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Introduction
The 309th Military Intelligence (MI) Battalion has the responsibility for training the U.S. Army's 35M10, Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Collector Course, the Army's largest HUMINT military occupational specialty (MOS) producing course. The 309th trained over 1,150 new HUMINT Collectors during Fiscal Year (FY) 2006, which was a 345% increase above the FY 2002 (260) student training load. The annual student training load for FY 2007 and beyond, is projected to be in excess of 1,400 Soldiers.
Effective 1 October 2007, the old MOS 97E10 (Interrogator) will become MOS 35M10 (HUMINT Collector) as part of the Army's MOS realignment effort. During the 1990s, the role of the interrogator rapidly expanded as the need for HUMINT collection grew in response to ongoing operations in the Balkans and Southwest Asia. In these HUMINT centric environments, interrogators were used in source contact operations, force protection screenings, and friendly force debriefings. In 2000, the title of MOS 97E10 was officially changed to HUMINT Collector, which reflected the 97E's expanded HUMINT role.
Since 11 September 2001, the 35M10 Program of Instruction (POI) has undergone several course improvements to ensure it remains current and relevant with world events and Army mission requirements. In October 2006, the 97E10 course was lengthened from 16 weeks 3 days to 18 weeks 3 days to accommodate 19 new critical tasks, and command guidance from FM 2-22.3, Human Intelligence Collector Operations, 6 September 2006.
The War on Terror, the Army's modular force conversion, and the Army's intelligence transformation are fueling a tremendous operational requirement for HUMINT Collectors (See Figure 1). To meet the growing demand for HUMINT professionals, the Army increased the 3 5M10 student training load every year since FY 2002 (October 2001). Despite the increased work load, the 3 5M10 graduation rate increased to a historical high and feedback from field commanders has been overwhelmingly positive. Figures 2 and 3 compare the graduation rates and student loads between FY 2002 and FY 2006.
Educational Approach to 35M10 Training
Constructivism is extensively employed throughout the 3 5M10 curriculum. Constructivism is based upon the premise that learning is an active process and students will incorporate their current and past knowledge into their newly learned concepts to solve numerous curriculum based problem sets (which increase in complexity as...