The Army Air Force Intellignece School was established on 15 January 1942 at Bolling Field, District of Columbia Students began photo interpretation school in facilities at the University of Maryland, but were moved to Harrisburg, Pensylvania where, on 13 April 1942, instruction began. The school was assigned to the Army Air Force Technical Training Comman. On 31 March 1944, the school ws closed at Harrisburg. It reopened at Orlando Army Air Field, Florida on 20 April 1944 as a Department of the Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics. Courses ceased in the Fall of 1945. Exact date of dis-establishment of the school is not available, but it appears to have occurred on 1 April 1944, when the mission and instruction were transferred to AAFSAT. Originally the course of instruction lasted six weeks, three of which were devoted to general intelligence and three to photo interpretation and air combat intelligence specialties. However, experience showed that more time wass required and in Octover 1942,six weeks of specialized training was given following two weeks of general study. Shortly after the school opened, a need arose for both Base Intelligence Officers and for Prisoner of War interrogation at Harrisburg and on 12 November 1942, opening a Air Base Intelligence School at Austin, Texas. This later school was in operation at Austin for only a short period of time and on 1 March 1943 was transferred to Harrisburg. For the Combat Intelligence Course, college graduates were preferred, but four years of high school education was a minimum prerequisite. In addition three or more years of experience in law, banding or other selected fields wa required, or, as an alternative, three or more years of residence in foreign countries. Photo interpretation students were required to have a degree from a collete or university in geology, economic geography, architecture, civil engineering or similar selected fields, or as an alternative two years experience inlike subjects. The individual was required to have 20/20 vision or vision corrected to 20/20, and could not be color blind. Officers witrh a college degree ere given preference as interrogators, but the ability to speak German, Japanese or Italian with idioms was a positive requirement. College graduates also were preferred in the Air Base Intelligence course while personnel with three or more years experience in law or investigating experience with insurrance firms of the government were desired. The number of students in attendance varied from seventy-five at the nbeginning to almost nine hundred at the peak. Slight variations were made in details but the course retained a basic pattern. General military information covered: 1. Orientation,national charactreristics of the enemy, combined operations, psychological warfare. 2. Air Intelligence, including functions and procedures, intelligence planning, principal sources of information, evaluation and interpretation, enemy order of battle and estimate of the situation, intelligence records, situation maps,mission reports, intelligence summaries, and flow of intelligence reports. 3. Counter Intelligece, including safeguarding military information, combat counter intelligence ad airdrome defense. 4. Aviation, including the organizations, background and functions of the United States Army Air Force, allied air forces and enemy air forces as well as basic tactics and strategy of air warfare. 5. Ground forces of the United States and its enemies. 6. Organization of the Navy and naval types and nomenclature. 7. Operations, navigation and meteorology. 8. Maps, map reading, use of instruments,signs, scales and symbols,coordinates, devitions, and elevation and relief. 9. Photo Intelligence including basic photo intelligence,sterovision, and photo interpretation. 10. Aircraft recognition. Combat intelligence to a great extent repeated the general course but in much greater detail. Particular emphasis was placed on briefings, interrogation, mission reports and problems dealing with various tyes of aircraft and their employment. Photo Interpretation, after a grounding in procedures employed employed in theaters of operations, dealth almost exclusively with naval, air , ground forces, and industrial equipment and installations and their recognition through aeral photographs. POW interogation or language intelligence courses concerned themselves with the geography, history, psychology, ideology and propagande of the country concerned, background studies of its armed forces, disposition and custody of prisoners and documents, and methods and techniques of interrogration. The chief topics dealth within the Air Base Intelliegence Course were: 1. Organization of the Army, A-2 and military police. 2. Counter intelligence measures. 3. Safeguarding military information. 4. Administrative procedures, functions and techniques of an S-2 office. 5. Investigative procedure. 6. Reports, writing, submission and proper classification. 7. Liaison. 8. Wartime statues. CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION CREDITS:
World War-II: None. DECORATIONS: None. COAT OF ARMS:
SHIELD: Argent, above the fess point the head and shoulders of a Spinx affronte couped azure, overall a three bladed propeller. CREST: A catherine wheel argent between on the dexter side a branch of oak and on the sinister a branch of laurel vert fructed proper. MOTTO: Apprehension.
SYMBOLISM: The catherine wheel ws anciently used as a symbol of one who is prepared to undergo great trials. The branch of oak is symbolic of sturdiness and growth,while the laurel was anciently used in the crowning of their heros. The motto "APPRENHENSION" has the double allusion of the seizing or taking by legal, especially criminal process,arest; and to knowledge and perception, grasping with the intellect, the contemplation of things, without passing any judgement, all of which are represented in the performance of te permanent personnel of the school
KEEP 'em FLYING!!! 1SGT Charles W. Aresta, US Army (RET); The Hawaiian Military Insignia Collectors and Study Group, 1813 Sereno Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817-2318. Phone or fax: (808) 537-2753 or e-mail: ra1sgt@aol.com
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