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Every Marine is a leader, from the junior enlisted ranks to senior officers. It’s how a Marine’s leadership approach supports the Marines around them that determines how influential of a leader they can be.
For U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Lauren LaChance, a fusion intelligence officer with III Marine Expeditionary Force, her leadership and influence in her unit resulted in being awarded as the Lt. Col. Michael D. Kuszewski Intelligence Officer of the Year for 2022.
The recipient of this award is recognized by their command as an officer who exemplifies outstanding leadership and exhibits superior knowledge within the field of Marine Corps Intelligence.
As a fusion intelligence officer with III MEF, LaChance’s duties entail briefing the III MEF Commanding General on intelligence-related information.
“I will serve as the MEF G2 fusion officer. My primary duty is to serve as the CG’s intelligence briefer,” said LaChance, explaining her job. “The Marine Corps has several intel disciplines; my job is to make sure that we're painting the enemy picture for the commander by fusing all those intel disciplines.”
LaChance was nominated for the award by Lt. Col. Chris Machi, the III MEF G-2 Operations Officer, and III MEFG-2 leadership who stated that LaChance demonstrated exceptional mastery’ in the performance of her duties.
“Captain LaChance has reflected exceptional mastery and understanding of the U.S.
Intelligence Community, the [Indo-Pacific Command Area of responsibility], and most critically, our peer adversary,” said Machi. “Her efforts have been instrumental in reducing uncertainty, enabling critical decision-making, and informing III MEF Operations, Activities, and Investments in the First Island Chain.”
LaChance, a native of Alpharetta, Georgia, grew up in a military family and from a young age knew she wanted to be a Marine. She focused on school and being competitive in sports in order to eventually commission as an officer.
“The person who inspires my constant quest to be a better leader is my father,” said LaChance. “Amazingly enough, during the course of my career, I've run into retired Navy chiefs and retired Navy officers who would see my name tapes and say, ‘Your dad was one of the good ones.’”
Despite coming from a family with a military background of multiple naval officers, LaChance was the first in her family to choose the Marine Corps. The idea of joining a different branch had her family expressing their own thoughts.
“They all thought that I was crazy,” said LaChance. “I was very much drawn to the challenge. I heard that the Marine Corps was the most challenging branch, so I was all in on that idea.”
After completing college and her entry-level Marine Corps training, LaChance was focused on beginning her military career as a signals intelligence officer. Her desire to lead Marines and deploy led her to the military occupational specialty.
“SIGINT is unique within the Marine intelligence disciplines because you are afforded the opportunity to lead a platoon,” she said. “I had the honor of training Marines on how to get after the enemy.”
During her time at her first unit, 1st Radio Battalion, I Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, LaChance served as a platoon commander and as a signals intelligence detachment officer-in-charge, where she trained Marines on how to set up tactical signals intelligence sites.
New to the job, LaChance would often rely on her Marines’ experience and technical proficiency. The biggest challenge LaChance faced during her assignment was finding the balance between leading and being able to learn. She had to accept that in her position she wouldn't have the most knowledge and should still have willingness to learn.
“Have the humility to ask questions and learn,” said LaChance, explaining her leadership approach. “But knowing all the while that Marines need strong leadership, and you need to be the best leader that you can be because your Marines deserve that.”
LaChance’s time as a signals intelligence officer allowed her to gain a deep appreciation for that discipline. As she transitioned into her next MOS as a Marine Air-Ground Task Force intelligence officer, she found that being able recognize the importance of the other intelligence disciplines was critical to all-source analysis.
“It's incumbent upon me to have the same appreciation and understanding of human intelligence, counter-intelligence, geospatial intelligence, measurement and signals intelligence, and open-source intelligence” said LaChance. “And what's most important is understanding the strengths and the weaknesses of each intel discipline. You can't get the full picture with just one.”
Before arriving at her second unit, LaChance attended the MAGTF Intel Officer Course. There she learned how to work as an intel analyst, writing analysis using all source intelligence.
LaChance worked through a steep learning curve as she began her second tour at Headquarters Marine Corps at Henderson Hall in Arlington, Virginia.
“I was out of my comfort zone. I came in there with a background in SIGINT and counterterrorism,” said LaChance. “I was now writing with all the intel disciplines and working on an entirely new topic.”
For LaChance, the solution to overcoming the obstacle was as simple as asking questions and reading.
“I was very honest about what I didn’t know,” said LaChance. “I think that the worst thing you can do is hold a question inside and just hope that it figures itself out. Especially as an intel officer, you need to ask those questions. And you must take the time to do the reading.”
LaChance’s knack for learning has not gone unnoticed as peers continue to admire how she approaches her work. U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Justin Chavis, the III MEF intelligence operations chief, has observed the willingness LaChance has to do what is necessary to get to the right person and to get the right answer.
“It is a relentless intellectual prowess,” said Chavis. “She has a natural curiosity and a quest for knowledge.”
Now LaChance faces a new challenge. Her current billet has her serving as the III MEF Commanding General’s intelligence briefer. Even though the work is changing every day, her mindset and work ethic continue to strive.
“There's a lot of pressure, but I find that pressure very rewarding,” she said. “There's not a lot of time to prepare for the conflict we may have to prepare for, and to be one of the Marines who's informing our Commander of how we get after this fight and how the enemy is getting after this fight, is an honor.”
The strong work ethic that LaChance has demonstrated during her time at III MEF has been enough for her to get recognized for this award and is appreciated by the Marines she serves alongside.
“First Marine in, last Marine out,” said Chavis. “She’s here when we get here and she’s here when we leave.”
Machi also stated that LaChance’s efforts had an outsized impact on developing understanding of threats in the region.
“Captain LaChance's far-reaching, real-world operational impacts across the Western Pacific, her exceptional ability to create a shared understanding of the threat across III MEF, its [Major Subordinate Commands], and joint and bilateral partners, has been a force multiplier for enabling critical, three-star level decision-making during peer competition and crisis planning in the FIC.”
| Date Taken: | 03.29.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.28.2023 23:26 |
| Story ID: | 441402 |
| Location: | JP |
| Web Views: | 543 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 3rd Intel Battalion Marine recognized as 2022 Intel Officer of the Year, by Cpl Abigail Godinez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
