The CIA and the DoD have worked together since 1947 to help protect and defend the United States of America and our Constitution. This complex relationship has actively evolved over the decades in response to world events.

Given the lessons learned regarding intelligence support during Desert Shield/Storm, CIA established the Office of Military Affairs (OMA) to serve as the DoD’s formal entryway into CIA for support, information, and deconfliction of various issues. Concurrent with the creation of OMA, a senior military advisor position was established in the office of the Director of Operations (DO), the Associate Deputy Director of Operations for Military Affairs (ADDO/MA). Subsequently, this position was elevated to the DCIA’s staff as the Associate DCI for Military Support (ADCI/MS) with a focus on support to the Director of Central Intelligence.

After the 9/11 attacks against the United States, a review group recommended merging ADCI/MS and OMA into one office, and CIA formally established the joined elements under the Associate Director for Military Affairs (ADMA) in 2007. Today, ADMA is jointly manned by Agency and uniformed military professionals, operating as one team to coordinate, plan, execute, and sustain joint CIA and DoD worldwide activities based upon priorities established by the Director of the CIA, to achieve National Security objectives.