Sweeping Changes to MI Career Management Field 98 (1 OCT 2005)

On Oct. 1, 2005, several changes made to the Military Intelligence (MI) Career Management Field (CMF) 98 went into effect. The effort sought to revise, eliminate, or establish new military occupation specialties (MOS) for skillsets related to signals intelligence (SIGINT) and electronic warfare (EW) operations.

Evaluation of CMF 98 began in the late 1990s, when the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca (USAIC&FH) began considering the availability of resources, advancements in technology, and the changing nature of the enemy and needs of the MI warfighter. During this process, USAIC&FH considered the similarities in SIGINT/EW training and employment of personnel among many of the CMF 98 MOSs. Based on the Intelligence Center’s recommendations, the Army approved several changes to these specialties to better align with future priorities. The changes were announced in October 2002 and went into effect on Oct. 1, 2005.

First was the elimination of MOS 98H (Communications Interceptor/Locater). It was converted into a skill qualification identifier (SQI) “A” for manual Morse, allowing manual Morse capabilities to be credited to all MOS holders with proficiency and providing a method of tracking all soldiers with manual Morse skillsets across the CMF. The duties, functions, positions, and personnel of MOS 98H were largely transferred to MOS 98G (Cryptologic Linguist), which was renamed Cryptologic Interceptor/Locater, with the affixed SQI “A”. Soon after this process took place, at the request of the Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM), those 98H personnel who had transitioned to 98GA were directed to be recoded to the newly established MOS 98Y (Signals Collector/Analyst), and MOS 98GA was deleted one year later.

Also deleted in October 2005 were MOSs 98J (Electronic Intelligence [ELINT] Interceptor/Analyst) and 98K (Signals Collection/Identification Analyst). The operational ELINT duties of 98J were transferred to 98C (SIGINT Analyst), while the technical ELINT functions of the MOS were merged together with the 98GA and 98K skills and positions to form the new MOS 98Y. The purpose of establishing the MOS was explained by chief of enlisted course development at Fort Huachuca Walter J. Crossman in the "Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin" (MIPB) as being “to create a broader signals collection MOS.”

Finally, another new MOS was established: 98P (Multi-Sensor Operator, primarily for measures and signatures intelligence [MASINT]). The MOS was designed to combine the functions of tactical SIGINT systems operators and MASINT sensor operators. As a result, the duties, functions and positions related to ground surveillance systems operators in Interim Brigade Combat Teams (IBCT)/Squadrons from MOS 98H, and certain selected duties associated with ground surveillance systems and tactical SIGINT in IBCTs from MOS 96R (Ground Surveillance Systems Operators), were transferred to the new MOS.

The primary motivator for the establishment of MOS 98P was to serve as the operator of the Army’s newest SIGINT ground system, Prophet (https://www.dvidshub.net/news/446752). Lt. Col. Eric Fatzinger, then director of the Office of the Chief, MI, wrote in the MIPB in 2003:

Traditionally, when the Army creates a new MOS, it allows sufficient time for the development and implementation of an accessions and training strategy to occur over a two- to three-year period. With Prophet fielding to the Army accelerated in response to world events, this has not been feasible for this MOS.

However, experience gained from using the Prophet system in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2002 and 2004 led the Army to determine operators would be better suited under the MOS 98G. Although USAIC&FH pivoted to make 98P the primary MASINT MOS, with the loss of responsibility for Prophet operators, the short-lived MOS 98P was instead slated for deletion less than a year later in August 2006.

Article by Erin E. Thompson, USAICoE Staff Historian. New issues of This Week in MI History are published each week. To report story errors, ask questions, request previous articles, or be added to our distribution list, please contact: TR-ICoE-Command-Historian@army.mil.

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