View source for Defense Intelligence Agency

{{Short description|U.S. DoD combat support agency}}
{{for|other organizations with similar names|Defence Intelligence Agency (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name = Defense Intelligence Agency
| motto = Committed to Excellence in Defense of the Nation
| logo = 
| logo_width = 
| logo_caption = 
| seal = Seal of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency.svg
| seal_width = 200px
| seal_caption = Seal of DIA
| formed = {{Start date and age|1961|10|1}}<ref>DIA Public Web Page. [http://www.dia.mil/history/ "Overview of the Origins of DIA, 1960's"]. Retrieved July 7, 2023.</ref>
| preceding1 = 
| jurisdiction = 
| headquarters = [[Defense Intelligence Agency Headquarters|DIA Headquarters]], [[Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling]], [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dia.mil/careers/locations/|title=Careers|website=www.dia.mil|access-date=September 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127080415/http://www.dia.mil/careers/locations/|archive-date=November 27, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| employees = More than 16,500<ref name=" Frequently Asked Questions">DIA Public Web Page. [https://www.dia.mil/about/faqs/ "Frequently Asked Questions"]. Retrieved July 7, 2023.</ref>
| budget = [[Classified information|Classified]]<ref name=" Frequently Asked Questions"/>
| chief1_name = Lieutenant General '''[[James H. Adams III]]'''
| chief1_position = [[Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency|Director]]
| chief2_name = Christine L. Bordine
| chief2_position = Deputy Director
| chief3_name = Kirstin L. Schlereth
| chief3_position = Chief of Staff (acting)
| chief4_name = Major General Robert I. Kinney
| chief4_position = Mobilization Assistant to the Director
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| chief5_position = 
| chief6_name = 
| chief6_position = 
| chief7_name = 
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| parent_department = [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]]
| parent_agency = 
| child1_agency = 
| website = {{URL|https://www.dia.mil|dia.mil}}
}}
{{United States Armed Forces sidebar}}
The '''Defense Intelligence Agency''' ('''DIA''') is an [[intelligence agency]] and [[combat support agency]] of the [[United States Department of Defense]] (DoD) specializing in [[military intelligence]].

A component of the Department of Defense and the [[United States Intelligence Community|Intelligence Community]] (IC), DIA informs national civilian and [[Military budget of the United States|defense policymakers]] about the military intentions and capabilities of foreign governments and [[non-state actor]]s. It also provides intelligence assistance, integration and coordination across uniformed [[United States Intelligence Community#Members|military service intelligence components]], which remain structurally separate from DIA.<ref>[http://www.dia.mil/dcs/ The Defense Clandestine Service. Defense Intelligence Agency] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130505225615/http://www.dia.mil/dcs/ |date=May 5, 2013 }} Retrieved: May 5, 2013</ref> The agency's role encompasses the collection and analysis of military-related foreign political, economic, industrial, geographic, and [[National Center for Medical Intelligence|medical and health intelligence]].<ref>[http://www.allgov.com/departments/department-of-defense/defense-intelligence-agency-dia?agencyid=7364 Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). AllGov.Com: Everything our Government Really Does.] Retrieved: May 5, 2013</ref> DIA produces approximately one-quarter of all intelligence content that goes into the [[President's Daily Brief]].<ref>Miller, Greg. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pentagons-plans-for-a-spy-service-to-rival-the-cia-have-been-pared-back/2014/11/01/1871bb92-6118-11e4-8b9e-2ccdac31a031_story.html ''Pentagon's plans for a spy service to rival the CIA have been pared back''], [[The Washington Post]], November 1, 2014</ref>

DIA's intelligence operations extend beyond the zones of combat, and approximately half of its employees serve overseas at hundreds of locations and in [[List of diplomatic missions of the United States|U.S. embassies]] in 140 countries.<ref name="youtube.com">Defense Intelligence Agency. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76M08-s8c_M "Get Ready: DIA Is Ready for a Changing World (Video)"], September 10, 2013</ref> The agency specializes in the collection and analysis of [[Human intelligence (intelligence gathering)|human-source intelligence]] (HUMINT), both overt and [[Clandestine HUMINT|clandestine]], while also handling U.S. [[Defense Attaché System|military-diplomatic relations]] abroad.<ref name="washingtonpost.com">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/dia-to-send-hundreds-more-spies-overseas/2012/12/01/97463e4e-399b-11e2-b01f-5f55b193f58f_story.html DIA sending hundreds more spies overseas.] ''The Washington Post'', December 1, 2012.</ref> DIA concurrently serves as the national manager for the highly technical [[measurement and signature intelligence]] (MASINT) and as the Defense Department manager for [[counterintelligence]] programs. The agency has no [[Law enforcement agency|law enforcement]] authority, contrary to occasional portrayals in American popular culture.

DIA is a national-level intelligence organization which does not belong to a single military element or within the traditional [[chain of command]], instead answering to the [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]] directly through the [[Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence|under secretary of defense for intelligence]]. Around 2008, three-quarters of the agency's 17,000 employees were career civilians who were experts in various fields of defense and military interest or application;<ref name="diaalumni.org">[http://www.diaalumni.org/images/DIAA_Log_Nov_2009.pdf Defense Intel Alumni Association Log] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017094139/http://www.diaalumni.org/images/DIAA_Log_Nov_2009.pdf |date=October 17, 2014 }}. November 2009, page 5.</ref><ref>Knight, Judson. "Defense Intelligence Agency" ''Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence and Security'', [[Cengage Learning]] (Gale publishing), 2003</ref> and although no military background is required, 48% of agency employees have some past military service.<ref>Defense Intelligence Agency [https://www.facebook.com/DIA/photos/pb.59555160918.-2207520000.1458771782./10153119205965919/?type=3&theater Official Facebook Page], Retrieved: March 24, 2016</ref> DIA has a tradition of marking [[Classified information|unclassified]] deaths of its employees on the organization's [[DIA Memorial Wall|Memorial Wall]].

Established in 1961 under President [[John F. Kennedy]] by Defense Secretary [[Robert McNamara]], DIA was involved in U.S. intelligence efforts throughout the [[Cold War]] and rapidly expanded, both in size and scope, after the [[September 11 attacks]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-12-02 |title=DIA to send hundreds more spies overseas |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/dia-to-send-hundreds-more-spies-overseas/2012/12/01/97463e4e-399b-11e2-b01f-5f55b193f58f_story.html |access-date=2025-09-11 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Because of the sensitive nature of its work, the spy organization has been embroiled in numerous controversies,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2005-10-08 |title=Request for Domestic Covert Role Is Defended |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2005/10/08/request-for-domestic-covert-role-is-defended/bd144ee5-b95d-411b-9892-889aea8d2624/ |access-date=2025-09-11 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> including those related to its intelligence-gathering activities, to its role in [[Enhanced interrogation techniques|torture]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Torture and Mistreatment of War Detainees |url=https://levin-center.org/what-is-oversight/portraits/torture-investigation/ |access-date=2025-09-11 |website=Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy |language=en-US}}</ref> as well as to attempts to expand its activities on U.S. soil.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cameron |first=Dell |title=The Pentagon Tried to Hide That It Bought Americans’ Data Without a Warrant |url=https://www.wired.com/story/pentagon-data-purchases-wyden-letter/ |access-date=2025-09-11 |work=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vavra |first=Shannon |date=2021-01-22 |title=DIA uses purchased phone location data without warrants |url=https://cyberscoop.com/phone-location-data-privacy-dia-dhs/ |access-date=2025-09-11 |website=CyberScoop |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Overview ==
The [[director of the Defense Intelligence Agency]] is an intelligence officer who is nominated by the [[President of the United States|U.S. president]] and confirmed by the [[Senate of the United States|U.S. Senate]]. The director is the primary intelligence adviser to the [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]] and also answers to the [[Director of National Intelligence|director of national intelligence]]. The director is also the commander of the [[Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance]], a subordinate command of [[United States Strategic Command]], which is headquartered [[Offutt Air Force Base|in Omaha]], Nebraska. Additionally, the director chairs the [[Military Intelligence Board]], which coordinates activities of the entire [[United States Intelligence Community#Organization|US defense intelligence community]].<ref name="DIA Main">DIA Public Web Page, [http://www.dia.mil/thisisdia/intro/index.htm This Is DIA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212234103/http://www.dia.mil/thisisdia/intro/index.htm |date=February 12, 2010 }}</ref>

[[File:Bird's eye view of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Headquarters from Potomac, Washington DC.jpg|thumb|Bird's eye view of [[Defense Intelligence Agency Headquarters|DIA HQ]] from the [[Potomac River|Potomac]] in Washington, DC]]
{{multiple image
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| image2            = A 24 hour watch center at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).jpg
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| footer            = The {{convert|450000|sqft|abbr=on}} south wing of [[Defense Intelligence Agency Headquarters|DIA HQ]] (left), one of DIA's 24/7 watch centers (right)
}}

DIA is [[Defense Intelligence Agency Headquarters|headquartered]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], on [[Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling]] with major operational activities at [[the Pentagon]] and at each [[Unified Combatant Command]], as well as in more than a hundred [[List of diplomatic missions of the United States|U.S. embassies]] around the world, where it deploys alongside other government partners (e.g., the CIA) and also operates the [[Defense Attache System|U.S. Defense Attache Offices]].<ref>[http://www.dia.mil/careers/locations/ DIA:Locations] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127080415/http://www.dia.mil/careers/locations/ |date=November 27, 2013 }}, Defense Intelligence Agency, Updated: February 5, 2013. Retrieved: September 28, 2013.</ref> Additionally, the agency has staff deployed at the Col. James N. Rowe Building at Rivanna Station in [[Charlottesville, Virginia]], [[National Center for Medical Intelligence]] (NCMI) in [[Fort Detrick]], Maryland, [[Missile and Space Intelligence Center]] (MSIC) in [[Huntsville, Alabama]], Russell-Knox Building on [[Marine Corps Base Quantico]], National Center for Credibility Assessment at [[Fort Jackson (South Carolina)|Fort Jackson, South Carolina]], and Defense Intelligence Support Center (DISC) in [[Reston, Virginia]]. 
Since 2012, the [[Intelligence Community Campus-Bethesda]] in Maryland serves as the location of the [[National Intelligence University]] as well as a facility for DIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.<ref name="Bethesda Intelligence Campus">[http://www.bethesdanow.com/2012/11/13/residents-pleased-with-intelligence-campus-designs/ ''Residents Pleased With Intelligence Campus Designs''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211213305/http://www.bethesdanow.com/2012/11/13/residents-pleased-with-intelligence-campus-designs/ |date=December 11, 2013 }}, November 13, 2012 (dead link)</ref><ref name="Construction of intelligence campus in Bethesda underway">[http://www.gazette.net/article/20130621/NEWS/130629759/1070/construction-of-intelligence-campus-in-bethesda-underway&template=gazette Construction of intelligence campus in Bethesda underway] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054056/http://www.gazette.net/article/20130621/NEWS/130629759/1070/construction-of-intelligence-campus-in-bethesda-underway%26template%3Dgazette |date=September 21, 2013 }}, June 21, 2013</ref>

== Comparison to other intelligence community members ==

=== CIA ===
DIA and the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) are distinct organizations with different functions. DIA focuses on national level defense-military topics, while CIA is concentrated on broader, more general intelligence needs of the U.S. president and [[United States Cabinet|his Cabinet]]. Additionally, due to DIA's designation as a [[combat support agency]], it has special responsibilities in meeting intelligence requirements specifically for the Secretary of Defense, the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] (JCS), and Combatant Commanders, both in peace and at war. Although there are misconceptions in the media and public about the DIA–CIA rivalry, the two agencies have a mutually beneficial relationship and [[division of labor]]. According to a former senior U.S official who worked with both agencies, "the CIA doesn't want to be looking for surface-to-air missiles in [[Libya]]" while it is also tasked with evaluating the [[Syrian civil war|Syrian opposition]].<ref name="washingtonpost.com" /> CIA and DIA Operations Officers all go through the same type of clandestine training at [[Camp Peary]], an interagency Defense installation under CIA administration better known in popular culture by its CIA nickname "The Farm".<ref name="washingtonpost.com" />

=== DIA and the military services ===
DIA is not a collective of all U.S. military intelligence units and the work it performs is not in lieu of that falling under intelligence components of individual [[United States Armed Forces|services]]. Unlike the Russian [[GRU (Russian Federation)|GRU]], which encompasses equivalents of nearly all joint U.S. military intelligence operations, DIA assists and coordinates the activities of individual service-level intelligence units (i.e. [[Twenty-Fifth Air Force|25 AF]], [[United States Army Intelligence and Security Command|INSCOM]], etc.), but they nevertheless remain separate entities. As a general rule, DIA handles national-level, long-term and strategic intelligence needs, whereas service-level intelligence components handle tactical, short-term goals pertinent to their respective services.<ref>Daggett, Stephen. [https://fas.org/irp/crs/RS21945.pdf The U.S. Intelligence Budget: A Basic Overview], [[Congressional Research Service]] via the [[Federation of American Scientists]], September 24, 2004</ref> DIA does, however, lead coordination efforts with the military intelligence units and with the national DOD intelligence services ([[National Security Agency|NSA]], [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency|NGA]], [[National Reconnaissance Office|NRO]]) in its role as chair of the Military Intelligence Board and through the co-located [[Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance]].

{{anchor|MARS}}The Military Intelligence Integrated Database (MIDB) is due to be replaced by the Machine-Assisted Analytic Rapid-Repository System (MARS) beginning in spring 2024.<ref name=marsIoc >Theresa Hitchens (1 Nov 2023): [https://breakingdefense.com/2023/11/getting-to-mars-defense-intelligence-agency-ai-assisted-database-to-begin-ops-in-spring/ ''Getting to MARS: Defense Intelligence Agency AI-assisted database to begin ops in spring''] including access to unclassified data (so marked, to aid disclosure to allies and partners)</ref><ref name= diaMars >DIA Public Affairs  [https://www.dia.mil/News-Features/Articles/Article-View/Article/2560830/dias-mars-initiative-reaches-another-key-milestone/ (5 Apr 2021) DIA’s “MARS” Initiative Reaches Another Key Milestone]</ref>

== Organization ==
{{more citations needed section|date=September 2017}}<!--most directorate descriptions have no citations-->
DIA is organized into four directorates and five regional centers<ref>[http://www.dia.mil/About/Organization.aspx About DIA: Organization] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221194727/http://www.dia.mil/About/Organization.aspx |date=December 21, 2013 }}, Defense Intelligence Agency, Updated: April 1, 2013. Retrieved: September 28, 2013</ref>

[[File:Seal of the Defense Clandestine Service (DCS), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).png|right|160px]]
'''Directorate for Operations:'''
* '''[[Defense Clandestine Service]] (DCS):''' DCS conducts [[Clandestine operation|clandestine]] [[HUMINT|espionage]] activities around the world and is the executive agent for human intelligence operations throughout the Department of Defense.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/?id=117514 |title=Flynn: Integrated Intelligence System Provides Advantage |first=Cheryl |last=Pellerin |date=August 15, 2012 |publisher=United States Department of Defense |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013224740/http://www.defense.gov//News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=117514 |archive-date=October 13, 2012 |df=mdy |url-status=dead |website=United States Department of Defense}}</ref> Staffed by civilian and [[United States Military|military]] personnel, the DCS is a consolidation of the former Defense Human Intelligence Service and works in conjunction with the [[Central Intelligence Agency|Central Intelligence Agency's]] [[Directorate of Operations (CIA)|Directorate of Operations]], among other national HUMINT entities. It globally deploys teams of case officers, interrogation experts, field analysts, linguists, technical specialists, and special operations forces.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sofrep.com/news/defense-clandestine-service-humint-compliment-to-national-intelligence/|title = Defense Clandestine Service: HUMINT compliment to National Intelligence|date = October 13, 2016}}</ref>
* '''[[Defense Attache System]] (DAS):''' DAS represents the [[United States]] in defense and military-diplomatic relations with foreign governments worldwide. It also manages and conducts overt [[Human intelligence (intelligence collection)|human intelligence]] collection activities. Defense Attaches serve from Defense Attache Offices (DAO) co-located at more than a hundred [[List of diplomatic missions of the United States|United States Embassies]] in foreign nations, represent the Secretary of Defense in diplomatic relations with foreign governments and militaries, and coordinate military activities with partner nations.[[File:United States Defense Attaché System.png|right|160px]]
* '''Defense Cover Office (DCO):''' DCO is a DIA component responsible for executing cover programs for agency's intelligence officers, as well as those for the entire Department of Defense.<ref>Richelson, Jeffrey T. ''The US Intelligence Community'', [[Westview Press]]: July 26, 2011; p. 67</ref><ref>{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20140606202027/http://www.kmimediagroup.com/geospatial-intelligence-forum/articles/94-geospatial-intelligence-forum/mgt-2009-volume-7-issue-1/714-in-the-human-domain-sp-264 In the Human Domain]}}, Geospatial Intelligence Forum, MGT 2009 Volume: 7 Issue: 1 (January/February), 2009</ref><ref>Iannotta, Ben. [https://archive.today/20140606050539/http://www.defensenews.com/print/article/20101101/C4ISR01/11010317/Purple-through-through Purple through and through], [[Defense News]], November 1, 2010</ref>

'''Directorate for Analysis:''' The Directorate of Analysis manages the all-source analysis elements of DIA, and is responsible for developing and deploying analytic tradecraft throughout the Defense Intelligence Enterprise. Analysts analyze and disseminate finalized intelligence products, focusing on national, strategic and operational-level military issues that may arise from worldwide political, economic, medical, [[Natural disaster|natural]] or other related processes. Analysts contribute to the [[President's Daily Brief]] and the [[National Intelligence Estimates]]. Analysts serve DIA in all of the agency's facilities and DIA has the most forward deployed analysts in the Intelligence Community.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-russia-threats-scott-berrier-intelligence-matters-podcast/|title = Defense Intelligence Agency Director Scott Berrier on evolving global threats from China, Russia and more - "Intelligence Matters"|website = [[CBS News]]| date=November 17, 2021 }}</ref>

'''Directorate for Science and Technology:''' The Directorate for Science and Technology manages DIA's technical assets and personnel. These assets gather and analyze [[Measurement and Signature Intelligence]], which is a technical intelligence discipline that serves to detect, track, identify or describe the signatures (distinctive characteristics) of fixed or dynamic target sources. This often includes radar intelligence, acoustic intelligence, nuclear intelligence, and chemical and biological intelligence. DIA is designated the national manager for [[MASINT]] collection within the [[United States Intelligence Community]], coordinating all MASINT gathering across agencies. DIA is also the national manager of the [[Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System]] (JWICS), the central [[Top Secret]]/[[Sensitive Compartmented Information]] (TS/SCI) processing network for the United States, and [[Stone Ghost]], a network for US and partner nations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dia.mil/careers-and-internships/career-fields/science-technology/|title = Science and Technology}}</ref> In 2026 DIA created the National Digital Exploitation and Open-Source Center (NDOSC) by merging the National Media Exploitation Center and the Open-Source Intelligence Integration Center.  The merger was driven in part by DoD/DoW workforce reductions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Doubleday |first1=Justin |title=DIA consolidates open source, media exploitation organizations |url=https://federalnewsnetwork.com/intelligence-community/2026/02/dia-consolidates-open-source-media-exploitation-organizations/ |website= federalnewsnetwork.com |publisher= Federal News Network |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>

'''Directorate for Mission Services:''' The Directorate for Mission Services provides administrative, technical, and programmatic support to the agency's domestic and global operations and analytic efforts. The Directorate also manages DIA's Academy for Defense Intelligence, the umbrella organization for DIA's professional training centers, including the Joint Military Intelligence Training Center and the Joint Military Attaché School. This includes providing counterintelligence to the agency as well as serving as the counterintelligence executive agent for the Department of Defense.

'''Centers:''' DIA is divided into five regional centers and two functional centers which manage the agency's efforts in these areas of responsibility. These centers are the Americas and Transnational Threats Center, the Indo-Pacific Regional Center, the Europe/Eurasia Regional Center, the Middle East/Africa Regional Center, the China Mission Group, the Defense Resources and Infrastructure Center, and the Defense Combating Terrorism Center. DIA also manages Community-wide centers such as the [[National Center for Medical Intelligence]], the [[Missile and Space Intelligence Center]], the [[National Media Exploitation Center]], and the Underground Facilities Analysis Center (UFAC).

Further, DIA is responsible for administering the [[Joint Intelligence Operations Center Europe Analytic Center|JIOCEUR]] and various [[Joint Intelligence Center]]s which serve and are co-located with each of the [[Unified Combatant Command]]s. Additionally, DIA manages the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff#Joint Staff|Directorate for Intelligence, Joint Staff]] (J2) which advises and supports the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] with foreign [[military intelligence]] for defense policy and war planning.

DIA also managed the [[National Intelligence University]] (NIU) on behalf of the Intelligence Community before transitioning it to the [[Director of National Intelligence|Office of the Director of National Intelligence]] (ODNI) in June 2021. NIU and the [[John T. Hughes (intelligence officer)|John T. Hughes]] Library is housed at the Intelligence Community campus in [[Bethesda, Maryland]] and has several branch campuses at [[RAF Molesworth]], [[MacDill Air Force Base]], and [[Marine Corps Base Quantico]] as well as academic programs at the [[National Security Agency|NSA]] and [[National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency|NGA]].<ref>Cacas, Max. (October 1, 2012) [http://www.afcea.org/content/?q=node/10185 Writing a New Spy School Syllabus {{!}} SIGNAL Magazine]. Afcea.org. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.</ref>

===DIA Police===
DIA has its own police force (established in 1963), made up of federal officers who protect DIA people and property. DIA Police provide law enforcement and police services, emergency response and physical security at DIA campuses.<ref name="dia.mil">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dia.mil/News/Articles/Article-View/Article/1853773/national-police-week-and-the-dia-police/|title = National Police Week and the DIA Police}} (dead link)</ref>

DIA Police have 170 sworn, uniformed officers that protect and police the six DIA sites (Headquarters, Reston, Charlottesville, DIA Logistics Operation Center, National Center for Medical Intelligence and Missile and Space Intelligence Center).<ref name="dia.mil"/>
<!----
DIA Police has 26 Special Agents that carry out security investigations.<ref name="dia.mil"/> -- in which year?--->

====Training====
DIA Police Officers are trained at the [[Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers|Federal Law Enforcement Training Center]] for three months before being certified.<ref name="dia.mil"/>

====Authority====
DIA Police operate under the U.S. Marshal's Office Special Deputation and jurisdictional and functional authority within the [[District of Columbia]] under a cooperative agreement with the [[Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia]].<ref name="dia.mil"/>

====Rank structure and organization====
DIA Police have the following rank structure:

*Officer
*Special Agent (investigations)
*Sergeant
*Captain

DIA Police have K9, HAZMAT, SRT and also support DIA field operations.<ref name="dia.mil"/>

==History==
[[File:Robert McNamara official portrait.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Robert McNamara]], founder of DIA]]From [[World War II]] until the creation of DIA in 1961, the three Military Departments collected, produced and distributed their intelligence for individual use. This turned out to be duplicative, costly, and ineffective as each department provided their own, often conflicting estimates to the [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] and other Federal agencies.<ref name="DIA History">[https://www.fas.org/irp/dia/dia_history_2007.pdf A History of the Defense Intelligence Agency]. DIA Office of Historical Research, 2007. Retrieved: September 25, 2013.</ref> 
While the [[Defense Reorganization Act of 1958]] aimed to correct these deficiencies, the intelligence responsibilities remained unclear, the coordination was poor and the results fell short of national reliability and focus. As a result of this poor organization, President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] appointed the Joint Study Group in 1960 to find better ways for organizing the nation's [[military intelligence]] activities.<ref name="DIA History" />

Acting on the recommendations of the Joint Study Group, Defense Secretary [[Robert S. McNamara]] advised the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] (JCS) of his decision to establish DIA in February 1961. He ordered them to develop a plan that would integrate all the military intelligence of the DoD, a move that met strong resistance from the service intelligence units, whose commanders viewed DIA as undesirable encroachment on their turf. Despite this resistance, during the spring and summer of 1961, as [[Cold War]] tensions flared over the [[Berlin Wall]], [[United States Air Force|Air Force]] Lieutenant General [[Joseph Carroll (general)|Joseph Carroll]] took the lead in planning and organizing this new agency. The JCS published Directive 5105.21, "Defense Intelligence Agency" on August 1, and DIA began operations with a handful of employees in borrowed office space on October 1, 1961.<ref name="DIA History" />

The foundation of DIA institutionalized the revoking of the CIA's paramilitary and other duties, and their transfer to the Department of Defense. This revocation had occurred following the failure of the [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Central Intelligence Agency: Security Under Scrutiny |date=2005 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=38}}</ref>

DIA originally reported to the Secretary through the JCS. The new agency's mission was the continuous task of collecting, processing, evaluating, analyzing, integrating, producing, and disseminating military intelligence for DoD and related national stakeholders. Other objectives included more efficiently allocating scarce intelligence resources, more effectively managing all DoD intelligence activities, and eliminating redundancies in facilities, organizations, and tasks.<ref name="DIA History" />

=== DIA begins operation ===
[[File:Usaf.u2.750pix.jpg|thumb|A [[Lockheed U-2|U-2]] reconnaissance plane discovered [[Cuban Missile Crisis|Soviet missiles in Cuba]] based on a flight path selected by DIA analysts.]]

Following DIA's establishment, the Services reluctantly transferred intelligence functions and resources to it on a time-phased basis to avoid rapidly degrading the overall effectiveness of defense intelligence. A year after its formation, in October 1962, the agency faced its first major intelligence test during the superpower [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] confrontation that developed after [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] missiles were discovered at bases in [[Cuba]] by Air Force spy planes.<ref name="DIA History" />

In late 1962, DIA established the Defense Intelligence School (now the [[National Intelligence University]]), and on January 1, 1963, it activated a new Production Center. Several Service elements were merged to form this production facility, which occupied the "A" and "B" Buildings at [[Arlington Hall Station]], [[Virginia]].<ref name="DIA History" />

The agency also added an Automated Data Processing (ADP) Center on February 19, a Dissemination Center on March 31, and a Scientific and Technical Intelligence Directorate on April 30, 1963. DIA assumed the staff support functions of the J-2, Joint Staff, on July 1, 1963. Two years later, on July 1, 1965, DIA accepted responsibility for the [[Defense Attaché System]]—the last function the Services transferred to DIA.<ref name="DIA History" />

During the 1960s, DIA analysts focused on China's detonation of an [[atomic bomb]] and the launching of its [[Cultural Revolution]]; increasing unrest among [[Africa]]n and [[South Asia]]n nations; fighting in [[Cyprus]] and [[Kashmir]]; and the [[missile gap]] between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. In the late 1960s, crises that tested intelligence responsiveness included: the [[Tet Offensive]] in [[Vietnam]]; the [[Six-Day War]] between [[Egypt]] and [[Israel]]; continuing troubles in Africa, particularly [[Nigeria]]; [[North Korea]]'s seizure of the {{USS|Pueblo|AGER-2|6}}; and the [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia]].<ref name="DIA History" />

=== Years of transition ===
The early 1970s were transitional years as the agency shifted its focus from consolidating its functions to establishing itself as a credible producer of national-level intelligence. This proved difficult at first since sweeping manpower decrements between 1968 and 1975 had reduced agency manpower by 31 percent and precipitated mission reductions and a broad organizational restructuring. Challenges facing DIA at this time included the rise of [[Ostpolitik]] in Germany; the emergence of the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] in the [[Middle East]]; and the [[Cambodian Campaign|U.S. incursion into Cambodia from South Vietnam]].<ref name="DIA History" />

[[File:Howard O. Lorenzen on the Columbia River (140516-Z-PL933-055).jpg|thumb|DIA sets intelligence requirements for numerous installations, such as the [[USNS Howard O. Lorenzen]], which checks compliance with strategic arms treaties worldwide.]]

The agency's reputation grew considerably by the mid-1970s, as decision makers increasingly recognized the value of its products. Agency analysts in 1972 concentrated on [[Lebanon]], President [[Richard Nixon]]'s [[1972 Nixon visit to China|visit to China]], the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état]], the formation of [[Sri Lanka]], and the [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] being held in Southeast Asia. Subsequent challenges involved: [[détente]]; the development of arms control agreements; the [[Paris Peace Accords|Paris peace talks]] (Vietnam); the [[Yom Kippur War]]; and global energy concerns.<ref name="DIA History" />

Intense Congressional review during 1975–76 created turbulence within the Intelligence Community. The Murphy and [[United States President's Commission on CIA activities within the United States|Rockefeller Commission]] investigations of charges of intelligence abuse ultimately led to an Executive Order that modified many Intelligence Community functions. At the same time, with U.S. involvement in Vietnam ending, defense intelligence faced a significant decline in resources. During this period, DIA conducted numerous studies on ways of improving its intelligence products. Despite these and other Community-wide efforts to improve intelligence support, the loss of resources during the 1970s limited the Community's ability to collect and produce timely intelligence and ultimately contributed to intelligence shortcomings in [[Iran]], [[Afghanistan]], and other strategic areas.<ref name="DIA History" />

Special DIA task forces were set up to monitor crises such as the [[Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet invasion of Afghanistan]], the [[Iranian Revolution|overthrow of Iranian monarchy]], and the [[Iran hostage crisis|taking of American hostages from the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979]]. Also, of serious concern were the [[Cambodian-Vietnamese War|Vietnamese takeover in Phnom Penh]], the [[Sino-Vietnamese War|China–Vietnam border war]], the [[Uganda–Tanzania War|overthrow of Idi Amin in Uganda]], the north–south [[Yemen]] dispute, troubles in [[Pakistan]], [[Libyan–Egyptian War|border clashes between Libya and Egypt]], the [[Sandinista]] takeover in [[Nicaragua]], and the Soviet movement of combat troops to Cuba during the signing of the [[SALT II|Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II]].<ref name="DIA History" />

Following the promulgation in 1979 of [[Executive Order 12036]], which restructured the Intelligence Community and better outlined DIA's national and departmental responsibilities, the agency was reorganized around five major directorates: production, operations, resources, external affairs, and J-2 support.

=== 1980s ===
[[File:President Reagan receiving the first copy of Soviet Military Power, a Defense Intelligence Agency publication.jpg|thumb|President [[Ronald Reagan]] unveiling the first copy of ''[[Soviet Military Power]]'', one of DIA's serialized publications]]

By the 1980s, DIA had transformed into a fully integrated national-level intelligence agency. Its 1981 flagship publication ''[[Soviet Military Power]]'', the most comprehensive overview of Soviet military strength and capabilities at the time, was met with wide acclaim; SMP continued to be produced by DIA as a serialized publication roughly over the next decade. In 1983, in order to research the flow of technology to the Soviet Union, the [[Reagan Administration]] created [[Project Socrates]] within the agency. Over the following years Project Socrates's scope broadened to include monitoring of foreign advanced technology as a whole. Project Socrates ended in 1990 with Michael Sekora, the project's director, leaving in protest when the Bush Administration reduced funding.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

In 1984, the Clandestine Services organization, designated STAR WATCHER, was created under DIA with the mission of conducting intelligence collection on perceived areas of conflict and against potential adversaries in developing countries. A critical objective was to create a Joint Services career path for case officers, since individual Services were inconsistent in their support of clandestine operations, and case officers were routinely sacrificed during reductions in force. Ultimately, the organization was created to balance CIA's espionage operations which primarily targeted Soviet [[KGB]]/[[Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye|GRU]] officers, but ignored and were dismissive of Third World targets in areas of potential military conflict.<ref name="DIA History" />

[[File:Defense Intelligence Agency headquarters.JPEG|thumb|left|In the 1980s, DIA moved into the newly built [[Defense Intelligence Agency Headquarters]] (seen here in 1988), which now represents only one wing of the sprawling complex.]]

Although there were previous attempts to establish such a DoD level espionage organization, there was no authorization document by which it could be established. This changed when Gregory Davis, a military intelligence officer, defined and established a clandestine services program under the [[United States Southern Command|U.S. Southern Command]]'s "Plan Green". The program was then authorized by JCS Chairman [[John Vessey]], and sanctioned by the [[United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence|Senate Select Committee on Intelligence]] ("SSCI"), with the sponsorship of Senator [[Jesse Helms]] (R-NC) and Senator [[Barry Goldwater]] (R-AZ). The [[Goldwater–Nichols Act|Goldwater–Nichols DoD Reorganization Act]] was crafted partly to force military officers to serve in a Joint Services assignment in order to qualify for flag rank—ensuring the future of case officers from each Service. The clandestine organization within DIA grew and flourished, and was cited by the SSCI for its intelligence achievements. Personnel selection and training were rigorous, and the case officers were notable for their advanced educations, area knowledge, and multilingual capabilities. The program was partially gutted under President [[Bill Clinton]] as he foresaw no conflict which would justify its existence, but, it was resurrected under President [[George W. Bush]].<ref name="DIA History" />

Designated a [[combat support agency]] under the Goldwater–Nichols Act, DIA moved to increase cooperation with the Unified & Specified Commands and to begin developing a body of joint intelligence doctrine. Intelligence support to U.S. allies in the [[Middle East]] intensified as the Iran–Iraq War spilled into the [[Persian Gulf]]. DIA provided significant intelligence support to [[Operation Earnest Will]] while closely monitoring incidents such as the Iraqi rocket attack on the {{USS|Stark}}, the destruction of Iranian oil platforms, and Iranian attacks on Kuwaiti oil tankers. The [[Toyota War|"Toyota War" between Libya and Chad]] and the turmoil in [[Haiti]] added to DIA's heavy production workload, as did unrest in other parts of [[Latin America]], [[Somalia]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Burma]], [[Pakistan]], and the [[Philippines]].<ref name="DIA History" />

=== Post–Cold War transformation ===
With the [[Cold War (1985–1991)|end of the Cold War]], defense intelligence began a period of reevaluation following the [[Transition period and cessation of the existence of the Soviet Union|fall of the Soviet system]] in many Eastern European countries, the [[German reunification|reunification of Germany]] (1990), and ongoing economic reforms in the region. In response to [[Invasion of Kuwait|Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990]], DIA set up an extensive, 24-hour, crisis management cell designed to tailor national-level intelligence support to the coalition forces assembled to expel [[Iraq]] from [[Kuwait]]. [[File:President George H. W. Bush being briefed by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) 1989.jpg|thumb|President [[George H. W. Bush]] being briefed by DIA during the [[United States invasion of Panama|US invasion of Panama]]]] By the time [[Operation Desert Storm]] began, some 2,000 agency personnel were involved in the intelligence support effort. Most of them associated in some way with the national-level [[Joint Intelligence Center]] (JIC), which DIA established at [[The Pentagon]] to integrate the intelligence being produced throughout the Community. DIA sent more than 100 employees into the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations to provide intelligence support.
The [[National Center for Medical Intelligence|Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center]] (AFMIC), and the [[Missile and Space Intelligence Center]] (MSIC), associated with the Army for over 20 and 50 years respectively, became part of DIA in January 1992. This was part of the continuing effort to consolidate intelligence production and make it more efficient.<ref name="DIA History" />

On September 11, 2001, seven DIA employees died<ref name="DIA">{{cite web|url=http://www.dia.mil/About/PatriotsMemorial.aspx |title=Patriots Memorial |publisher=Defense Intelligence Agency|website=dia.mil}}</ref> along with 118 other victims at the Pentagon in a [[terrorist attack]] when [[American Airlines Flight 77]] piloted by five [[Al-Qaeda]] [[aircraft hijacking|hijackers]] plowed into the western side of the building, as part of the [[September 11 attacks]]. The death of seven employees at once was the largest combined loss in DIA's history. On September 11, 2009, DIA dedicated a memorial to the seven employees lost in the terrorist attacks on the Pentagon. The memorial is located in the garden at the DIA Analysis Center in Washington, D.C.<ref name="DIA" />

[[File:DIA Clandestine Service poster.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Defense Clandestine Service]] recruitment poster]]

Since the September 11 attacks, DIA has been active in [[nuclear proliferation]] intelligence collection and analysis with particular interests in [[North Korea]] and [[Iran]] as well as [[counter-terrorism]]. DIA was also involved with the intelligence build-up to the [[invasion of Iraq]] in 2003 and was a subject in the [[Senate Report of Pre-war Intelligence on Iraq]]. After the invasion, DIA led the [[Iraq Survey Group]] to find the alleged [[Iraq and weapons of mass destruction|Weapons of Mass Destruction]]. The agency has conflicted with the CIA in collection and analysis on the existence of [[Weapon of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]] in [[Iraq]] and has often represented the Pentagon in the CIA–DoD intelligence rivalry due to DIA's own [[Clandestine HUMINT]] collection.<ref name="DIA History" />

In 2012, DIA announced an expansion of clandestine collection efforts. The newly consolidated [[Defense Clandestine Service]] (DCS) would absorb the Defense HUMINT Service and expand DIA's overseas espionage apparatus to complement the work of corresponding elements at CIA. DCS would focus on military intelligence concerns—issues that the CIA has been unable to manage due to lack of personnel, expertise or time—and would initially deal with Islamist militia groups in Africa, weapons transfers between North Korea and Iran, and Chinese military modernization. The DCS works in conjunction with CIA's [[Directorate of Operations (CIA)|Directorate of Operations]] and the [[Joint Special Operations Command]] in overseas operations.<ref>{{cite news|title=DIA to send hundreds more spies overseas|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/dia-to-send-hundreds-more-spies-overseas/2012/12/01/97463e4e-399b-11e2-b01f-5f55b193f58f_story.html?wp_login_redirect=0|newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Greg|last=Miller|date=December 2, 2012}}</ref>

In October 2015, the Pentagon said that DIA appointed a British [[Royal Air Force]] officer as its first deputy director in charge of improving integration between U.S. intelligence units and spy agencies of other English-speaking countries in the [[Five Eyes]] alliance. This was the first time that a foreign national was appointed to a senior position at a U.S. intelligence agency.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pentagon spy agency hires first British deputy director|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-intelligence-britain-idUKKCN0SO2NW20151030|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306222710/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-intelligence-britain-idUKKCN0SO2NW20151030|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 6, 2016|access-date=November 1, 2015|work=Reuters|date=October 30, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Pentagon recruits Briton to spy agency|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/pentagon-recruits-briton-to-spy-agency-s26wdf595cz|access-date=November 1, 2015|work=[[The Times]]|date=October 31, 2015}}</ref>

Today, corporations carry out a large amount of DIA's workload. In fiscal year 2020 alone, such activity included work in DIA's Science & Technology Directorate,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Contracts for March 2, 2020|url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2099625//|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814111508/https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2099625//|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 14, 2021|access-date=2021-01-28|website=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE|language=en-US}}</ref> National Media Exploitation Center,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Contracts for May 18, 2020|url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2190758//|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916104749/https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2190758/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 16, 2021|access-date=2021-01-28|website=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE|language=en-US}}</ref> and Missile & Space Intelligence Center.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Contracts for November 1, 2019|url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2006604//|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814152113/https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2006604//|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 14, 2021|access-date=2021-01-28|website=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE|language=en-US}}</ref> 
Corporations also worked on technology transfer analysis and assessments at DIA's Charlottesville branch,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Contracts for March 6, 2020|url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2104849//|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814214442/https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2104849//|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 14, 2021|access-date=2021-01-28|website=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE|language=en-US}}</ref> planned and analyzed DIA's workforce,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Contracts for November 1, 2019|url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2006604//|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814152113/https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2006604//|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 14, 2021|access-date=2021-01-28|website=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE|language=en-US}}</ref> carried out technical support,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Contracts for December 27, 2019|url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2047884//|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210920053546/https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2047884/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 20, 2021|access-date=2021-01-28|website=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE|language=en-US}}</ref> and conducted polygraph examinations and background investigations.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Contracts for September 30, 2020|url=https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2367105//|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912185738/https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2367105/|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 12, 2021|access-date=2021-01-28|website=U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Employment requirements and polygraph ==
[[File:DOD polygraph brochure.pdf|thumb|Department of Defense polygraph brochure distributed to applicants by DIA and NSA, among other intelligence components]]
Due to the sensitive nature of DIA's work, all of its personnel, including [[Intern#United States|interns]] and contractors, are subject to the same security standards and must obtain a [[United States security clearance#Top Secret|Top Secret clearance]] with [[Sensitive Compartmented Information]] (TS/SCI) access.<ref>[http://www.dia.mil/careers/criteria/ Employment Criteria], Defense Intelligence Agency. Updated: January 25, 2013. Retrieved: September 28, 2013.</ref> [[collateral clearance|Collateral]] Top Secret clearances granted by the DoD are not sufficient to grant access to DIA's SCI information. Additionally, the SCI access granted by other intelligence agencies, such as [[CIA]] or [[NSA]], do not transfer to DIA and vice versa.

In addition to the rigorous background investigations, psychological and drug screening, as well as security interviews, DIA requires that its applicants pass the agency [[polygraph]]. In fact, DIA exercises operational control over the National Center for Credibility Assessment (NCCA), which establishes polygraphing standards and trains polygraphers for placement across the entire intelligence community. In 2008, the agency started expanding its polygraph program in an attempt to screen 5,700 prospective and current employees every year.<ref>[https://www.foxnews.com/story/pentagons-intelligence-arm-steps-up-lie-detecting-efforts-on-employees/ Pentagon's Intelligence Arm Steps Up Lie Detecting Efforts on Employees], [[Fox News]], August 24, 2008.</ref> This was a several fold increase from 2002 when, according to information provided to Congress, DIA conducted 1,345 polygraphs. According to the unclassified DIA document cited in the news report, since the mid-2000s the agency started hiring contract polygraphers in addition to the permanent DIA polygraphers and added 13 polygraphing studios to those the spy organization already operated. This expanded polygraph screening at DIA continued notwithstanding documented technical problems discovered in the Lafayette computerized polygraph system used by the agency; the organization allegedly refused to change the flawed Lafayette polygraph but declined to comment as to the reasoning.<ref>[http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/05/20/191542/glitch-in-widely-used-polygraph.html Glitch in widely used polygraph can skew results] [[The McClatchy Company|McClatchy Washington Bureau]], May 20, 2013</ref>

Unlike the CIA and NSA polygraphs, DIA [[polygraph]]s are only of Counterintelligence Scope (CI), rather than Full Scope (FS) (also known as Expanded Scope Screening or ESS), which is ostensibly more intrusive as far as one's personal life is concerned. DIA administered only a handful of FS polygraphs and only for those personnel who were to be detailed to the CIA. Additionally, DIA conducted a handful of FS polygraphs on its personnel remaining overseas in excess of 6.5 years, although this practice appeared to be outside the scope of DIA's authorization at the time.<ref>[https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/polygraph/dod-poly.pdf Department of Defense Polygraph Program Process and Compliance Study] [[Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence|Office of the Undersecretary of Defense of Intelligence]], December 19, 2011, p 20</ref>

Like with other intelligence agencies, failing to pass the DIA polygraph is a virtual guarantee that an applicant will be judged unsuitable for agency employment. In fact, according to a report published by the [[Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence|Office of the Undersecretary of Defense of Intelligence]], while the usually more stringent NSA is willing to give its applicants several shots at passing the polygraph, DIA tends to give one or at most two opportunities to clear the test, after which the employment offer is rescinded.<ref>[https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/polygraph/dod-poly.pdf Department of Defense Polygraph Program Process and Compliance Study] [[Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence|Office of the Undersecretary of Defense of Intelligence]], December 19, 2011, p 29/32</ref> The same report recommended that DIA seek permanent authority to conduct more intrusive Expanded Scope Screenings due to their supposed usefulness in eliciting admissions from applicants.<ref>[https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/polygraph/dod-poly.pdf Department of Defense Polygraph Program Process and Compliance Study] [[Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence|Office of the Undersecretary of Defense of Intelligence]], December 19, 2011, p 10</ref>

Similarly to other intelligence agencies, employees are required to take periodic polygraph examinations throughout their careers. However, no unfavorable administrative actions will be taken against them based solely on their results.<ref>[https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=20079 DoDI 5210.91 - Polygraph and Credibility Assessment (PCA) Procedures]</ref>

== Budget and personnel ==
DIA's budget and exact personnel numbers are [[classified information|classified]]. Classified Information is not willingly revealed to the public or with anyone that does not have a [[need-to-know]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Need-To-Know |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJXePUpOutE | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211103/hJXePUpOutE| archive-date=2021-11-03 | url-status=live|website=youtube.com | date=April 30, 2009 |publisher=DoD}}{{cbignore}}</ref> verified. The agency does reveal that currently, it has approximately 17,000 employees, two-thirds of whom are civilians<ref name="diaalumni.org" /> and approximately 50% of whom work at more than 141 overseas locations.<ref name="youtube.com" /> In 1994, it was revealed that DIA requested approximately $4 billion in funding for the period of 1996–2001 ($6.3 billion inflation adjusted), averaging $666 million per year ($1.05 billion inflation adjusted).<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-08-29-mn-32577-story.html "Report Reveals Spy Agencies' Budget Plans"], [[Associated Press]] via the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', August 29, 1994</ref> The agency, however, has nearly doubled in size since then and also assumed additional responsibilities from various intelligence elements from across the Department of Defense, CIA and wider intelligence community. In 2006, at the height of [[Donald Rumsfeld]]'s push to further expand the scope of military intelligence beyond tactical considerations, DIA was estimated to receive up to $3 billion annually.<ref>McManus, Doyle; Spiegel, Peter. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130618021912/http://articles.latimes.com/2006/may/06/nation/na-ciaassess6/2 "Spy Czar, Rumsfeld in a Turf War"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', May 6, 2006</ref>

According to classified documents leaked by [[Edward Snowden]] and published by ''[[The Washington Post]]'' in 2013, the [[United States intelligence budget#National Intelligence Program|National Intelligence Program]] (NIP) component of the [[United States intelligence budget|overall US intelligence budget]] contained approximately $4.4 billion/year for the General Defense Intelligence Program (GDIP), which is managed by DIA, even as it is not exclusively for the agency's use.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/black-budget-summary-details-us-spy-networks-successes-failures-and-objectives/2013/08/29/7e57bb78-10ab-11e3-8cdd-bcdc09410972_story.html |date=August 29, 2013 |access-date=August 29, 2013 |author1=Barton Gellman |author2=Greg Miller |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=U.S. spy network's successes, failures and objectives detailed in 'black budget' summary}}</ref> The numbers exclude the Military Intelligence Component (MIP) of the overall US intelligence budget, which by itself has averaged more than $20 billion per year in the past decade.

== Notable cases of espionage ==
DIA is one of a few U.S. federal organizations, such as the [[CIA]] and [[FBI]], that rely on [[Human intelligence (intelligence collection)|human espionage]] to collect information. For this reason, the agency has been involved in numerous espionage events over the course of decades.

=== Spying for DIA ===
* [[Victor Kaliadin]] ({{langx|ru|Виктор Калядин}}) – a CEO of a Russian company "Elers Electron", who in 2001 was sentenced to 14 years in prison for selling a ring run by a DIA agent technical information on [[Arena (countermeasure)|Arena]], the Russian [[active protection system]] for tanks. He died of his fourth heart attack in 2004.<ref>[http://lenta.ru/russia/2004/09/17/kalyadin/ Осужденный за шпионаж Виктор Калядин скончался в липецкой больнице] [[Lenta.ru]], Published:September 17, 2004. Last Retrieved:April 25, 2013.</ref>

[[File:Igor Sutyagin.jpg|thumb|Igor Sutyagin]]
* [[Igor Sutyagin]] – Russian arms control and nuclear weapons specialist convicted in 2004 of spying for DIA. Released in 2010 in exchange for Russian spies arrested in the U.S. during the break-up of the [[Illegals Program]]. Denies any involvement in spying.
* [[Edmond Pope]] – A retired intelligence officer-turned-"businessman", sentenced by a Russian court in 2000 to 20 years for buying up and smuggling classified military equipment out of the country as scrap metal.<ref>Valeri Falunin (General, FSB). [http://www.fsb.ru/fsb/smi/interview/single.htm!_print%3Dtrue&id%3D10342721@fsbSmi.html "Secret Operations of the Military Counterintelligence"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130826114359/http://www.fsb.ru/fsb/smi/interview/single.htm!_print%3Dtrue&id%3D10342721@fsbSmi.html |date=August 26, 2013 }}. ({{langx|ru|Тайные операции военной контрразведки}}), [[Federal Security Service]] (originally published by [[Moskovskij Komsomolets]]), December 19, 2001</ref> He was soon pardoned by newly elected [[Vladimir Putin]] but continues to assert that the Russian authorities used him as a scapegoat for their broken system.<ref>[[Larry King]] [http://archives.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/11/05/pope/index.html Edmond Pope:Arrested and imprisoned for espionage in Russia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071216090315/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/11/05/pope/index.html |date=December 16, 2007 }} [[CNN]], November 5, 2001</ref> In the same interview with [[Larry King]], however, he spoke of a plot by unspecified people in the U.S., as part of which Pope was being slowly poisoned in the [[Lefortovo Prison]], with the hopes that he would eventually have to be transferred to a hospital, abducted on his way and smuggled out of the country; he claims that his representatives stopped the plot.
* Jerzy Strawa – a Polish engineer and an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Trade executed in 1968 at [[Mokotów Prison]] for passing industrial and defense information to DIA agents while on official trips in [[Austria]] and [[West Germany]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/feier-fuer-feinde-a-5428b76e-0002-0001-0000-000045465304|title=Feier für Feinde|magazine=[[Der Spiegel]]|date =January 21, 1968|accessdate=August 29, 2023|language=German|edition=4/1968}}</ref>
* [[Natan Sharansky]] – a former high ranking Israeli politician and Soviet dissident who, during his life in Russia, was sentenced to 13 years of prison with hard labor for spying for DIA. The prosecution alleged that he gave a DIA agent in journalist's disguise—Robert Toth—a list of people who had access to military and other secrets.<ref>Natan Sharansky. ''Fear No Evil''. PublicAffairs, November 27, 1998, p.163</ref> Sharansky was released in 1986 following a spy exchange that took place on the [[Glienicke Bridge]] between the USSR and the Western allies. In 2006, he was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]].
* Charles Dennis McKee – a DIA officer who, along with [[CIA]]'s [[Matthew Gannon]], died as a result of the [[Pan Am Flight 103]] bombing.<ref>''Lockerbie: The Inside Story and the Lessons.'' [[Greenwood Publishing Group]], 2001, p.144</ref> The incident produced [[Pan Am Flight 103 conspiracy theories#CIA drug smuggling|numerous conspiracy theories]] that the flight was bombed because the officers were aware of illicit U.S. intelligence drug activities or that the case was related to them trying to secure the release of American hostages in [[Lebanon]]. He is notably absent from DIA's memorial wall (below)

=== Spying against DIA ===

[[File:Mugshot of Defense Intelligence Agency mole Ana Montes.jpg|thumb|right|Ana Montes]]
* [[Ana Belén Montes]] – a senior DIA analyst arrested in 2001 for spying for the [[Intelligence Directorate|G2]] of [[Cuba]] and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Prosecutors alleged that she started spying in the mid-1980s, around the same time when [[CIA]]'s [[Aldrich Ames]] started his interaction with the [[KGB]].
* [[Ronald Montaperto]] – a senior DIA intelligence analyst who pleaded guilty in 2006 for giving classified information to China's [[Ministry of State Security (China)|MSS]]. Montaperto claimed that he was tricked and served only three months in jail due to letters of support from other pro-China intelligence analysts, pejoratively known as the "Red Team", who "harshly [criticize] anyone who raises questions about the threat posed by Beijing's communist regime."<ref>[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/jun/23/20060623-120347-7268r/?page=all "Ex-DIA analyst admits passing secrets to China"], ''The Washington Times'', June 23, 2006. Retrieved: October 1, 2013.</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=No other mainstream sources seem to corroborate this|date=July 2020}} One of such supporters, Lonnie Henley, was initially reprimanded by the [[ODNI]] for his support of Montaperto but was later promoted to acting national intelligence officer for East Asia.<ref>[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2007/feb/23/20070223-124358-7200r/ "Inside the Ring: Spy Release'] ''The Washington Times'', Published: February 23, 2007. Retrieved: April 28, 2013.</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=No other mainstream sources seem to corroborate this|date=July 2020}}
* [[Waldo H. Dubberstein]] – a senior DIA intelligence officer for the Middle East and an associate of CIA arms smuggler [[Edwin P. Wilson]] who was indicted in 1983 for selling DIA secrets to [[History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi#Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1977–2011)|Libya]]. The day after being charged, he was found dead in what was ruled a suicide.<ref>"The Last Battle of an Old War Horse". ''The Washington Post'', May 8, 1983</ref>

== Controversies ==

=== Alleged torture with drugs, gay porn, and loud music ===
[[File:FBI correspondence regarding DIA personnel in Guantanamo.pdf|thumb|A declassified FBI correspondence alleging DIA misconduct]]
In 2003, the Defense Secretary [[Donald Rumsfeld]]'s "Working Group" on interrogations requested that DIA come up with prisoner interrogation techniques for the group's consideration. According to the 2008 [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|US Senate Armed Services Committee]] report on the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody, DIA began drawing up the list of techniques with the help of its civilian employee, a former Guantanamo Interrogation Control Element (ICE) Chief David Becker. Becker claimed that the Working Group members were particularly interested in aggressive methods and that he "was encouraged to talk about techniques that
inflict pain."<ref>[[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services]] [http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/Publications/Detainee%20Report%20Final_April%2022%202009.pdf "INQUIRY INTO THE TREATMENT OF DETAINEES IN U.S. CUSTODY"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021194943/http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/Publications/Detainee%20Report%20Final_April%2022%202009.pdf |date=October 21, 2013 }} November 20, 2008, p 111</ref>

It is unknown to what extent the agency's recommendations were used or for how long, but according to the same Senate report, the list drawn up by DIA included the use of "drugs such as [[sodium pentothal]] and [[Demerol]]," humiliation via female interrogators and sleep deprivation. Becker claimed that he recommended the use of drugs due to rumors that another intelligence agency, the name of which was redacted in the Senate report, had successfully used them in the past.<ref>[[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services]] [http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/Publications/Detainee%20Report%20Final_April%2022%202009.pdf "INQUIRY INTO THE TREATMENT OF DETAINEES IN U.S. CUSTODY"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021194943/http://www.armed-services.senate.gov/Publications/Detainee%20Report%20Final_April%2022%202009.pdf |date=October 21, 2013 }} November 20, 2008, p 112</ref> According to the analysis of the [[Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense|Office of Defense Inspector General]], DIA's cited justification for the use of drugs was to "[relax] detainee to cooperative state" and that mind-altering substances were not used.<ref>[[Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense|Deputy Inspector General for Intelligence]] [http://www.dodig.mil/FOIA/ERR/09-INTEL-13_Redacted.pdf "Investigation of Allegations of the Use of Mind-Altering Drugs to Facilitate Interrogations of Detainees"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313195818/http://www.dodig.mil/FOIA/ERR/09-INTEL-13_Redacted.pdf |date=March 13, 2017 }} September 23, 2009, p 10</ref>

Some of the more lurid revelations of DIA's alleged harsh interrogations came from [[FBI]] officers, who conducted their own screenings of detainees in [[Guantanamo]] along with other agencies. According to one account, the interrogators of what was then DIA's [[Defense Clandestine Service|Defense Humint Service]] (referenced in FBI correspondence as DHS<ref>White, Josh. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/23/AR2006022301813.html FBI Interrogators in Cuba Opposed Aggressive Tactics], ''The Washington Post'', February 24, 2006</ref>), forced subjects to watch [[gay porn]], draped them with the [[Flag of Israel|Israeli flag]], and interrogated them in rooms lit by [[strobe light]]s for 16–18 hours, all the while telling prisoners that they were from FBI.<ref name="aclu.org">[[American Civil Liberties Union]] [https://www.aclu.org/files/projects/foiasearch/pdf/DOJFBI003584.pdf Email &#91;parties redacted&#93; re GTMO], 7/31</ref>

The real FBI operatives were concerned that DIA's harsh methods and impersonation of FBI agents would complicate the FBI's ability to do its job properly, saying "The next time a real Agent tries to talk to that guy, you can imagine the result."<ref name="aclu.org" /> A subsequent military inquiry countered FBI's allegations by saying that the prisoner treatment was degrading but not inhumane, without addressing the allegation of DIA staff regularly impersonating FBI officers—usually a [[felony]] offense.<ref>Lewis, Neil. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/14/politics/14gitmo.html "Report Discredits F.B.I. Claims of Abuse at Guantánamo Bay"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 14, 2005</ref>

Similar activities transpired at the hands of DIA operatives in [[Bagram]], where as recently as 2010 the organization ran the so-called "Black Jail". According to a report published by ''[[The Atlantic]]'', the jail was manned by DIA's [[DCHC]] staff, who were accused of beating and [[Sexual abuse|sexually humiliating]] high-value targets held at the site.<ref>Ambinder, Marc. [https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/05/inside-the-secret-interrogation-facility-at-bagram/56678/ "Inside the Secret Interrogation Facility at Bagram"], ''[[The Atlantic]]'', May 14, 2010</ref> The detention center outlived the black sites run by the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], with DIA allegedly continuing to use "restricted" interrogation methods in the facility under a secret authorization. It is unclear what happened to the secret facility after the 2013 transfer of the base to Afghan authorities following several postponements.<ref>Rodriguez, Alex. [https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2013-mar-25-la-fg-wn-us-bagram-prison-afghanistan-20130325-story.html "U.S. hands over control of Bagram prison to Afghan government"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', March 25, 2013</ref>

DIA's harsh interrogation methods at times paled in comparison to those of some U.S. [[special operations forces]]. In 2004, interrogations by [[Joint Special Operations Command]]'s high-value targets special operations task forces (including [[Task Force 6-26]]) were so heavy-handed and physical with the detainees that two DIA officials complained, as a result of which they were threatened and put under surveillance by abusive military interrogators. The two DIA officials managed to share their accounts of abuse with the agency leadership, prompting DIA Director [[Lowell E. Jacoby|Lowell Jacoby]] to write a memo on this topic to the [[Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence]].<ref>Lewis, Neil. [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/07/politics/07cnd-abus.html?ex=1103462134&ei=1&en=1329389e02672a45&_r=0 "Memos Say 2 Officials Who Saw Prison Abuse Were Threatened"], ''The New York Times'', December 7, 2004</ref>

=== Skinny Puppy controversy ===
[[File:OhGr live.JPG|thumb|[[Skinny Puppy]] billed DIA for allegedly using its [[Music in psychological operations|music in torture]].]]

In 2014, Canadian electronic music group [[Skinny Puppy]] sent the Defense Intelligence Agency a symbolic bill of $666,000, after finding out that the agency used their music in [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo]] during "enhanced interrogation" (deemed torture by some) sessions.<ref>Holdbrooks, Terry C. [http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/2/industrial-action.html "Why Skinny Puppy asked Gitmo to pay up"], [[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]], February 12, 2014</ref> Their music was originally heard at GTMO by a guard, who happened to be a fan of Skinny Puppy and could not understand how his favorite music was being used in such a manner: "[Skinny Puppy's] songs are characterized by ... lyrics that call out corporate wrongdoing. The songs I heard at GTMO were heavily distorted, almost to the point of inaudibility. Even so, I would never have imagined that Skinny Puppy's music would, or could, be used for enhanced interrogation". The officer conducting interrogation sessions allegedly stating that the Canadian group's songs—which are "characterized by relentless drumbeats, panicked, convulsive riffs, synth samples"—were very effective for "enhanced interrogation."{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}

=== Attempts to expand domestic activities ===
Since mid-2000s, DIA has come under scrutiny for requesting new powers "to covertly approach and cultivate 'U.S. persons' and even recruit them as informants" without disclosing they are doing so on behalf of the U.S. government.<ref>Michael Isikoff & Mark Hosenball. {{cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9602401/site/newsweek/site/newsweek/ |title=Terror Watch: New Domestic Spying for Pentagon? - Newsweek National News - MSNBC.com |access-date=2013-08-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061025194945/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9602401/site/newsweek/site/newsweek/ |archive-date=October 25, 2006 |df=mdy-all }} ''[[Newsweek]]'', October 5, 2005</ref> George Peirce, DIA's general counsel, told ''The Washington Post'' that his agency is "not asking for the moon" and that DIA officers "only want to assess their [individual U.S. citizens'] suitability as a source, person to person", while protecting the ID and security of the agency operatives.<ref>Pincus, Walter. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/07/AR2005100701807.html "Request for Domestic Covert Role Is Defended"], ''The Washington Post'', October 8, 2005</ref> The provision allowing DIA to covertly approach U.S. citizens was reportedly removed from the bill at the request of Senator [[Ron Wyden]].<ref>Pincus, Walter. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/26/AR2005112600857.html "Pentagon Expanding Its Domestic Surveillance Activity"] ''The Washington Post'', November 27, 2005</ref> It is unclear if the agency has received any additional powers since but it is known that until at least 2005 and possibly later, DIA's "personnel stationed in major U.S. cities [have been] ... monitoring the movements and activities—through high-tech equipment—of individuals and vehicles"; this occurred parallel to the [[NSA warrantless surveillance (2001–07)|NSA's warrantless surveillance]] that was of similarly dubious legality.<ref>Eggen, Dan. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/16/AR2005121600021.html "Bush Authorized Domestic Spying"], ''The Washington Post'', December 16, 2005</ref>

In 2008, with the consolidation of the new [[Defense Counterintelligence and Human Intelligence Center]] (DCHC), DIA secured an additional authority to conduct "offensive counterintelligence", which entails conducting clandestine operations, domestically and abroad, "to thwart what the opposition is trying to do to us and to learn more about what they're trying to get from us."<ref>Pincus, Walter. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130311043512/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2008-08-18/politics/36873808_1_counterintelligence-field-activity-dia-officers-james-r-clapper "New Unit of DIA Will Take the Offensive On Counterintelligence"] ''The Washington Post'', August 18, 2008</ref> While the agency remained vague about the exact meaning of offensive counterintelligence, experts opined that it "could include planting a mole in a foreign intelligence service, passing disinformation to mislead the other side, or even disrupting enemy information systems", suggesting strong overlap between CI and traditional HUMINT operations.<ref name="Fox News">Hess, Pamela. [http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Aug05/0,4670,PentagonSpyvsSpy,00.html "DIA's new mission adds to intel arsenal"] [[Associated Press]] via [[Fox News]], August 5, 2008</ref>

According to the agency, Americans spying for a foreign intelligence service would not be covered under this mechanism and that DIA would coordinate in such cases with the FBI which, unlike any DIA components at the time, is designated a [[law enforcement agency]]. The media showed particular interest in the domestic aspect of DIA's counterintelligence efforts due to the fact that agency's newly created DCHC had absorbed the former [[Counterintelligence Field Activity]], which had become infamous for storing data on American peace activists in the controversial [[TALON (database)|TALON]] database that was eventually shut down.<ref name="Fox News" />

=== 9/11 and Able Danger ===
[[Anthony Shaffer (intelligence officer)|Anthony Shaffer]], a former DIA officer, has claimed that DIA was aware of and failed to adequately act against one of the organizers of the [[September 11 attacks]] prior to the event, in what became known as the [[Able Danger]] controversy. Shaffer's claims were rejected and later his security clearance was revoked, with the Pentagon denying any wrongdoing. Later Shaffer published his book ''[[Operation Dark Heart]]'' but, upon complaints from DIA and NSA that it included national security information, the Defense Department went as far as to buy and destroy the initial 10,000 copies of the book, causing the [[Streisand effect]].<ref name="Shane2010-09-10">{{cite news|title=Pentagon Plan: Buying Books to Keep Secrets |first=Scott |last=Shane |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/10/us/10books.html?_r=2& |newspaper=The New York Times |page=A16 |issn=0362-4331 |date=September 10, 2010 |access-date=April 19, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211211508/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/10/us/10books.html?_r=2 |archive-date=February 11, 2015 |url-status=live |df=mdy }}</ref>

=== German Neo-Nazi murders ===
In 2011, the German government uncovered a [[Far right in Germany|far-right]] [[terrorism|terrorist group]] named [[National Socialist Underground]], which was linked to a [[Bosphorus serial murders|series of murders]], including the murder of a police officer. A report by ''[[Stern (magazine)|Stern]]'' claimed German [[Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution|BfV]] and DIA officers witnessed the murder of a policewoman during their surveillance of the [[2007 bomb plot in Germany|"Sauerland" group]]—an Islamist organization that planned attacks on [[List of United States Army installations in Germany|U.S. military installations]] in Germany—but that neither of the agencies reported it, thus enabling subsequent violent acts by the same criminal entities. The magazine cited an unverified DIA report that confirmed the agency's officers were at the site of the incident.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/heilbronner-polizistinnenmord-waren-verfassungsschuetzer-zeuge-beim-mord-an-michele-kiesewetter-1757092.html |title=Heilbronner Polizistinnenmord: Waren Verfassungsschützer Zeuge beim Mord an Michèle Kiesewetter? |work=Stern |date=November 30, 2011 |access-date=September 11, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Florian Rötzer |url=http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/35/35979/1.html |title=Verbindung zwischen rechter Terrorzelle und Sauerland-Gruppe? |access-date=September 11, 2012|website=Heise.de|date=December 2011 }}</ref> The authenticity of the alleged DIA observation protocol, on which ''Stern'' based its report, was swiftly denied by the BfV, while DIA refused to comment. An unnamed U.S. "insider expert" for intelligence matters told ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' he deemed it unlikely that DIA could be involved in that type of operation.<ref name="DIA Germany Incident">Diehl, Jörg. Musharbash, Yassin. [http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/justiz/tatort-heilbronn-verfassungsschuetzer-dementieren-praesenz-bei-polizistenmord-a-800945.html Verfassungsschützer dementieren Präsenz bei Polizistenmord] ''[[Der Spiegel]]''. Retrieved August 5, 2012.</ref>

=== Buying data without a warrant ===
According to Representative [[Ron Wyden]], publicly available government contracts show DIA along with [[U.S. Cyber Command]], the [[United States Army|Army]], the [[Naval Criminal Investigative Service]], the [[Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency]], the [[FBI]] and the [[US Secret Service]] have purchased data without a warrant.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 Sep 2022 |title=Wyden: Government Watchdogs Must Investigate Warrantless Purchases of Americans' Internet Browsing Data by Federal Agencies |url=https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-government-watchdogs-must-investigate-warrantless-purchases-of-americans-internet-browsing-data-by-federal-agencies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118053908/https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-government-watchdogs-must-investigate-warrantless-purchases-of-americans-internet-browsing-data-by-federal-agencies |archive-date=November 18, 2022 |access-date= |website=wyden.senate.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cameron |first=Dell |date=Jan 26, 2024 |title=The Pentagon Tried to Hide That It Bought Americans' Data Without a Warrant |url=https://www.wired.com/story/pentagon-data-purchases-wyden-letter/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240126225927/https://www.wired.com/story/pentagon-data-purchases-wyden-letter/ |archive-date=26 January 2024 |access-date= |work=[[Wired.com]] |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ODNI report on IC buying data |url=https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ODNI-Declassified-Report-on-CAI-January2022.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609170224/https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ODNI-Declassified-Report-on-CAI-January2022.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2023-06-09 |website=[[archive.org]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Morrison |first=Sara |date=2023-06-16 |title=The US government is buying your data to spy on you |url=https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/6/16/23762403/data-odni-report-wyden |access-date= |website=[[Vox.com]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Mitchell |date=2021-01-22 |title=US Defense Intelligence Agency admits to buying citizens' location data |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/22/22244848/us-intelligence-memo-admits-buying-smartphone-location-data |access-date= |website=[[The Verge]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Collier |first=Kevin |date=2023-06-13 |title=U.S. government buys data on Americans with little oversight, report finds |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/us-government-buys-data-americans-little-oversight-report-finds-rcna89035 |access-date= |website=[[NBC News]] |language=en}}</ref>

== Memorial wall ==
{{Main|DIA Memorial Wall}}

[[File:Defense Intelligence Agency memorial wall.jpg|thumb|upright|DIA's memorial wall]]
[[DIA Memorial Wall|A memorial wall]] at the [[Defense Intelligence Agency Headquarters|DIA headquarters]] is dedicated to those agency employees who lost their lives in the line of their intelligence work<ref name="Patriots Memorial">Defense Intelligence Agency [http://www.dia.mil/About/PatriotsMemorial.aspx Patriots Memorial], Retrieved: March 25, 2016</ref> and whose deaths are not [[Classified information|classified]]. The wall was first dedicated on December 14, 1988, by [[Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency|Director]] [[Leonard Perroots]]. It "commemorates the profound individual sacrifices made on behalf of the United States by DIA members and acts as a reminder of the selflessness, dedication, and courage required to confront national challenges..."<ref name="Patriots Memorial" />

''"POOR IS THE NATION THAT HAS NO HEROES, BUT BEGGARED IS THE NATION THAT HAS AND FORGETS THEM."'' <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dia.mil/About/Patriots-Memorial/ | title=Patriots Memorial }}</ref>

DIA also maintains a memorial in the headquarters courtyard dedicated to personnel lost in the attacks of [[9/11]] on [[the Pentagon]]. Additionally, the agency maintains the Torch Bearers Wall at its Headquarters. The Torch Bearers award is the highest honor bestowed to former DIA employees and recognizes their exceptional contributions to the agency's mission.

== Seal ==
[[File:US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) seal (vector).svg|right|100px]]
[[File:Seal of the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).png|right|100px]]
The flaming torch and its gold color represent knowledge, i.e., intelligence, and the dark background represents the unknown—"the area of the truth" still sought by the worldwide mission of the agency.<ref>[http://www.dia.mil/about/dia-seal/ The DIA Seal], August 7, 2013</ref> The two red atomic ellipses symbolize the scientific and technical aspects of intelligence today and of the future. The 13 stars and the wreath are adopted from the Department of Defense seal and mean glory and peace, respectively, which the DoD secures as part of its work.<ref>[http://history.defense.gov/refs_faqs.shtml Department of Defense Historical Office] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217063606/http://history.defense.gov/refs_faqs.shtml |date=February 17, 2013 }} Retrieved: August 22, 2013</ref>

==Badge==
<gallery>
File:Defense Intelligence Agency Badge.jpg|Defense Intelligence Agency Badge

File:Defense Intelligence Agency Special Agent Badge.jpg|Defense Intelligence Agency Special Agent Badge
</gallery>

== Media Portrayal ==

Less known than its [[CIA|civilian equivalent]] or its [[NSA|cryptologic counterpart]],<ref>[http://www.afio.com/publications/Burgess_Ronald_DirDIA_Hist_DIA_draft_for_future_AFIO_Intel.pdf Editor's Note : History of the Defense Intelligence Agency] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004214207/http://www.afio.com/publications/Burgess_Ronald_DirDIA_Hist_DIA_draft_for_future_AFIO_Intel.pdf |date=October 4, 2013 }}. ''The Intelligencer''. [[Association of Former Intelligence Officers]], 2011.</ref> DIA and its personnel have at times been portrayed in works of [[American popular culture]]. DIA's parent organization, the Department of Defense, features in fiction and media much more prominently due to the public's greater awareness of its existence and the general association of military organizations with [[warfare]], rather than spycraft.

A prominent example is NBC's ''[[The Brave (TV series)|The Brave]]'' (2017–2018), an action drama built around a DIA-led covert team. The series centers on Deputy Director Patricia Campbell, played by [[Anne Heche]], and Captain Adam Dalton, played by [[Mike Vogel]], as they direct and execute dangerous overseas missions with intelligence support from Washington. Unlike many espionage dramas that blur agency identities, ''The Brave'' explicitly presents its command element as part of the Defense Intelligence Agency and depicts the agency as a hub that combines analysis, surveillance, and military tasking in real time.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Brave |url=https://www.nbc.com/the-brave/credits/cast |website=NBC |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Brave: Season 1 |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_brave/s01 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>

Another recurring DIA portrayal appears in CBS's ''[[Madam Secretary (TV series)|Madam Secretary]]''. In the series, Jane Fellows, portrayed by [[Jill Hennessy]], is introduced as a Defense Intelligence Agency handler and senior intelligence official tied to covert and human-intelligence operations. The role places the DIA inside the show's broader foreign-policy and national-security plotlines, using the agency as a vehicle for military intelligence, clandestine liaison work, and strategic advising rather than conventional law enforcement or diplomatic activity.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jill Hennessy Joins CBS' 'Madam Secretary' |url=https://deadline.com/2015/07/jill-hennessy-cast-cbs-madam-secretary-1201482540/ |website=Deadline |date=20 July 2015 |access-date=6 March 2026}}</ref>

As with other U.S. foreign intelligence organizations, the agency's role has occasionally been confused with those of [[law enforcement]] agencies.

== See also ==

{{Div col}}
* [[Central Intelligence Agency]]
* [[National Security Agency]]
* [[Director of National Intelligence]]
* [[GRU (Russian Federation)|GRU]]
* [[Indonesian Strategic Intelligence Agency]]
* [[Coast Guard Intelligence]] Center
* [[Defense Attaché System]]
* [[Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance|JFCC ISR]] ([[US Strategic Command]])
* [[Marine Corps Intelligence Activity]]
* [[Missile and Space Intelligence Center]]
* [[National Intelligence University]]
* [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]
* [[Strategic Support Branch]]
* [[G-2 (intelligence)]]
* [[Defence Intelligence|UK Defence Intelligence]]
* [[Defence Intelligence Organisation]] (Australia)
{{Div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Defense Intelligence Agency}}
* {{Official website|http://www.dia.mil/}}
{{United States Military}}{{Defense Intelligence Agency}}
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