BOGOR, INDONESIA – Twenty-five Indonesian military officers graduated from Information Warfare Training Command San Diego’s (IWTC SD) International Maritime Intelligence Course (IMIC) on August 26. The IMIC course strengthens U.S. relationships with partner nations and helps the United States keep shared trade routes open to the international community.
The one-week course, delivered in Indonesia by a Mobile Training Team (MTT), provided intelligence training to a key Indo-Pacific partner. It was the San Diego Command’s first complete IMIC course delivered abroad since prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The MTT directly supports the Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative (MSI), increasing maritime security and maritime domain awareness of countries along the South China Sea and into South Asia.
The flagship IMIC course provides foundational intelligence training to international junior officers in paygrades from O-1 to O-5. Course graduates can provide intelligence support to naval operations and planning in both afloat and ashore environments.
“This course is very important to Commander’s decision making. We hope this course will be continued and increased to the next level in the next year,” said Lt. Amir Mahmud of the Indonesian Navy, one of the course’s students.
During the one-week course, the Indonesian officers completed lessons covering intelligence disciplines and processes, including practical exercises on briefing, analytical methods, and intelligence planning. The course prepares students to execute a variety of duties centered around the evaluation, analysis, and dissemination of critical information to inform decision-makers through the production of actionable intelligence.
“This was an extremely unique experience. After teaching the course multiple times in the United States, it was great to be able to see students in their home environment working alongside their colleagues. There was an ample amount of back and forth interaction and the students were very engaged and engaging,” said Lt. Miranda Rogers, one of the IMIC MTT instructors.
With an average class size ranging from 25 to 35 students, more than 600 foreign military students have completed IMIC with successful MTTs in Mexico City, Mexico; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Manila, Philippines.