NCICA: News Items

In the previous News Item we took a look at the U.S. Intelligence Community as being challenged as never before in its history. In 2001, the cry of “count the dots” echoed through the length and breadth of this country. The ‘will’ the nation possessed then has morphed into “wont/don’t”, now. The following is a continuing story from the annals of the “Secret Army.”

The war caught the American counter intelligence community as flat-footed as everyone else in the States. On New Year‘s day in ‘42 the Corps of Intelligence Police was rechristened the Counter Intelligence Corps and consisted of a handful of personnel - novices at the counter intelligence game. The onus fell on the shoulders of CIC’s first CO, Major ( Later Colonel) H. Gordon Sheen. When misconceptions, mis-assignment s and overall misunderstandings of CIC’s role had been overcome, in March ‘42, a Manual was issued outlining the specifics of the agents;” The primary purpose of these agents is undercover operations for the detection and investigation of espionage, sabotage, disaffection, disloyalty and general subversion.” And, it was the mission of the CIC to provide effective counter-espionage, counter- sabotage and counter-subversive security for the unit to which it was assigned.” To all that remember:” it was forbidden for any CIC’er to achieve Officers rank”-unless under battle field conditions, for fear that they would be recruited into other branches of the military. Ethnicity was a major consideration so that the intelligent agents could operate effectively in every theater requiring interaction with the indigenous population. Attendant to this was the concealment of rank-- and, more important, concealment of identity which was considered vital in operations against people on the enemy side, or other counter intelligence targets. Agents were required to sign an oath that they were to conceal their CIC membership at all times- even from their families. A prime example of such was when an Army General preparing for the general staff meeting after Pearl Harbor asked J. Edgar Hoover to furnish FBI men to protect the meeting. Hoover suggested :”Why don’t you use your own plainclothes organization?” To which the General reportedly replied:” My God, do we have one?” The element of secrecy was both a boon and a bane. Agents were in constant conflict with commanders of units to which they were assigned until Commanders were briefed on the purpose and the need for CIC Agents in the field, areas of occupation and their position with respect to all levels of military rank. However, only one irritant drove the Corps into a brief moment of press publicity during WWII- and that was the OSS. As perceived by the CIC, the OSS were ‘befuddled’ amateurs surrounded by mysticism that had a never-ending supply of funds who messed up CIC’s opera-tions and claimed credit fro CIC’s achievements. To the OSS fell the glamour and to CIC fell the ‘grind’. CIC was to end the war as hidden from the public they began it . The previous is a brief synopsis of the beginnings of the CIC partially from the book titled “ America’s Secret Army” and personal discussions with former agents and members of the Military Intelligence Association of New England: Ralph Palmer Germany/Europe; Franklin Norvish France/Germany/ Lithuania/Europe; and, Isadore Zack, SAIC, ‘808’ First Service Command, Boston. Sadly, Ralph and Franklin have recently passed on.