Second Edition — Pre-Order Opening Soon

The Area Intelligence Handbook

by Mike Shelby

The complete framework for building a local intelligence product — from defining your operational environment to running collection operations and producing actionable assessments. Written for military, corporate security, and community leaders.

Be first to know when pre-orders open. No spam.

25
Chapters
7
Parts
1,186
Indexed Paragraphs
~650
Pages

Seven parts. One complete intelligence system.

From foundational concepts through collection operations to finished intelligence products — every chapter builds on the last.

Part 1 — Area Intelligence Framework
  • 01 Introduction to Intelligence
  • 02 Area Study Overview
  • 03 Defining the Operational Environment
  • 04 The Threat Environment
  • 05 Mission Analysis
Part 2 — The Operational Environment
  • 06 Physical Terrain & Weather
  • 07 Human Terrain
  • 08 Critical Infrastructure
  • 09 Politics & Governance
  • 10 Safety and Defense
  • 11 Economics and Finance
Part 3 — The Threat Environment
  • 12 Threat Analysis
  • 13 Threat Assessment Tools
  • 14 Risk & Vulnerability Assessment
Part 4 — Intelligence Collection
  • 15 Intelligence Planning for Operations
  • 16 Open Source Intelligence
  • 17 Human Intelligence
  • 18 Signals Intelligence
  • 19 Imagery Intelligence
  • 20 Surveillance & Reconnaissance
Part 5 — Annexes
  • 21 Information Annex
  • 22 Contingency Annex
  • 23 The Intelligence Estimate
Parts 6 & 7 — Epilogue & Appendices
  • 24 Low Intensity Conflict
  • 25 Next Steps
  • + 5 Appendices & Glossary
Intelligence drives operations. Not gear, not wishful thinking, not the latest tactical fad — intelligence.

— from Chapter 25

Built on proven military doctrine,
translated for civilian operations.

The second edition is grounded in the same doctrinal backbone used by military intelligence professionals — restructured for anyone responsible for security and situational awareness in their community or organization.

1

Define your operational environment

Map the terrain, infrastructure, population, politics, and economics of your area using structured OE layers.

2

Analyze the threat

Identify threat actors, assess capability and intent, and apply structured analytic techniques to cut through bias and assumption.

3

Collect intelligence

Run OSINT, HUMINT, SIGINT, IMINT, and surveillance operations — legally, ethically, and systematically — using a formal collection plan.

4

Produce actionable products

Turn raw information into an Area Study, Intelligence Estimate, and contingency plans that drive real decisions.

Written for practitioners, not theorists.

Military & Veterans

Intelligence professionals who need a civilian-applicable framework grounded in the doctrine you already know.

Corporate Security

Security directors and risk managers responsible for threat assessment, protective intelligence, and continuity planning.

Community Leaders

Preparedness groups, neighborhood organizations, and civic leaders who want structured situational awareness for their community.

Rewritten from the ground up.

The first edition was 15 chapters and 230 pages. The second edition is 25 chapters, 7 parts, and nearly three times the content — with entirely new coverage of intelligence collection, threat assessment tools, and low intensity conflict.

+

Full intelligence collection part

Six new chapters covering OSINT, HUMINT, SIGINT, IMINT, surveillance & reconnaissance, and collection planning.

+

Structured analytic techniques

Analysis of Competing Hypotheses, Key Assumptions Check, indicators & warnings, cognitive bias mitigation, and link analysis.

+

Broader audience, same rigor

Reframed for military, corporate security, and community leaders — without losing the practitioner edge.

Be the first to get your copy.

Pre-order opens soon. Drop your email and we’ll let you know the moment it’s live.

No spam. Just the launch notification.