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Intelligence and Security

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Challenging times

For Shane Carmody, the opportunity to return to the position as head of the Intelligence and Security group in Defence has been a welcome one. Harry Baxter reports.

Mr Shane Carmody.
Photo by Steve Dent

It's a diverse group of agencies with many challenges and opportunities ahead, but whether by chance or by design—or a healthy dose of both—Mr Carmody's background and recent experience have served as an ideal preparation for his current role.

Having served in the Army for some 15 years, including positions across Australia, in Indonesia and in the United States, Mr Carmody joined the Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) in 1989 and worked in intelligence production and project management. He was Deputy Director Intelligence (DDI) in DSD from 1996 to 1999 before moving to the Department of Finance.

Mr Carmody's roles as a member of Defence's Senior Leadership Group have included Deputy Secretary positions in three groups: Strategy, Corporate Services, and Intelligence and Security. He was promoted to Deputy Secretary Intelligence and Security (DEPSEC I&S) in June 2001 but only stayed briefly before being transferred to Corporate Services in 2002.

His most recent responsibility was as Deputy Secretary Strategy, a position he held from July 2002 to January 2006.

'The seven or eight months I had in this job last time were consumed by the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and all of the Safebase arrangements we worked to put in place as a result,' he said.

'When I returned to intelligence in 2001 I was conscious that some things had changed, but the changes over the past few years since 2002 have been enormous.

'We have gone from collecting and producing assessments with a focus on events that might happen, to an era where our focus is much more on events that are happening. And we have become an integral part of the warfighting effort.

'Although the changes began with East Timor, the major changes have been since our involvement in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Solomon Islands. The group is also much more involved now with prosecuting terror targets and in counter-proliferation work while still doing all the more traditional collection and production of foreign intelligence, and producing realistic assessments to identify current and emerging threats.

'Significantly, in that period we have seen the emergence of the Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation (DIGO). It has really come into its own—in terms of our ability to support the warfighter and in relation to broader government support such as the 2005 Commonwealth Games and relief work after events like Cyclone Larry and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

'Of course the bombings in Bali and in Jakarta were defining moments for intelligence as they were for all Australians—we should never forget them. They bring into even sharper focus my efforts to join up our intelligence capabilities.'

The variety of senior roles Mr Carmody has occupied in recent years has meant almost continuous membership of senior defence committees, including the Defence Committee (from 2001) and the Chiefs of Service Committee (2002–05).

'My experience across Defence puts me in a good position to represent intelligence and security issues, and to contribute to the policy debate in Defence and across government.'

Current priorities

In terms of the group's priorities for this year and beyond, Mr Carmody sees a range of tasks to continue to build on the effectiveness and efficiency of intelligence support for operations, as well as improvements in the security domain.

'In the security area there's an important factor to consider—last year we processed something like 16 000 security clearances. This is an amazing amount really, it's certainly not like nothing is happening.

'But the simple fact is we have to continue to improve, so that we can deliver clearances in the timeframes required. If we don't, then it costs us—not just in credibility but also in our ability to meet recruiting targets and ultimately in reduced operational effectiveness.'

'We stood up a vetting review team in April. Their task is to look at the fundamental issues of demand and supply, and to make sure our clearance and business processes are as effective and efficient as possible. I am expecting big things from them.'

High-level coordination of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities is also a key priority for the I&S Group, he said.

'We have a big stake in all three components of ISR because of the very nature of our business. There is a risk of parallel [unnecessary] effort across the services and groups. As a group we can be more actively involved in coordinating ISR work, without having to own all of the assets or the personnel.'

Mr Carmody thinks that while the Defence Intelligence Organisation and the DSD are performing extremely well, there is always room for improvements in core business areas.

'A key strategic question for me is what we can do as a group to bring forward stronger joined-up intelligence advice. From collecting intelligence on foreign operations to producing assessments, what more can we do to influence outcomes? What can we do to assist government and defence decision-making, and what more can we do to support Australian Defence Force operations?'

Another of the group's priorities for this year is Languages other than English (LOTE). In his role as DEPSEC I&S, Mr Carmody is the capability manager for LOTE in Defence. As a graduate of the 'old' Royal Australian Air Force School of Languages, he thinks he is well placed to define what we need in Defence. He sees his role as working with the services and groups in Defence to shape and influence the overall training strategy.

'It's not so much about the content of the training,' he says, 'since our linguistics education continues to produce excellent results.

'What I'm keen to pursue is questions of how many people we are training in what language, for what purpose, and where. We need to have a long-term strategy for growing our capabilities in this area, and it has to be balanced.'

The way forward

Recruitment from an increasingly competitive market for talent and retention of skilled personnel are also key challenges across the intelligence and security agencies.

'We need to highlight the career benefits in people staying on and developing their expertise with us because if they don't, we risk losing our edge,' Mr Carmody says.

'Mobility is important but it isn't everything and doesn't fit in all circumstances. It does have a cost.'

Mr Carmody also contends that agencies within the intelligence and security community have sometimes been the subject of undue criticism.

'Agencies have had to cope with more criticism than they deserve—by and large we do some excellent work, and the majority of it will not be visible to those who criticise us. That's just the nature of things. That's the intelligence business.

'Each of the intelligence agencies is important, but they certainly don't operate in a vacuum. No part of Defence can afford to.

'One of the things I tell our people when I go to speak at [training events] or spend time in each of the agencies—and I am committed to doing that and to being visible and approachable as a leader—is that each of the intelligence agencies is part of a broader enterprise. People need to be asking questions like where they fit in the organisation, and where their organisation fits with others. That context helps all of us achieve better results.'

In the wake of the 2004 inquiry into the effectiveness of the intelligence agencies, conducted by Mr Phillip Flood, Mr Carmody says the relationships between agencies in the Australian intelligence community are closer than they have ever been.

'Closer relations is in part a consequence of Flood's inquiry—which was far-reaching and very helpful—but is also a consequence of the times that we live in. The requirement to respond to today's challenges means we must be united in a common purpose.'

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