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

A press release from the Department of National Defense said Thursday that the move created the Canadian Forces Intelligence Group led by Major-General Christian Rousseau, commander of the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, or CFINTCOM. The group now also operational.

The CFINTCOM, established on June 27 this year to replace the existing Chief of Defense Intelligence organization, 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 synchronize and prioritize intelligence collection to the benefit of the whole defense community.

Rob Nicholson, Canada's Minister of National Defense, said the move will enable Canadian commanders to conduct a more integrated analysis, and make better and more informed decisions.

"Defense intelligence is an integral part of military operations and activities," the minister noted.

According to an official backgrounder, CFJIC's mission is to provide accurate, timely, and relevant imagery and related intelligence; CFNCIU is to identify, investigate and counter threats from foreign intelligence services, or from individuals and groups engaged in espionage, sabotage, subversion, terrorism, extremism, or criminal activities; JMC's mission is to forecast weather for military deployment; MCE is to provide timely and accurate mapping and charting support by using satellite technologies; and JTF-X is to provide strategic, operational and tactical human intelligence resources only on overseas missions.

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