OSINT HISTORY: U.S. Government’s First OSINT Capability Established in 1941
09/29/2025
OSINT HISTORY - The U.S. Government's first organized OSINT capability was established on February 26, 1941 as the Foreign Broadcast Monitoring Service (FBMS), but after the attack on Pearl Harbor it was renamed the Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service. After WWII it was again renamed the Foreign Broadcast Information Service. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration maintains an extensive archive of Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service records which can be accessed here: