James Arthur Williams (born March 29, 1932 – October 31, 2017) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

. Williams served as Director of the

Defense Intelligence Agency The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) specializing in military intelligence. A component of the Department of Defense and the United States In ...

in the 1980s. He was a 1987 inductee of the

Military Intelligence Hall of Fame The Military Intelligence Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established by the Military Intelligence Corps of the United States Army in 1988 to honor soldiers and civilians who have made exceptional contributions to military intelligence. The hall i ...

and was the chairman of the board of directors for the

National Military Intelligence Association National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Early life and education

Williams was born in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.U.S. Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as commissioned officers in the United States Army. The academy was founded ...

in May 1938, and four years later began his first Federal Service in May 1942 as a volunteer aircraft spotter for the 2nd Anti-Aircraft Region. As a youth he was active in sports, playing baseball, running track and swimming. He was a member of the 1950 NJ Group II State Basketball Championship Team and garnered Group II All State Honors. He was also an avid hiker and skier. In 1954, Williams graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and initially commissioned as a second lieutenant in

Air Defense Artillery The Air Defense Artillery Branch is the Anti-aircraft warfare, air defense branch of the United States Army, specializing in the use of anti-aircraft weapons (such as surface-to-air missiles) to conduct anti-aircraft warfare operations. In the ...

. He received a Master of Arts degree in

Latin American Studies Latin American studies (LAS) is an academic and research field associated with the study of Latin America. The interdisciplinary study is a subfield of area studies, and can be composed of numerous disciplines such as economics, sociology, histor ...

from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

in 1964. His military education includes completion of the Air Defense Basic Officers Course, the

United States Army Intelligence School The United States Army Intelligence Center of Excellence (USAICoE) is the United States Army's school for professional training of military intelligence personnel. It is a component of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC ...

, th
Artillery Officers Career Course
the United States Army

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

, the Defense Intelligence School, and the

National War College In the United States, the National War College (NWC) is a school within the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National ...

Career

Williams began his career with

assignments, but except for a tour with the Field Command of th
Defense Atomic Support Agency
his subsequent assignments were in the intelligence field. After assignments with th

Detachment,

Fort Amador Fort Amador () and Fort Grant were former United States Army bases built to protect the Pacific (southern) end of the Panama Canal at Panama Bay. Amador was the primary on-land site, lying below the Bridge of the Americas. Grant consisted of a s ...

Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending on each side o ...

and the 471st Counterintelligence Corps Detachment,

Fort Brooke Fort Brooke was a historical military post established at the mouth of the Hillsborough River (Florida), Hillsborough River in present-day Tampa, Florida in 1824. Its original purpose was to serve as a check on and trading post for the native S ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, he was assigned to th
US Army Combat Developments Command
at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, where he was project intelligence officer for Tactical Aerial Reconnaissance and Surveillance, 1975 (TARS-75). After this, he served as the Assistant Army Attaché in Caracas, Venezuela. He then commanded the

1st Military Intelligence Battalion 1st Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation), nicknamed the "Flying Eye Battalion", is a unit of the United States Army which specializes in the acquisition of aerial signals information in direct support of the 66th Military Intell ...

(Provisional),

525th Military Intelligence Group The 525th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade is a United States Army unit specializing in the collection and analysis of information with potential military value. On 28 October 2014, the unit was reflagged from the "525th Battlefield Sur ...

, United States Army Vietnam supporting the III Marine Amphibious Force(III MAF) and then served in th
Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations
in Washington, DC. Remaining in Washington, Williams was named the Director of Political/Military Affairs, Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, State Department an
Chief, Counterintelligence and Collection Division, and then Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Headquarters, Department of the Army.
From there he assumed command of th

(Counterintelligence) at the

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe The Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. SHAPE is situated in the villag ...

. Upon return to the United States, he was assigned to the

as Chief, Missile Forces/Strategic Arms Limitation Branch, Soviet/Warsaw Pact Division, and he later served as the Deputy Director for Estimates. Prior to his return to the

as its director, Williams served a
Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, United States Army
and the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, United States Army, Europe, leading the first team of DOD analysts to provide strategic early warning of Contingency Planning for Martial Law in Soviet-dominated Poland vice Warsaw Pact intervention. In September 1981, he was appointed the Director of DIA. Williams culminated 31 years service with a four-year tour as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). He was the senior intelligence officer (SIO) for the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

(DoD) and directed

intelligence analysis Intelligence analysis is the application of individual and collective cognitive methods to weigh data and test hypotheses within a secret socio-cultural context. The descriptions are drawn from what may only be available in the form of delibera ...

for DoD and the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and ...

. He initiated widespread use o
open source collection
of foreign scientific and technical information by DIA as well as establishment of th

Under the General's supervision DIA, in conjunction with the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

, brought into operation the Secure Analyst File Environment(SAFE) an interactive system of intelligence analyst files. Under his direction DIA established the first formal requirements for imagery from civilian satellites such as

LANDSAT The Landsat program is the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. It is a joint NASA / USGS program. On 23 July 1972, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to Lan ...

. Williams was also instrumental in creating the first computerized threat methodologies for DoD and established the first threat validation system for th
Defense Acquisition Cycle
Williams focused the Agency on enhancing support to tactical and theater commanders, improving capabilities to meet major wartime intelligence requirements, and strengthening indications and warning assets. In this regard he was responsible for establishing the first terrorism warning billets in the Agency and for placing the first

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

Attachés on station. During his tenure the

Defense Intelligence College The National Intelligence University (NIU) is a federally chartered research university in Bethesda, Maryland operated by and for the United States Intelligence Community (IC) as its staff college of higher learning in fields of study central t ...

was chartered by Congress to award a master's degree of Strategic Intelligence, the first federally chartered institution to be authorized to award a graduate level degree. In December 1981,

President Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in ...

signe
Executive Order 12333
giving the Intelligence Community a mandate for the years ahead. In response to a requirement to improve intelligence support to the Unified & Specified Commands' war-fighting capabilities, the functional manager for intelligence processing was established in 1982. Th
Central America Joint Intelligence Team (CAJIT)
was established in 1984 as an interagency analytical task organization focused on insurgency in Central America. DIA also created the Intelligence Communications Architecture to improve DoD's ability to disseminate national level intelligence to tactical commanders during contingency situations. The concept of intelligence as

became a predominant theme in planning as DIA began structuring an all source integrated database to support the Unified & Specified Commands in assessing the threat in the field Williams established
Research Crisis Support Center
to provide a centralized, operationally secure, all-source, crisis management center to support the National Military Intelligence Center (NMIC) and the Unified & Specified Commands. As events deteriorated in

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, DIA analysts provided extensive support to the

U.S. Southern Command The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), located in Doral in Greater Miami, Florida, is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning, ope ...

. Other analysis focused on the

Falkland Islands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

and Israel's invasion of Lebanon. When 6,000 U.S. troops invaded

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

during

Operation URGENT FURY The United States and a coalition of Caribbean countries invaded the small island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela, at dawn on 25 October 1983. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, it resulted in military occupation with ...

in 1983, DIA's Task Force responded to numerous formal taskings for briefings and information, and distributed a wide variety of intelligence summaries to assist field commanders during the operation. The planning process for

URGENT FURY The United States and a coalition of Caribbean countries invaded the small island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela, at dawn on 25 October 1983. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, it resulted in military occupation with ...

was greatly facilitated by a number of intelligence products that had been prepared as early as 1979, bringing high praise for DIA's support and services. Other DIA analytical efforts during the year centered on the continuing crises in

, Lebanon (the attack on the Marine barracks),

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, as well as the Soviet shoot-down of KAL 007, the civil war in

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

, and unrest in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. A significantly larger number of hijackings, bombings, kidnappings, murders, and other acts of terrorism led to characterizing 1985 as the "Year of the Terrorist." Finally, Williams oversaw the Agency's move into its new headquarters at

Bolling Air Force Base Bolling Air Force Base or Bolling AFB was a United States Air Force installation located in Washington, D.C. In 2010, it merged with Naval Support Facility Anacostia to form Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling. From its establishment, the base has s ...

from

Arlington Hall Station Arlington Hall (also called Arlington Hall Station) is a historic building in Arlington, Virginia. Originally it was a girls' school and later the headquarters of the United States Army's Signal Intelligence Service (SIS) cryptography operations ...

. The Defense Intelligence Analysis Center (DIAC) was dedicated on May 23, 1984. Since his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1985, Williams has served as senior consultant for a variety of projects dealing with the collection, processing and analysis of intelligence; integration of intelligence data processing systems and revitalization of the civil remote sensing program. Williams played a major role as an advisor for two projects to improve imagery collection management. He also serves as a member of intelligence advisory panels for Los Alamos and

Sandia National Laboratories Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force B ...

and is a member of the Special Technologies Advisory Panel for the

Department of Energy A ministry of energy or department of energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-rela ...

. Williams was one of the pioneers in the use of open source data for commercial purposes. Since 1987 he has been President of the Direct Information Access Corporation (DIAC), which specializes in the production of commercial intelligence. Williams served for five years as the Chairman of a task force overseeing the creation of the Defense HUMINT Service

He also served as an advisor for the Army on the

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...

Program and played a major role on two projects to improve imagery collection management. Following are some of the programs and groups that he has participated in: * USAREUR Polish Crisis Action Team Lead * JTTRS – Joint Tactical Radio System
Joint Logistics Study
* DOD Biometric Task Force Senior Review Group * DCI Training Review

– Referee, player and script writer at various times
Task Force Williams
DIA HUMINT review

for the Congressional Committee on Science and Technology * Author
DOD Requirements Management Study
* Author of OSD Review of Counterintelligence Proposals

Awards and decorations

Williams' military decorations include the

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

with Oak Leaf Cluster, the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

with "V" Device and Oak Leaf Cluster, the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

Joint Service Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

, the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

, The

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

, the

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. ...

with four stars, the

Army Service Ribbon The Army Service Ribbon (ASR) is a military award of the United States Army that was established by the Secretary of the Army on 10 April 1981 as announced in Department of the Army General Order 15, dated 10 October 1990. The Navy, Marine Corps, ...

, the

Army Overseas Service Ribbon An Overseas Service Ribbon is a service military award of the United States military which recognizes those service members who have performed military tours outside the borders of the United States of America. There are different versions of the ...

, the

Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal The Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal () was a military decoration awarded by South Vietnam, first established on January 7, 1953. It was awarded in two classes and was most commonly bestowed during the Vietnam War. The medal was freque ...

, and the

Vietnam Campaign Medal The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, also known as the Vietnam Campaign Medal (), is a South Vietnamese military campaign medal which was created in 1949 and awarded during the First Indochina War. During the Vietnam War (Second Indochina War ...

. Unit awards include the

Army Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

, and the

Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry () is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal was created on August 15, 1 ...

, the

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

and the German Order of the Knights Commander. Badges include the

Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge The Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge is a Military badges of the United States, military badge issued to members of the United States armed forces who are permanently assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) ...

, Joint Staff Identification Badge, the Army General Staff Identification Badge, the

Badge, and the Expert Marksmanship Badge. Williams is also the recipient of the

National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal The National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal (NIDSM) is a decoration awarded for service to the United States Intelligence Community. The decoration is awarded to any member or contributor to the National Intelligence Community, either ...

, He is a member of the Military Attaché Hall of Fame and is a Distinguished Member of the

Medals and ribbons

Personal

Williams died in 2017 as the result of injuries sustained from a fall. He was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

on March 12, 2018.

References

* ''This entry is based on the biography o
page 119 of ''Army Executive Biographies'', DA Pamphlet 360-10, May 15, 1985
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, James A 1932 births 2017 deaths Military personnel from Paterson, New Jersey United States Military Academy alumni University of New Mexico alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army generals Directors of the Defense Intelligence Agency Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Burials at Arlington National Cemetery