Leadership Profile: Mr. John Michael “Mike” McConnell
by
Barry J. DeLisle
NIU Class 2017
Unclassified - submitted to the faculty of the National Intelligence University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for MSI 608
January 10, 2016
The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the
Department of Defense, the US Navy Reserve, or the U.S. Government
Leadership Profile: Mr. John Michael “Mike” McConnell
John “Mike” McConnell, Vice Admiral (ret), spent over 40 years in the intelligence community serving as the J-2 for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as director of both Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and National Security Agency (NSA) before …show more content…
The organizational structure of the ODNI also includes the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), the National Counterproliferation Center (NCPC), the National Counterintelligence Executive (NCIX), and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA).
DNI McConnell stated the biggest leadership challenge he faced while serving as the DNI was the role of the IC integrator. He was sensitive to the criticism that progress toward greater IC integration had was developing too slow. He stressed the importance that IC “stovgepipes” needed to be broken down, agency identifies weakened, and a new generation of IC leaders who understand and value the collaboration. He focused his efforts on improving the effectiveness in shared services like security clearance information-sharing, information technology, and communications while balancing the needs of each agency to serve their departmental responsibilities. Mr. McConnell was operating in unchartered territory, attempting to integrate the IC and information technology systems; however, he recognized the responsibility to bring the community together resided …show more content…
Short¬ly after taking office, McConnell asked his senior staff to explore the merit and feasibility of amending EO 12333. He recognized that EO 12333 needed to be updated after Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act was passed. The amending of EO 12333 could be an opportunity to speed up changes recommended in IRTPA and strengthen the DNI position. Some of the changes included assigning the DNI a larger role in selecting and removing the heads of IC elements, and giving the DNI authority to determine when information was of interest to more than one agency and, as such, constituted “national intelli¬gence” that must be shared under the IRTPA;
Although the DNI does not report to congressional committees, the relationship between the DNI and Congress has three key components. Congress funds the IC and can affect intelligence programs through funding decisions. Also, given the DNI has been tasked to solve certain problems facing the IC, Congress watches the DNI’s actions closely to determine if the job is being accomplished. Lastly, given the secrecy surrounding intelligence, the public perception of the intelligence community is important to congressional officials. The DNI must ensure Congress is properly informed of programs it’s
by
Barry J. DeLisle
NIU Class 2017
Unclassified - submitted to the faculty of the National Intelligence University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for MSI 608
January 10, 2016
The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the
Department of Defense, the US Navy Reserve, or the U.S. Government
Leadership Profile: Mr. John Michael “Mike” McConnell
John “Mike” McConnell, Vice Admiral (ret), spent over 40 years in the intelligence community serving as the J-2 for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as director of both Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and National Security Agency (NSA) before …show more content…
The organizational structure of the ODNI also includes the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), the National Counterproliferation Center (NCPC), the National Counterintelligence Executive (NCIX), and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA).
DNI McConnell stated the biggest leadership challenge he faced while serving as the DNI was the role of the IC integrator. He was sensitive to the criticism that progress toward greater IC integration had was developing too slow. He stressed the importance that IC “stovgepipes” needed to be broken down, agency identifies weakened, and a new generation of IC leaders who understand and value the collaboration. He focused his efforts on improving the effectiveness in shared services like security clearance information-sharing, information technology, and communications while balancing the needs of each agency to serve their departmental responsibilities. Mr. McConnell was operating in unchartered territory, attempting to integrate the IC and information technology systems; however, he recognized the responsibility to bring the community together resided …show more content…
Short¬ly after taking office, McConnell asked his senior staff to explore the merit and feasibility of amending EO 12333. He recognized that EO 12333 needed to be updated after Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act was passed. The amending of EO 12333 could be an opportunity to speed up changes recommended in IRTPA and strengthen the DNI position. Some of the changes included assigning the DNI a larger role in selecting and removing the heads of IC elements, and giving the DNI authority to determine when information was of interest to more than one agency and, as such, constituted “national intelli¬gence” that must be shared under the IRTPA;
Although the DNI does not report to congressional committees, the relationship between the DNI and Congress has three key components. Congress funds the IC and can affect intelligence programs through funding decisions. Also, given the DNI has been tasked to solve certain problems facing the IC, Congress watches the DNI’s actions closely to determine if the job is being accomplished. Lastly, given the secrecy surrounding intelligence, the public perception of the intelligence community is important to congressional officials. The DNI must ensure Congress is properly informed of programs it’s