Admiral's Advantage -- U.S. Navy Operational Intelligence in World War II and the Cold War
The Admirals Advantage
The Admirals Advantage is a book that is based on an Operational Intelligence (OPINTEL) 'Lessons Learnt' symposium that was held in 1998 at the National Maritime Intelligence Centre. It also borrows from studies conducted by the reserve units of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) that were conducted in the period between 1994 and 2004. The book is written by Christopher Ford and David Rosenberg, who received assistance from Randy Balano. Christopher Ford served as the Republican Chief Counsel to the U.S. committee on appropriations and among other previous roles; he had served as U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence's general counsel[footnoteRef:1]. He is also a graduate from Yale and Harvard. At the time the book was being written, David Rosenberg worked in the Institute for Defense Analyses as a professional staff member in the Intelligence Analyses Division, and he also graduated from the University of Chicago with an a PHD in History[footnoteRef:2]. Rosen received immense recognition for receiving a five-year MacArthur fellowship for his Cold War nuclear strategy studies, as no other military historian had received such an award before[footnoteRef:3]. [1: Christopher Ford and David Rosenberg, The Admirals Advantage: U.S. Navy Operational Intelligence in World War II and the Cold War (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2014),811] [2: Ford and Rosenberg, The Admiral's Advantage, 813] [3: Ford and Rosenberg,...
This book is more of a report than a narrative as it presents the structures of the organization and the naval operations in chronological order. However, due to the classified nature of the material used in the book, and the involvement of top ranking directors of the naval intelligence, which warranted a certain level of seriousness, readers with no background on this field may not get entertained easily and they may have to rely heavily on the acronym and the abbreviation section of the book. [4: Ford and Rosenberg, The Admiral's Advantage, 13]
The authors begin by defining OPINTEL as "the art of providing near real time information concerning the location, activity, and likely intentions of potential adversaries"[footnoteRef:5]. The overall theme then centers on the major role played by the right kind of analyst or consumer relations in the successful use of intelligence, as it highlights the nexus between the operations of the naval team, intelligence, and technology. The book explores the important element of naval OPINTEL in relation to the Soviet Union and touches on the relationship between U.S. naval commanders and naval intelligence officers…
Covert Navy Tactics and Strategies: Naval Intelligence The history of naval espionage runs as complicated as the conflicts that sparked the very need for it. As world powers began to develop highly specialized naval forces, these navies began to play a crucial role in the collection of intelligence and covert actions that took place both during wars and during times of peace. In lieu of German and Japanese naval threats,
War Below, James Scott offers insight into the roles American submarines played on the Pacific front during World War Two. Focusing especially on the ways only three submarines (Silversides, Drum, and Tang) were used to sabotage Japan, Scott uses a narrative writing style replete with anecdotes derived from face-to-face interviews and the memoirs of the survivors of these missions. The War Below is divided into 22 chapters, but also
20th Century The twentieth century had been tumultuous, particularly during the former half, the world witnessing two major world wars, many revolutions and nationalist struggles, each holding a significant bearing on the other. The major events being discussed are -- Chinese Revolution, Russian Revolution, India's independence, World War I and Treaty of Versailles and World War II. Though the events do not chronologically fall in order, each spanning over a
Sonar Research and Naval Warfare: 1914-1954 During both World War I and World War II, there were a number of informational tactics used by the Navy in order to gain ground on enemy troops. One of those was sonar research, because it provided them with knowledge they would not have otherwise had (Hackmann, 1984). Sonar is not perfect, but a great deal of work has gone into it since its creation,
Anti-Imperialist League, formed in 1899 by prominent citizens such as Andrew Carnegie and William James, held the belief that American Imperialism went against the spirit of those that fought the Revolutionary War and participated in the creation of the Declaration of Independence (Halsall, 1997). Specifically, they asserted that the American government's actions in places such as Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico represented a hostile attitude toward liberty and
attack on the naval base at Pearl Harbor shocked the American public and precipitated the country's entry into World War II, and the mark it left on the United States' culture and public consciousness was arguably not rivaled until the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. Because of the surprise nature of the attack and the massive casualties, Pearl Harbor has been regarded as a tragedy by historians and