THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF WASHINGTON 0O.C 2030! SM-321-82 24 May 1982 MEMORANDUM FOR: Commander in Chief, Aerospace Defense Command Commander in Chief, Atlantic US Commander in Chief, Europe Commander in Chief, Military Airlift Command Commander in Chief, Pacific Commander in Chief, US Readiness Command Commander in Chief, US Southern Command Commander in Chief, Strategic Air Command Director, Defense Intelligence Agency Subject: Participation of Commanders of the Unified and Specified Commands in Preparation of National Intelligence Estimates 1. This memorandum is an administrative update of and supersedes SM-184-77, 23 February 1977. 2. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have established a formal procedure to provide the views of the commanders of the unified and speci- fied commands to DIA for consideration in the development of the National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs). They consider that the Director, DIA, in his role as a DoD representative to the National Foreign Intelligence Board (NFIB), and the Service Intelligence Chiefs, in their role as observers, should have the benefit of the views and assessments of the commanders of the unified and specified commands on a formalized basis with the understanding that: a. The Director, DIA, will base his ultimate position on all the evidence before the NFIB. b. NIEsS are designed chiefly to be responsive to require- ments at the national policy planning level. Therefore, the general treatment in the NIEs will not entirely satisfy the particular planning requirements of the commanders of the unified and specified commands. While the inputs of the commanders of the unified and specified commands may not be completely reflected in national intelligence prod- ucts, they will be considered for inclusion in the appro- priate intelligence portions of the Joint Strategic Planning System. c. Recommendations from the commanders of the unified anc specified commands should be clear and concise, with suffi- cient Supporting justification to withstand the critical examination that necessarily precedes the development cf the NIE judgment.
ad. In making their recommendations to DIA, the commanders of the unified and specified commands should take into ac- count the pressures affecting the estimates program: (1) Requirements for national level estimates are in- creasing and are demanding more definitive judgments. (2) Directives are expanding. (3) Requirements for staffing National Security Study Requirements involve greater quantification of data, as in the Defense Intelligence Projections for Planning. (4) Time to produce certain NIEs is often limited. These must be published early enough to be useful for defense budget considerations but late enough in the year to profit from the full range of the annual col- lection effort. The Director, DIA, a. Invite recommendations from and specified commands on those which they may wish to comment. b. Provide a time schedule for DIA would anticipate a response is directed to: the commanders of the unified portions of the NIEs upon each of those NIEs on which from the commanders of the appropriate unified and specified commands. c. Establish dates by which comments will be required for effective consideration by DIA and the Services. d. Invite comments on published NIEs for use in future con- siderations. For Colonel, Secretary the Joint Chiefs of Staff: MMe CZ J. McCONVILLE USA