by Sam Culper
Here are some notes that Poseidon Compass Connecticut (PCCT) participants have helped me compile. More than anything, I think this was a valuable learning experience for many. Since introducing PCCT, several of you have emailed or commented that we could or should do more intel exercises with on-going and future events. I think that’s a great idea. I would love to see numerous Poseidon Compass exercises in the future but I won’t be able to facilitate them due to lack of time, not lack of desire. This won’t be the last time you see Poseidon Compass from my end, and we’ll be working to improve the process. So take the framework we developed for PCCT and use it for a real-time event in your area.
Some of the information contained in this AAR is due to lack of planning time, others due to virtual communications. Doing this all online is a HUGE stumbling block. Normally, we’d all be in the same office or tent, every individual is a trained intelligence collector or analyst, and we have seven or eight-figure budgets… but we went to PCCT with the ACE we had. Regardless of circumstances, here are what I consider to be the biggest needs for improvement going forward.
1. Ensure that each cell has an Officer in Charge (OIC), whose role and leadership responsibilities are clearly defined. (In our defense, it’s difficult to name OICs when there are so few capable individuals who understand the process well enough to lead a cell full of people he or she doesn’t know.)
2. Ensure that each cell has a complete and down-to-the-minute Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). There were times when we saw the need for specific courses of action but a mechanism hadn’t been put into place to facilitate them.
