Advanced Intelligence

I am now taking my 2nd Intel course this year, Advanced Intelligence Analysis. It seems ever since I came here in August, upperclassman have been giving me tips for the class. Of the two classes Intel students take their freshman year, this is the more difficult one, but it's also when you get to actually be an analyst. As of now, I've only had one full week of classes under my belt, but it was a busy week. The course consists of a 10 week project called a country study. Each student is assigned a country (one you've most likely never heard of) and must answer the following question: Will your country be stable in 18 to 24 months? In order to answer this question you must do an in-depth analysis of your country's stablity and predict their stability in the future. You must look at the country's military, its technology, its geography, as well as the political, economic, and social status. Together, these "areas" can give you an indication of the country's future. Along with a final report, we must also create a link chart, which shows our findings and the various relationships we discover. Then we must present our findings in the form of a briefing in front of the class. The briefing can be no longer than 10 minutes and we dress professionally (suit & tie). I was assigned the country of Armenia and I have been gathering sources and reading up on my country. The biggest piece of advice I received from the upperclassman was not to procrastinate, and now I can see why. This project is so involved that if you wait to get started, you will get behind and things will creep up on you. Whenver I have time available, I am busy researching my country, printing articles out, and reading Armenian newspapers. So far I have enjoyed this project. It's neat to learn about a country you've never heard of and after 10 weeks I'm sure I'll know more about Armenia than the people living there do...ok well maybe not but close. I'll keep you posted on my project as I work through it.