The effort to update the 1982 DoD manual’s procedures was an interagency process, Mahar explained.

“We went line by line, procedure by procedure,” he said, working with senior representatives of all defense intelligence components as the updated guidelines were finalized.

DoD officials included representatives from the military services, the Joint Staff and several defense and combat support agencies, including the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office, the National Security Agency, and the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency.

“We worked closely with the Justice Department and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence because EO 12333 requires approval by the attorney general after consultation with the DNI,” he said, noting that the process was a good example of interagency collaboration.

“We took a very complex set of procedures and effectively updated them to deal with current and near-future operating practices and capabilities,” he said