The United States declared war in 1941 with two separate organizations gathering and distributing intelligence for operational planning. The
Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) had been formed in 1882; while the Army's
Military Information Division had been established in 1885, and reorganized in 1917 as the
Military Intelligence Division (MID). Although the
Commandant of the Marine Corps proposed a joint effort in March 1942
interservice rivalry prevented formation of a Joint Intelligence Agency (JIA). In preparation for the
Guadalcanal Campaign the Navy established an intelligence center at Pearl Harbor in July 1942. Consolidated intelligence collection began as US forces went on the offensive in 1943 and 1944. Formation of Joint Intelligence Collection Agencies (JICA) began in August 1943. North Africa (JICANA) later became Mediterranean (JICAMED). Africa-Middle East was (JICAME). China-India-Burma (JICACIB) later split into China (JICAC) and India-Burma. JICAs transmitted information to the Joint Intelligence Agency Reception Center (JIARC) in Washington DC where a Joint Electronic Information Agency (JEIA) utilized coded radio transmissions to reduce dissemination time for important intelligence from 60 days to 16 hours. Some theatre commanders resisted coordinated efforts, and General
Douglas MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) never formed a joint intelligence operation. In September 1943 the first designated JIC was Admiral
Chester W. Nimitz's Pacific Ocean Areas JIC (JICPOA). JICPOA integrated the staff and independent intelligence distribution system of the Navy's earlier Pearl Harbor intelligence center and was the largest independent theatre intelligence operation. Demobilization caused abandonment of the JIC system as the individual services sought to retain independent staffing. The JICAs were deactivated between August and December 1945, and JICPOA was disbanded in October 1945. US European theatre intelligence operations were refocused as the
Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency (JIOA) created in June 1945 for
Operation Paperclip to identify and transport German and Austrian scientists to the United States. Military disinterest in joint
United States Department of Defense (DOD) intelligence operations encouraged creation of the civilian
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 1947. ==References==