INT-05 Structured Debriefing for MAGs

INT-05: Structured Debriefing for MAGs

Get accurate, usable information from returning members, travelers, and contacts, without leading them.

Why This Course

BLUF: The most useful information a MAG gets is usually walking back through the door: a member home from a supply run, a traveler passing through after a disaster, a neighbor who has been somewhere the group has not. Most groups waste it with a friendly “how was it out there?” This course teaches a structured, voluntary debrief based on FM 2-22.3 that recovers what a casual chat misses, without leading the source.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to:

  • Debrief returning members, travelers, and community contacts in a structured, voluntary way
  • Plan a debrief around what the group needs and what this source could actually know
  • Walk a source through their route on a map without putting answers in their mouth
  • Tell what a source saw firsthand from what they heard or concluded
  • Write a report the group can trust and rate the source and the information honestly

Lessons 01–05

Lesson 01

What a Debrief Is, and What It Is Not

Separate debriefing from elicitation and interrogation, keep it voluntary, put care before questions, and learn FM 2-22.3’s five phases.

Lesson 02

Planning and Preparation

Match the group’s questions to what this source could know, choose a chronological or topical sequence, and plan around their condition.

Lesson 03

Approach and Rapport

Open honestly with the direct approach, build and keep rapport, and sort which INT-04 techniques carry over. Only two do.

Lesson 04

Questioning Without Leading

Map tracking, the six question types to use and four to avoid, hot and cold leads, and labeling every fact firsthand, hearsay, or conclusion.

Lesson 05

Capstone: Closing, Reporting, and Assessing

Close so the source will talk again, write the report, rate it, protect the record, run a full practice debrief, and pass the final assessment.

How This Course Works

Prerequisite INT-04 Elicitation Tradecraft (required). INT-03 SALUTE and SPOT Reports is recommended.
Doctrinal basis FM 2-22.3, Human Intelligence Collector Operations, adapted for voluntary civilian debriefs.
Format Five lessons, each with knowledge checks. Each lesson unlocks the next once its checks are answered correctly.
Time About three hours of lessons, plus a practice debrief with a partner.
Final product The Debrief Kit: a Debrief Plan, a map-tracking question sequence, and a report format, plus one completed practice debrief.
Progress Saved in this browser on this device. Use the same browser to pick up where you left off.

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