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A little background on the term and me

What is Indications and Warnings?

“Indications and Warnings” is the term for all the various tasks and information streams used by intel analysts to try to predict the future or, better said, avoid surprise. While I was never an intelligence officer, I always found this part of their job interesting. As the Defense Attache in Ecuador and the lead for the Western Hemisphere and Africa in the Secretary of the Air Force’s Office of International Affairs, I gained a lot of experience in and appreciation for this particular specialty.

After retiring from the US Air Force in 2018, I helped found Not Your Average American LLC. We focus on improving sustainable tourism opportunities in Ecuador and other Andean nations. As a part of this effort, I spent a lot of my time assessing security, health, and political issues and how they might impact our projects. It took me a while to realize I was providing “Indications and Warnings” for our company efforts. 

What I found in that time was that there are many sources of news and many sources of analysis of that news but there isn’t much context. One really has to be somewhat familiar with the area to make sense of and use what all those sites are reporting. Without that knowledge, one can be stuck wondering if this strike or that election is unique or something that happens every year. I hope to provide that context so those traveling to or working in the Andes can make good decisions and, hopefully, prevent surprise.

Indications and Warnings will publish on a monthly basis