Interview of faculty: ‘Teaching Intelligence,’ Summer Session 6B

Patrick Bratton, Ph.D., (left) and Brian Fila

Department Chair of History and International Studies Patrick Bratton, Ph.D., interviewed adjunct instructor Brian Fila, on ThinkTech Hawaii’s June 2 “Global Connections” show about his experience teaching intelligence. Fila is a retired Naval intelligence officer with over two decades of experience, working in military and civilian intelligence agencies.

Since 2011, Fila has been teaching a variety of HPU courses in the Diplomacy and Military Studies, International Studies and History programs. This summer, during session 6B (June 27-Aug. 7), he will teach a split level undergraduate-graduate course, Intelligence Studies (PSCI 3650) and Foreign Intelligence (PSCI 6650).

·         PSCI3650: This course gives students grounding in the academic field of intelligence studies, including both the intelligence community and the uses of intelligence. It will first cover the historical development of the modern intelligence community. Then it will review major issues and types of intelligence with historical case studies. Finally, contemporary debates in intelligence reform and the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) will be examined in detail.

·         PSCI6650: The course is a graduate level introduction to U.S. intelligence, its practice, effectiveness, and rationale. It explores the relationship between intelligence and U.S. national security, both during and after the Cold War. The course will address such issues as intelligence analysis, organization and oversight, as well as the concerns and perspectives of producers and consumers.

Fila is a retired member of the US Senior Executive Service with 32-years of experience in the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Intelligence Community, where he served in a number of senior policy and intelligence officer positions including delivering direct intelligence support to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. He is also a retired U.S. Navy Captain having qualified as a Surface Warfare Officer and Information Dominance Warfare Officer, U.S. Naval Attaché, and Reserve Agent of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

Currently, Fila is President and owner of MPMS-Oahu, LLC, delivering consulting services to industry and government organizations. He is a Partner in Leader Development Network Global (ldnglobal.com), an education-focused 501(c)(3) providing services to industry and non-profit leaders worldwide. He is also a member of the board of Advocates for Africa's Children, a faith-based organization serving the needs of orphaned children in Swaziland in southern Africa.