The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serves as the nation's premier source of maritime intelligence.
Since the First World War, ONI's mission has broadened to include real-time reporting on the developments and activities of foreign navies; protecting maritime resources and interests; monitoring and countering transnational maritime threats; providing technical, operational, and tactical support to the U.S. Navy and its partners; and surveying the global maritime environment. ONI employs over 3,000 military and civilian personnel worldwide and is headquartered at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland.
History
Despite playing an active and decisive role in the American Civil War, in the following years the U.S. Navy fell into precipitous decline. A lack of both federal funding and public interest reduced the Navy's size, prestige, and technological superiority; whereas steel ships were increasingly the norm, the U.S. Navy was entirely wood-based. Towards the end of the 19th century, American naval power had become vastly obsolete compared to Europe, and even lagged behind the navies of less developed nations such as Chile.
In an era of rapid industrialization, globalized commerce, and colonial expansion, the prevailing military theory of the time held that navies were critical to the commercial and strategic interests of a nation, as well as a source of national prestige and power projection. In light of these developments, American naval officers and military strategists advocated for a larger and more technologically advanced navy that could protect the U.S.' vast maritime borders, safeguard its commercial interests, and project power abroad. Among the leading reformers was Navy Lieutenant Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason, who called for the creation of a naval intelligence office dedicated to gathering information on foreign navies and the latest in naval science to help rebuild the U.S. Navy.
William H. Hunt, who served briefly as Secretary of the Navy under President James Garfield, formed a Naval Advisory Board tasked with rebuilding the Navy and bringing it up to par to global standards. Largely in response to Mason's recommendations, on March 23, 1882, Hunt issued General Order No. 292, which read:
The new Office of Naval Intelligence would be headquartered in the State, War and Navy Building (now the Old Executive Office Building), with Mason appointed as its first "Chief Intelligence Office". As originally conceived, ONI assisted in the Navy's advancement by dispatching naval attachés around the world to acquire data and resources related to the latest in naval warfare. These findings would be analyzed, interpreted, and disseminated to Navy leaders and government officials, helping to inform policies and programs related to naval development.
Expansion
Mason was succeeded as Chief Intelligence Officer by Lieutenant Raymond P. Rodgers in April 1885. In addition to intensifying ONI's research and surveillance of naval technology abroad, Rodger's four-year tenure saw ONI partner with the U.S. Department of State in gathering information on strategic maritime interests such as Panama, Samoa, and the Kingdom of Hawaii. ONI also began to develop capabilities in cryptography, which would foreshadow its evolution into a full-fledged military intelligence office.
In 1890, one year after Rodger's departure from ONI, the office was transferred from the Bureau of Navigation to the Secretary of the Navy, solidifying its key role in the Navy's growth and development. ONI's emergence as a proper naval intelligence arm began in earnest with the Spanish–American War of 1898. Naval operations were critical in the conflict, and ONI was responsible for protecting Navy personnel, providing tactical support, and implementing counter-intelligence measures. Nevertheless, weaknesses in its intelligence gathering were revealed.
ONI grew in prominence under President Theodore Roosevelt, a former Assistant Secretary of the Navy and naval enthusiast. His expansionist foreign policy — and the central role the U.S. Navy played therein — made maritime intelligence more crucial. The sailing of the "Great White Fleet" around the world between 1906 and 1907, which included sixteen newly constructed steel battleships, showcased new-found American seapower and validated ONI's efforts. By 1911, the U.S. was constructing super-dreadnoughts at a pace that would eventually become competitive with Britain's Royal Navy.