usom: 9.3/22 

28 December 1954 

MEMCRANDUM FOR THE MEM13ERS Cl' USCTRli!C: 

Subject: USCIB Master Requirements List. 

Re:f'erence: USCIB 9.3/19 dated 16 December 1954. 

The enclosure is forwarded with a view to consideration in 

connection with the reference at the Special Meeting of USCIBEC to 

be held on Friday, 7 January 1954. 

Enclosure 

Supplementary Details 

Proposed for Consideration 

with USCIB 9 • .3/19 

USCIB: 9 .. .3/22 

USCIB 

24 

SECRET eclassified and approved for release by NSA on 

9-05-2014 ursuantto E.O. 13526 
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SUPPLEMEMTARY DETAIIS PROPOSED FOR 

CONSIDERATION WITlI USCIB 9.3/19 

1. It should b~ noted, in order to avoid confusion, that the word 

"collection" as used in the rei'erence, means "the process ot collecting 

(obtaining) intelli~ence information by any of several methods, including 

COMmT" and not "the collection of raw material to be used in COMINT 

processing". - · 

2. The Director of NSA has two basic responsibilities in the Ca.llNT 

field: 

a. To maintain, in the U.S. COMINT-producing activities, a 

tecbnical posture which Will enable him to attack effectively any problem 

which he may be assigned, and 

b. to dispose the resources available to him in such a. manner 

as will best satisfy the requirements of the U.S. CCMINT-consuming 

activities for intelligence infonnation from CCMlliT sources. 

3. USCIB has the responsibility for either determining, or obtaining 

a determination from the IAC level, what the collective requirements of 

the C~IINT-consuming activities nrc for both national and departmental 

intelligence inf orm.a·tion from CCMilIT aources; for insuring that these a.re 

in consonance with Naticnal Intelligence objectives; for evaluating each 

requirement in tenns of its importance and of the necessity that it be 

partially or completely fulfilled by C<l~INT operations; and for issuing 

authoritative guidance to the Director, NSA, in terms of what they require 

of him, and the relative importance or each requirement. 

4. The guidance received by the Director, NSA, from USCIB must meet 

seven criteria: 

a. It must be based on, and be modified when necessary to contol'Jll 

to, the most recent expression of National Intellisence objectives. 

b. It should not include objectives or requirements which are 

beyond, or not appropriate to, CCMINT's pot~ntial capability to satisfy. 

c. It should give greater weight to those.requirements which 

CCMINT has a unique potential capability to provide. 

d. It should subordinate the importance priority or those 

requirements for which CC»fINT is primarily or corroborative value. 

e. It should not include those requirements which can be 

satisfactorily met by other intelli3ence sources. 

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:r. It must be expressed in terms which are readily translatable 

into COMINT terms o:f' r.?fercmce. 

g. It should not require frequent revision because of temporary 

shifts ir1 priority o"r "crash" ty:pe requirementa. • 

5. In case the IAC does not issue a National Intellicence Requirements List, the basic authoritative guidance finally received by the 

Director, NSA, from USCIB would be in the form or two docun:ents: a. 

COMmT Objectives List, and a CCMnqT Requirements List. The former would 

be no longer than the basic National Intelligence Objectives List, but 

wQuJd be re-arranged in accordance with the appropriate criteria cite~ 

in para. 4 above. It would list the COMINT objectives in as nearly 

absolute priority order as possible, together with an indication or the 

relative importance attached to ea.ch. Should a National Intdlligence 

Requiremen·t:;s List be issued by IAC, the CQJlINT Objectives List would not 

be required. 

6. The CCMINT Requirements List would be either a carefully edited 

expansion of the COMlliT Objectives List, or a rearrangement of the 

National Intelligence Requirement1~ List in accordance with the criteria 

listed in para. 4 above. Each req_uirement would be expressed in terms 

or the elements of information required in order that the objective be 

attained. Only those elements deemed to be vital to attaining the objective 

would carry the same ~riority and importance as the objective itself; 

eleraents 11ot contributing directly and importantly to its accomplishment 

would be assigned a lower priority and lesser weight, each on its own 

merits. such departmental or agency requirements as are not satisfied 

by requirements derived from the COMmT Objectives List would be added, 

each in its appropriate priority order and properly weighted. Departmental 

requirements should be identified as such (para. lOc of USCIB 9.3/19). 

Ee.ch requirement must be so worded and defined as to be readily and 

accurately translatable into thP. terms or reference used in CCMINT collection, 

productior1, a.nd processing. In this latter stage of' development of the 

Requirements List, there must be close consultation between the intelligence 

commllllity and the COMINT producers, in order that the list be both 

semantically and taxonomically compatible with the needs of each. The 

COMINT Requirements List would be revised as required by each revision of' 

the COMmT Objectives List; but, in case such revision did not occur, the 

List should be reviewed by USCIB at least annually. 

7. Although difficult, it is considered practicable to arrange the 

requirements in order of priority of importance. To assign each an 

absolute weight would be an unrealistic goal. However, it is essential 

that some :mechanism be employed which will enable the Director, NSA, to 

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interpret as accurately as possible the relative amo';l?lt of importauce which 

the consumers attach to each requirement. 'some system of categorizing 

eg,ch bloc of requirements, after arrangement in priority order, IllllSt be: 

found. It is considered that a minimum of three such categories 81'e 

required, and it is recommended that these be: 

a. That bloc• of information 'Which is of such transcendent 

importance that, given a reasonable expectation of obtaining it, would 

warrant allocating to it all or the COMINT resources which are available 

for production or intelligence infol'TQS.tion. 

b. Those requirements which a.re or ~utricient importance to 

warrant allocation or CQ.fINT resources to them at the expense or any or 

all requirements of a lower category. 

c. Those which wai·rant only such ef'fort as cannot be applied 

with reasou.e.ble expectation of' early profitable returns, to items of 

higher priority, 

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