Mission support was integral to CIA’s activities even before the official founding of the Agency in 1947. The organizational alignment has evolved and changed several times over the decades to meet the challenges of a given period, but the basic support disciplines have not changed: personnel resources, logistics, global communications, information services, finance, facilities, acquisitions, security, medical services, and general support management.

Support functions were initially carried out under the purview of an Executive for Administration and Management. In 1950, offices for Administration and Personnel were established in their own rights. Beginning in the 1950s, CIA support officers were forward-deployed with their mission partners, a tradition that continues to this day.

During the 90s, the various support offices underwent several reorganizations and changes in the way they do business. For several years, support functions were administratively dispersed across the Agency. Selected support activities instituted operations using a cost-recovery model, charging mission partners for services, mirroring commercial counterparts.

In response to the accelerated post-9/11 national security needs, the majority of the business lines were later reunited under one governance structure with an emphasis on integration, agility, and global capabilities. Recently, adjustments have been made to the overall structure in the continuing drive to improve customer service.