Understand the adversary, read the ground, and give your commander the decision advantage.
ALCON has trained people from:
4.9 out of 5 from 56 Google reviews. Read them
200+ graduates in 25+ countries
NZIIP Finalist 2025, Excellence in Training
The course
The Military Intelligence Operator Course is world-class military intelligence training for people who want the knowledge and skills to plug into any headquarters, or to bolster the skills they already have.
It was built for four kinds of people:
By the end of the course you will be able to:
The spine of the course is intelligence preparation of the battlespace (IPB), the process militaries use to understand an operating environment and anticipate the enemy, carried through to collection, analysis and the brief. You drill every step on a simulated enemy in a realistic training world, in tools built for intelligence work, with feedback on your practical work as you go. Those are the sets and reps a headquarters would give you, without waiting for the next exercise.
About 5 to 6 hours a week for roughly 8 weeks, at your own pace.
The work
The intelligence job in the order a headquarters runs it, from understanding the operating environment to briefing the commander, drilled on one training scenario.
Understand military intelligence roles, the intelligence cycle, core doctrine and the operating environment.
Learn how military organisations plan and fight, and use military symbols and task graphics.
Study the training theatre, friendly forces and opposing forces, including their capabilities and tactics.
Use the four-step process to assess the environment, terrain and conventional threat, then develop threat courses of action.
Learn what changes when the population is the objective.
Turn intelligence requirements into a collection plan and match assets to the information needed.
Evaluate information and sources, and check your assumptions. Then use structured analysis to test your assessment.
Write intelligence reports and summaries, then practise briefing a commander.
Capstone exercise
Combine battlespace preparation, collection planning, analysis, written intelligence products and briefing in one final training scenario.
The tools
Most intelligence staff train on a battle management system or a common operating picture trainer, with the intelligence function bolted on the side. OpenIPB and POET were built the other way round, for the intelligence operator first.
OpenIPB
Work out how the ground and the weather shape what the enemy can do, where they will have to go, and what that means for your commander's plan.
OpenIPB, Exercise DRAGON WALK training scenario. Select a screen to open it full size.
POET
POET is an exercise environment built for intelligence training. Task your collection assets against what the commander needs to know, sort the confirmed reports from the unconfirmed, find the few that change the picture, and brief it.
POET, Exercise DRAGON WALK training scenario. Some reports are illustrative. Select a screen to open it full size.
OpenSATs
Put your assessment under pressure before the enemy does. Use structured analytic techniques, such as competing hypotheses and indicators, to test what the reports really tell you.
OpenSATs. Example screens from a maritime training scenario. Select a screen to open it full size.
How you learn
Work through the lessons at your own pace, then apply each one in the exercises. Submit your practical work and get feedback on it, so each repetition is better than the last.
You train alongside serving operators, reservists and analysts from forces and agencies around the world. Join the weekly live session with Cole, ask questions as you work, and compare your approach with peers from other backgrounds.
About Cole
Former New Zealand Defence Force intelligence professional
Cole's career began in the New Zealand Defence Force, where he worked intelligence in operational environments supporting special operations and domestic security missions. He is a qualified S2, the intelligence officer on a unit staff, and has deployed several times.
He has hired, trained and developed intelligence analysts at every level across government and the private sector. He knows what a commander needs from intelligence and what it takes to deliver it.
Cole founded ALCON Intelligence to close the gap between classroom theory and the practical skills the job demands. The MIOC teaches the battlespace work an S2 actually does.
Enrol nowLearner feedback
Comments from MIOC learners and IACC graduates.
Military Intelligence Operator Course: comments on individual modules.
This module gave me a greater understanding of the role of intelligence in military planning, which was very interesting.
Definitely now am more confident in reading symbology than I was before.
I've really enjoyed the videos from Cole in combination with the written content. It's well structured, easy to follow and engaging.
I enjoyed the military maps for drawing up your own scenarios. Could easily spend hours doing it.
Intelligence Analyst Certification Course: feedback from graduates.
The practical elements made it stand out from any other intelligence courses I have seen.
The feedback provided on questions and after assignments is great.
The balance between guidance and independence was spot on.
By the end, I had produced a full suite of analytical products I was genuinely proud of and could immediately apply professionally.
FAQ
Active-duty operators, reservists and National Guard members, police, government and private-sector intelligence analysts, and serious enthusiasts who want to be trained the way the military trains. The first modules cover the fundamentals and the military terms, so you can start from any level. You don't need to complete IACC first.
Allow about 5 to 6 hours a week for roughly 8 weeks. That is a guide, not a deadline. The whole course is open from day one.
Take as long as you need. There's no completion deadline, so you can slow down when life gets busy and pick it up again when you're ready.
Yes. You'll keep access to the course materials after you finish, so you can come back whenever you need a refresher.
Yes. You can work through the lessons online whenever they fit your schedule. You're welcome to join the weekly live group sessions with Cole, and you can catch the recordings if you can't make it.
You'll practise assessing the battlespace, planning collection, analysing reports and briefing a commander. There are eight modules and the capstone, Exercise JADE DRAGON.
OpenIPB is where you work out how the ground, the weather and the enemy shape the fight. POET is an exercise environment built for intelligence training: you task collection, work the reports and brief the commander in it. OpenSATs holds the structured analytic techniques you use to test your assessment.
You'll get feedback on the practical work you submit through the course platform. If something needs more work, you'll have the chance to revise it and resubmit. You can also ask questions and contact an instructor through the course community.
Yes. Once you've successfully completed the course, you'll receive an ALCON certificate of competency recognising the skills and knowledge you've demonstrated.
Yes. Email [email protected] and we will send an invoice.
You get access as soon as you enrol. The learning material opens Monday 26 October.
Enrol
You get access as soon as you enrol. The learning material opens Monday 26 October. Enrolment closes at 9am New York time on Monday 26 October.
Payment plan
US$215
A month, for four months. US$860 in total.
Enrol on the plan30-day money-back guarantee. No questions asked.
Pay in full
US$799
One payment. US$61 less than the plan.
Enrol and pay in full30-day money-back guarantee. No questions asked.
Both options include the course and everything below
The full course: eight modules and the capstone, Exercise JADE DRAGON. Lifetime access and an ALCON certificate of competency on completion.
Extras on top of the courseUS$5,150, included
You finish with the products you built along the way: IPB overlays, a collection plan, intelligence reports and a brief to the commander.
30-day money-back guarantee. If MIOC isn't right for you, we'll refund you in full, no questions asked.
Not sure if MIOC is right for you? Book a 15-minute call with Cole.