Canada unites five military intelligence units

In a bid to provide integrated and coordinated intelligence collection to the military leadership,Canada has united five previously separate military intelligence units into one new group.

The move created the Canadian Forces Intelligence Group led by Major-General Christian Rousseau, commander of the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, or CFINTCOM, reported Xinhua citing a release from the Department of National Defence Thursday.

The CFINTCOM, established June 27 this year to replace the existing Chief of Defence Intelligence organisation, is assigned to better respond to evolving intelligence requirements in today's complex security environment.

The five units concerned are -- the Canadian Forces Joint Imagery Centre (CFJIC), the Canadian Forces National Counter-Intelligence Unit (CFNCIU), the Joint Meteorological Centre (JMC), the Mapping and Charting Establishment (MCE), and Joint Task Force X, (JTF-X) which provides human intelligence support to overseas missions.

At a ceremony Wednesday, Rousseau said the new group, which is the primary formation within the CFINTCOM, will help synchronise and prioritise intelligence collection to the benefit of the whole defence community.