Special Projects in Strategic Intelligence

Border Security Alert

The Border Security Alert (BSA) is a weekly collection of abstracted unclassified news items relating to national security issues on and around the US northern and southern borders, seaports, and airports.  

Southcom Security Bulletin

The SOUTHCOM Security Bulletin (SSB) provides a weekly summary of open-source intelligence and news reporting on organized crime, corruption, civil unrest, and drug-trafficking incidents within SOUTHCOM’s Area of Responsibility (AOR).

Human Trafficking—Vanguard

This project focuses on training analysts to apply intense open-source research techniques to the issue of human trafficking. The weekly report features incidents, trends, and tools relating to domestic and international human trafficking.

China Warfare and Strategy Analysis

This project addresses the background of ancient and historical Chinese strategy and how post-Mao through current leaders integrate those ideas in developing China's current strategic position. It uses this base of knowledge to provide perspective in analyzing potential future Chinese threats. Threats being analyzed include Chinese ideological warfare, the military capabilities of China, and China’s technological capabilities (including AI and Brain Computer Interface (BCI) developments). 

Crisis Management Exercise

Students role-play senior decision-makers in US Government positions in a crisis scenario which subjects them to time constraints, information overload and ‘underload’, and national-level decision-making to simulate aspects of real-world crises. Students learn how to anticipate the impacts of their decisions and how the lack of information or misinformation can affect their decisions.

Scenario Development Project

The Scenario Development project each Fall term develops a global scenario that stresses domestic and international information and decision-making processes. This scenario typically includes a broad range of real-world and hypothetical challenges as well as ethical dilemmas and is used in the simulation each Spring (Crisis Management Exercise).

Briefing Methods

The Briefing project provides specialized intelligence briefing training to PHC Strategic Intelligence students. It focuses on providing instruction in briefing and presentation skills for practical use in the Intelligence Community.

HIVE Project

This project researches and analyzes Iran’s overt business and surrogate (e.g. Hezbollah) business in arms (e.g., UAV’s), drug trafficking and illicit financial networks in South America, particularly in Venezuela and The Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras). It involves mapping (geospatially and the networks) the nexus between covert business and criminal activity, drug cartels, terrorist groups, and South American and Middle Eastern governments.

CRADA - China PLAA Reserves

Research and analysis for a U.S. Government Agency on the People's Liberation Army Reserves (PLAA Reserves). This includes information on the lifecycle of a reserve member, where the reserves are located, where they operate, and the type of equipment they use.

ASTAR – China Threat in Africa

This project researches and analyzes Chinese influence operations in Africa. These efforts have addressed Chinese peacekeeping missions in Africa; Chinese Private Security Contractors (PSC’s) in Africa;  Chinese ship activities in the vicinity of Africa; and Chinese mineral extraction and influence in Africa.

Cyber Forge

This project harvests and applies data scraping, geospatial mapping, and other software capabilities to further enable and advance SI Special Projects.

Cyber Strategy Challenge

This project prepares a team to participate in the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Strategy Challenge competition each spring in Washington, D.C. and other sites in the U.S. and international locations. This is a one-of-a-kind cyber competition designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of the policy and strategy challenges associated with the management of tradeoffs during a cyber crisis. Part interactive learning experience and part competitive scenario exercise, it challenges students to respond to a realistic, evolving scenario of an international cyber crisis, analyze the threat it poses to national, international, and private-sector interests, and provide recommendations on the best course of action to mitigate the crisis to a simulated National Security Council.