Lt. Gen. Anthony Hale, the Army’s outgoing intelligence chief, addresses soldiers during a town hall while they train at Fort McCoy, Wis., on Aug. 9, 2024. Hale has spent recent months warning of new and growing efforts by foreign governments to trick American soldiers into revealing secret national security information. (Joshua Frye/U.S. Army Reserve)
All U.S. soldiers and Army civilian employees must report to the service any offers for secondary employment or requests to participate in academic projects amid an uptick in adversary efforts to steal classified or sensitive information, according to a new Army-wide message.
Army counterintelligence officials have seen increasing efforts by foreign intelligence agents to pursue access to restricted U.S. national security information by posing online as “consulting firms, corporate recruiters, think tanks and other seemingly legitimate companies,” according to the All-Army message published Nov. 25. The recent government shutdown may have contributed to increased efforts by adversary governments to target frustrated or financially insecure government workers and service members, according to the memorandum.
“This threat from foreign intelligence entities is real, persistent and evolving,” Brig. Gen. Sean Stinchon, who heads Army Counterintelligence Command, said in a statement. “Army Counterintelligence Command is working tirelessly to identify and neutralize these threats and impose cost on our adversaries, but we need every member of the Army team to remain vigilant and proactive in protecting themselves and their information.”
Army officials approached with offers of secondary employment, academic projects, or frequent contacts with foreigners or any other “threat-related incidents” are instructed to report them to an Army counterintelligence special agent. Those reports can be made at www.usainscom.army.mil/iSALUTE or at 1-800-225-5779.
Such contacts must be reported within 24 hours of the incident.
Lt. Gen. Tony Hale, the service’s outgoing intelligence chief, has spent recent months warning of new and growing efforts by foreign governments to trick American soldiers into revealing secret national security information. In a message to the force ahead of his upcoming retirement, Hale warned that soldiers and civilians could face criminal or other punishment if they do not report such incidents.
The general has said in recent months that employment offers to U.S. soldiers may include invitations to write white papers or articles, which could benefit adversaries.
“If the offer seems flattering, urgent, exclusive or too good to be true, it probably is,” Hale wrote. “… We are counting on each of you to do your part. Inaction puts national security and your teammates at risk.”
Maj. Gen. Michelle Schmidt is set to replace Hale as the Army’s intelligence director on Dec. 8. Schmidt will be promoted to lieutenant general.
Under Hale, the Army has revamped its counterintelligence efforts and established Army Counterintelligence Command, which oversees some 3,000 civilian and uniformed agents. Since 2021, those agents have conducted more than 600 national security investigations — including more than 200 currently open cases — leading to the arrests of at least 25 soldiers and former soldiers suspected of espionage, according to the Army.
Hale said in October the command’s workload has grown every year and is expected to increase again in 2026.
