federation with a galactic covert capability to promote and defend the security and well-being of the Federation and it's member worlds.

Ultimately an Intelligence unit or taskforce is made up of a number of different sections, all with section leaders who report to the Head or Director of the taskforce. The Director may be required to pass on relevant mission related data to the ranking Starfleet Officer on site. While the work that SFI does in generally inclusive the end result can have far reaching consequence. While SFI does have a mandate to operate independently the best results are brought about by working alongside other branches of Starfleet.

Sections

The sections within an Intelligence unit can broadly be broken down into 3 different areas, Field Operations, Operational Technology and Analysts. Given the wide variety of jobs within each of these sections, officers specialise in one particular area of the section which they are within.

Field Operations

Field Operations governs the deployment and control of Field Operatives or Agents deployed from the Intelligence taskforce. Agents can be deployed in a number of formats ranging from anything tactical insertion to the covert placement of a single operative. Length of deployment depends on the source of the Intelligence unit, on the whole sort term operations are deployed from Starships while longer term operations including undercover operations are from Starbase's or other fixed position sites.

In general, Field Operatives are the muscle of the Intelligence Department when needed, yet there is more to the job than that. Specialities within are wide ranging from 'Human' Intelligence to such tasks as covert surveillance, electronics and demolition. Other more obvious specialties that fall within the realm of Field Operations would include interrogation and the art of getting into somewhere where you should not be.

Operations Technology

Operation Technology (or Op Tech.) work to enhance standard equipment, to come up with new solutions to problems and to maintain the Intelligence units equipment ranging from phasers to computers. From the planning stage of a mission Op Tech need to be made aware of the particularly of the mission to determine whether changes to existing equipment is needed or whether customer built specialist equipment is required for the mission to be successful.

Depending on deployment location the job can have more mundane duties to perform. Given the type of jobs that need to be performs by Op Tech the skill base is wide and varied. It should be noted that in all but the largest Intelligence units Op Tech works on a rather small scale, anything larger than something a normal person can carry would require the assistance engineering.

Analyst

The Analyst section is generally regarded as the largest section although this would depend on the mandate of the Intelligence unit. The Analyst section two main sections are between Data and Communication analysts. The jobs of both are to collect, compile and analyze information from any number of different sources and pass any value information onto the Director. When an ongoing mission in underway Communication Analysts are tasked with keeping the Field Operatives in contact with the ship and to keep the contact hidden while monitoring all on going Communications.

The Data Analysts monitor what the Field Operatives are actually doing remotely while providing support information to any problems that the Field Operatives face. The section leaders of both Data and Communication Analyst report directly to the Director who has overall control of the operation. Data Analysts are also tasked with Crypto-analysis, the task of deciphering and analysing enemy cryptographic codes.

Director of Intelligence

The Director of the Intelligence unit ultimately has to govern when, where and how the unit operates with relation to the overall mission of the ship or facility that they are on. Strong links with the XO or CO with the parent unit are required that that both know what they other is broadly doing. Other than serving as a liaison the Director is also required run the Intelligence unit in the same manner in which a department head runs any other grouping of officers.

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