Every community has a normal — a rhythm of movement, infrastructure behavior, and human activity that plays out day after day. That normal is your most powerful intelligence asset. This course teaches you to document it deliberately, recognize meaningful deviations from it, and translate those observations into reporting products that directly support community-level situational awareness and post-incident SITREP development.
- Build and maintain baselines across four community domains
- Maintain an Activity Register and Pattern Analysis Plot Sheet
- Define deviation thresholds appropriate to your area
- Build a Cascade Watch List for your most likely scenarios
- Distinguish signal from noise in routine observations
- Recognize cascade indicator chains across domains
- Evaluate concurrent multi-domain deviations
- Produce Spot Reports and Pattern of Life Summaries
Doctrine first — Each concept is grounded in FM 34-2-1, FM 2-22.3, or the Camp X SOE Training Manual. You learn why the method works, not just what the steps are. Application second — Every concept is applied to realistic community and neighborhood scenarios. Knowledge checks — Questions test application, not recall. Correct answers include the full reasoning. Wrong answers direct you back to the relevant section.
None required. INT-08 is self-contained and accessible to students at any point in the curriculum. Students who have completed INT-11 (Intelligence Cycle) will have useful context for where PoL fits. Students who have completed INT-07 (OAKOC) will recognize the terrain and environment framing. Neither is required.
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00Course Introduction: Why Normal MattersThe analytical gap between observation and intelligence, and what changes when you approach your environment with a documented baseline.10–12 min›
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01The Four Baseline DomainsHuman activity patterns, infrastructure and lifeline behavior, vehicle and movement patterns, and communications signatures — and how to build a collection framework for each.12–14 min›
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02Reading the Data: Analytical ToolsThe Activity Register, Pattern Analysis Plot Sheet, and Event Template — adapted from FM 2-22.3 and FM 34-2-1 — plus the three-level deviation threshold framework.12–14 min›
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03Cascade IndicatorsHow disruptions in one domain predict disruptions in others, the three primary cascade chains, and how concurrent multi-domain deviations elevate threat thresholds.10–12 min›
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04From Observation to ReportingThe Spot Report (SALUTE format, adapted) and Pattern of Life Summary — the two products that translate collection data into intelligence outputs for MAG leadership and Community SITREP integration.10–12 min›
Start with the course introduction. Each lesson builds on the previous one.
FM 34-2-1 (Reconnaissance and Surveillance) · FM 2-22.3 (HUMINT Collection Operations), Chapters 3 and 8 · Camp X SOE Training Manual (STS 103), observation and surveillance sections · FEMA Community Lifelines framework
Semper Paratus, Semper Gumby