Screening for Potential Terrorists in the Enlisted Military Accessions Process
Abstract
In early 2004, PERSEREC was tasked and sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Accession Policy Directorate to identify what the Armed Forces are doing to screen for terrorists in the enlistment process. The authors did the following: (1) reviewed recent literature and intelligence reports to identify and understand active anti-American groups of concern for military enlistment; (2) reviewed all relevant executive orders, DoD directives, and Armed Forces instructions and regulations; and (3) visited recruiting and military entrance processing facilities across the United States, interviewing personnel at each. The report focuses primarily on individuals joining the enlisted ranks rather than on those entering the U.S. Army's 09L Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), officers, and direct commissions (i.e., chaplains, nurses, lawyers, engineers, etc.). In many ways, however, findings from the study bear on these other groups as well. Findings in the report are presented within the following areas: arriving at a working definition of a terrorist, characterizing the threat, suspicion indicators of potential terrorist allegiances, policies, screening procedures, suspicious incident reporting procedures, and training and education. The research found some evidence of small numbers of persons enlisting in the Armed Forces who are sympathetic to or participants in terrorist groups. At the same, the Armed Forces have implemented many policies and practices designed to specifically, or by default, enable detection of and response to such individuals. Recommendations are made for improving information exchange between DoD, law enforcement, and the intelligence community and for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of relevant DoD accessions policies and procedures.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 29, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA436642
Entities
People
- Andree E. Rose
- Kahlila M. Liverpool
- Kelly R. Buck
- Martin F. Wiskoff