U.S. Intelligence Community Establishment Provisions

U.S. Intelligence Community Establishment Provisions

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Updated June 5, 2024
U.S. Intelligence Community Establishment Provisions
The concept of a unified U.S. Intelligence Community (IC)
independent agencies and six separate departments of the federal
consisting of integrated component departments and agencies
government.
began to take shape after World War II, in part through the
Table 1 summarizes dates and directives for the establishment of
establishment of the Central Intelligence Agency. Before this, U.S.
each of the 18 IC component organizations. Some organizations,
intelligence organizations had existed within the military services
such as the Navy’s Office of Naval Intelligence, predate the
and largely operated independently of one another. U.S.
emergence of the IC concept. Although not included in statute as
government references to an “Intelligence Community” first
an element of the IC, the establishment of the position of Under
appear in the mid-1950s. The components of the IC were first
Secretary of Defense (Intelligence and Security) (USD(I&S)) is
specified in statute by the Intelligence Organization Act of 1992
included in this listing to underscore the leadership the USD(I&S)
(Title VII of P.L. 102-496). The IC has since evolved into a
exercises over Department of Defense intelligence programs in
federated community of 18 components spread across two
coordination with the Director of National Intelligence.
Table 1. U.S. Intelligence Community Elements: Establishment Dates and Mechanisms
Elementa
Establishment Date
Mechanism of Establishment
Established by Congressional Action
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
September 18, 1947
P.L. 80-253 (National Security Act of 1947) §102, codified in 50 U.S.C. §3035.
Department of Energy, Office of
August 4, 1977
P.L. 95-91 (DOE Organization Act of 1977) §215, codified in 42 U.S.C.
Intelligence and Counterintelligence
§7144b(b) and amended by P.L. 109-364 §3117 and P.L. 116-92 §6421.
(DOE/IN)
Department of Defense (DOD), National
October 1, 1996
The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) was established by P.L.
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
104-201 (National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY1997). NIMA
was renamed NGA in 2003 under §921 of P.L. 108-136 (FY2004 NDAA).
Codified in 10 U.S.C. §441.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS),
December 28, 2001
P.L. 107-108 §105 (Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for FY2002), codified
U.S. Coast Guard Intelligence (USCG/IN)
in 50 U.S.C. §3003(4)(H).b
DHS, Office of Intelligence and Analysis
November 25, 2002
P.L. 107-296 (Homeland Security Act of 2002) §201, codified in 6 U.S.C. §121.
(DHS/OIA)
DOD, Under Secretary of Defense
December 2, 2002
P.L. 107-314 (FY2003 NDAA) §901, codified in 10 U.S.C. §137.
(Intelligence & Security) (USD(I&S))
Department of the Treasury, Office of
December 13, 2003
P.L. 108-177 (FY2004 IAA) §105 established the OIA and the position of
Intelligence and Analysis (Treasury/OIA)
Assistant Secretary of Intelligence, codified in 31 U.S.C. §311.
Office of the Director of National
December 17, 2004
P.L. 108-458 §1011 (Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of
Intelligence (ODNI)
2004), codified in 50 U.S.C. §3025.
Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of
December 17, 2004
P.L. 108-458 §2002 created an FBI Directorate of Intelligence [DI], codified in
Investigation (FBI), Intelligence Branch
28 U.S.C. §532 note. In 2005, President George W. Bush directed the DI be
(FBI/IB)
aligned under the FBI’s National Security Branch (NSB). As of July 2014, FBI
Director James Comey realigned the DI under the newly established FBI
Intelligence Branch (FBI/IB).c
U.S. Space Force Intelligence, Surveillance,
January 8, 2021
DNI and Chief of Space Operations announcement of January 8, 2021 in
and Reconnaissance Enterprise (S2)
accordance with 50 U.S.C. §3003(4)(L)d Codified in 50 U.S.C. §3003(4)(H) by
§6421 of the IAA for FY23 (Div. F of P.L. 117-263).
Established by Department of Defense (DOD) Action
U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence
March 23, 1882
The Secretary of the Navy, in General Order No. 292, established a
(USN/ONI)
headquarters (HQ)-level “Office of Intelligence” under the Chief of the Bureau
of Navigation.
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Elementa
Establishment Date
Mechanism of Establishment
U.S. Army Office of the Adjutant General,
April 12, 1889
HQ-level intelligence organization, in accordance with confidential orders of
Military Information Division (MID)
the War Department, April 12, 1889.e
U.S. Marine Corps, Intelligence Section
December 1, 1920
HQMC Memo of December 1, 1920. Major General Commandant, Major
General Lejeune’s HQMC staff reorganization included a Military Intelligence
(USMC/MCISR-E)
Section within the Operations and Training Division of Headquarters Marine
Corps.f
U.S. Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance,
September 18, 1947
HQ-level intelligence organization became HQ USAF/A-2 when the U.S. Air
and Reconnaissance (AF ISR)
Force (USAF) was established as a separate department via the National
Security Act of 1947 (P.L. 80-253 §208)g
DOD, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)
October 1, 1961
DOD Directive 5105.21 of August 1961, updated March 18, 2008.
DOD, National Reconnaissance Office
August 7, 1961
Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretary of Defense and the
(NRO)
Director of the CIA of August 7, 1961 (declassified on October 1, 2012).
Established by Executive Action
Department of State, Bureau of
October 1, 1945
E.O. 9621, “Termination of the Office of Strategic Services and Disposition of
Intelligence and Research (DOS/INR)
its Functions,” effective October 1, 1945.h
DOD, National Security Agency (NSA)
December 29, 1952
National Security Council Intelligence Directive (NSCID) 9 Revised,
“Communications Intelligence,” Dec. 29, 1952, and NSCID 6, Feb. 17, 1972.
See also 50 U.S.C. §§3601-3618.i
DOJ, Drug Enforcement Administration
February 7, 2006j
DNI memorandum of February 7, 2006 pursuant to joint DNI-Attorney
(DEA), Office of National Security
General decision in accordance with 50 U.S.C. §3003(4)(L).
Intelligence (ONSI)
Source: CRS.
Notes:
a. IC elements are defined in 50 U.S.C. §3003, which also includes a provision for admitting additional elements to the IC by a decision of either the
President or jointly by the DNI and the head of the department of agency concerned.
b. See also Kevin Wirth, The Coast Guard Intelligence Program Enters the Intelligence Community, Occasional Paper Number Sixteen (Washington, DC:
NDIC Press, May 2007) at https://media.defense.gov/2022/Sep/27/2003085918/-1/-1/0/COAST_GUARD_INTELLIGENCE_PROGRAM.PDF.
c. The FBI’s DI can be traced back to the origins of the FBI (established January 26, 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation; renamed FBI in 1935).
December 17, 2004 marks the first of a number of changes to integrate the FBI’s intelligence-related activities with those of the IC. See George W.
Bush, Memorandum on Strengthening the Ability of the Department of Justice to Meet Challenges to the Security of the Nation, June 28, 2005. In March
2006, §506 of P.L. 109-177 created the National Security Division (NSD) within the Department of Justice (DOJ) headed by an Assistant Attorney
General for National Security. Within the NSD is DOJ’s Office of Intelligence (OI), which is not an IC element.
d. See ODNI News Release 03-21 of January 8, 2021, at https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/press-releases-2021/3509-dni-
ratcliffe-welcomes-u-s-space-force-as-18th-intelligence-community-member.
e. The MID originated informally in 1885 within the Office of Army Adjutant General. See James Finley, ed., U.S. Army Military Intelligence History: A
Sourcebook, Ft. Huachuca, AZ: U.S. Army Intelligence Center, 1995, pp. 63 and 91 at
https://nebula.wsimg.com/527c865c88886f79b6957effbf4eac6f?AccessKeyId=E883D7F0A92E197D224D&disposition=0&alloworigin=1.
f.
Michael H. Decker and William Mackenzie, “The Birth and Early Years of Marine Corps Intelligence,” Marine Corps History, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Winter
2019), pp. 39-53. See also Kenneth W. Condit, Major John H. Johnstone, USMC, and Ella W. Nargele, A Brief History of Headquarters Marine Corps
Staff Organization, Marine Corps Historical Reference Pamphlet, Historical Division, HQ USMC, Revised 1970, footnote 59, at
https://www.usmcu.edu/Outreach/Marine-Corps-University-Press/MCH/Marine-Corps-History-Winter-2019/The-Birth-and-Early-Years-of-Marine-
Corps-Intelligence/#:~:text=Intelligence%20Marines%20often%20point%20to,as%20the%20birth%20of%20the.
g. Harold P. Myers and Gabriel G. Marshall, USAFSS to AF ISR Agency 1948-2009: A Brief History of the AF ISR Agency and Its Predecessor Organization, 5th
ed., San Antonio: AF ISR Agency History Office, 2009, p. 1, at http://www.afisr.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-091130-022.pdf.
h. E.O. 9621 transferred several functions of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to other departments. The OSS’s Research and Analysis Branch
was resubordinated to the State Department and renamed the Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR). See
https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/library/executive-orders/9621/executive-order-9621.
i.
See The Origins of NSA, Center for Cryptologic History, National Security Agency, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland., at
https://media.defense.gov/2021/Jul/13/2002761891/-1/-1/0/ORIGINS_OF_NSA1.PDF.
j.
A memo from then-DNI, John Negroponte, dated February 7, 2006, announced the establishment of ONSI as an element of the IC by means a
joint agreement between the DNI and the Attorney General. See ODNI News Release 6-06 announcing ONSI’s establishment is dated February
17, 2006. See https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/Newsroom/Press%20Releases/2006%20Press%20Releases/20060217_release_content.htm.
Michael E. DeVine, Analyst in Intelligence and National Security
IF10527

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U.S. Intelligence Community Establishment Provisions

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