MILITARY INTELLIGENCE

Japanese Americans Military Intelligence Services

Japanese Americans Military Intelligence Services

Introduction

After Japan attacked the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, sparking U.S. entry into World War II (1939-45), all Nisei—second-generation Japanese Americans who were U.S. citizens were summarily discharged from the U.S. military and National Guard. Those Nisei on the U.S. mainland were sent to internment camps along with other Japanese Americans. Nisei were also discharged from the Hawaiian Territorial Guard and the 298th and 299th regiments of the National Guard of Hawaii.

However, the discharged Hawaiian veterans petitioned Hawaii's military governor, Lieutenant General Delos Emmons, for reinstatement. Emmons, who had resisted pressure from authorities on the mainland to intern Hawaii's 58,000 ethnic Japanese residents, relented. At first, Japanese Hawaiians were given only support roles in the military. Ultimately, their hard work and displays of loyalty paid off, and Emmons recommended that they be trained for combat. In May 1942, the Hawaiian Provisional Battalion was established, and around 1,300 Japanese Hawaiians were sent to the U.S. mainland to train. They eventually became the 100th Infantry Battalion and they were given places in the Military Intelligence service.

Discussion

Military Intelligence Service

Military intelligence is generally defined as information collected and analyzed to support military operations. On the modern battlefield, this information is collected from a variety of sources, analyzed by an intelligence staff, and then presented to the commander so that he or she can make timely operational decisions. However, the ultimate purpose of this intelligence is to enable commanders to optimize their resources. For example, if intelligence can predict where an enemy will attack, the commander can then concentrate defensive forces in that area.

The modern army intelligence staff, such as the U.S. Army's G-2 group, has a variety of sources to assist the commander in predicting the enemy's actions. Some of these sources include communications intelligence (COMINT), derived from the intercept and analysis of enemy radio transmissions through various modes including voice, Morse Code, analog or digital data, teletypewriter, and facsimile (Abe, F., 2000).

Electronic intelligence (ELINT) is derived from the intercept and analysis of threat from non-communication emissions including radars, transponders, repeaters, and beacons. Imagery intelligence (IMINT) is information obtained from the analysis of radar, photographic, infrared, and electro-optical imagery.

Signals intelligence (SIGINT) results from the intercept, analysis, and exploitation of enemy radio electronic emissions. Human intelligence (HUMINT) is information collected from human sources such as the interrogation of enemy prisoners of war or reports from battlefield scouts. Of these types of intelligence, HUMINT is usually the most costly and least accurate. The characteristics of effective army intelligence are: relevancy, usability, timeliness, accuracy, comprehensiveness, objectivity, and prediction.



Early Military intelligence

Intelligence has always played an essential part in organized war. Early references include the Bible, wherein Joshua scouted the hostile land of Canaan. In ancient South America, the J'varo tribe of Ecuador crept into enemy villages to count houses and estimate the size of the enemy force. In China and India, Sun Tzu and Kautilya both counseled the necessity of accurate ...