From the Mind to the Feet

From the Mind to the Feet: Assessing the Perception-to-Intentto- Action Dynamic is an interagency, multidisciplinary collection of 12 essays addressing operational and academic perspectives on the elusive concept of an adversary's "intent"-its indicators and relation to behavior. It is primarily intended for the operational and policy community in the Department of Defense, the intelligence community, the Department of Homeland Security, and other US government agencies. The authors are from the intelligence community, the military services, US government agencies, federally funded research and development centers, academia, and the private sector. The essays in this volume address the following set of critical questions: * What do we mean by intent? * How can intent be measured? * What is the relationship of intent to behavior? We developed the concept for this collection after completing a 2007 Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) effort for Gen Robert Elder to operationalize the approach to deterrence described in the Deterrence Operations Joint Operating Concept.* Part of that project involved a thorough analysis of how intent figures in the social fabric and how it influences an actor's decision calculus. Subsequent SMA projects elaborated on this work and highlighted the need for a more thorough consideration of what researchers and operators know about intent to act. SMA continues its work on deterrence and deterrence experimentation, and this volume is published as a supplement to these efforts.