One of the greatest tools the Intelligence Analyst has in his arsenal is the ability to query databases and look at previously collected information. We have an incredible ability (and luxury) to have all this knowledge literally at our fingertips. Yet it still does us no good if we have Intelligence information in our databases, but can’t find it because we’re not proficient at querying what we’re looking for.
Now this brings up an important point for us. We can only process and analyze information in our conscious awareness. One thing that makes our job as Intelligence analysts so difficult is the necessity to make conclusions often involving future events or trends based on incomplete information. This is akin to the algebra problems of yore, where we had to solve for x, but we now have an equation littered with unknown variables. As my section chief used to say, predicting what the enemy is going to do is a hell of a way to make a living.
So applied to the Patriot-Prepper Intelligence Analyst, collection and storage of intelligence information becomes immensely important! Consider for a moment that you didn’t have the internet, nor access to any other forms of collection. It’s unfeasible that you’d be able to do your job of producing threat Intelligence and early warning to your family and prepared peers, yet that’s exactly what you must do. A top priority for each of us is to ensure that we have an ability now to collect, catalogue, and store Intelligence information. This is one of the things we talk about in the courses I teach.
