re: "One Small Step for Intel, One Giant Leap for Boots on the Ground"

The editors at Small Wars Journal ("Small wars are operations undertaken under executive authority, wherein military force is combined with diplomatic pressure in the internal or external affairs of another state whose government is unstable, inadequate, or unsatisfactory for the preservation of life and of such interests as are determined by the foreign policy of our Nation.
--Small Wars Manual, 1940"), as always, have a pretty good read on what is significant.

"Down and dirty - Intelligence drives operations, or so it should, in any form of warfare. In the counterinsurgency fight this is particularly true - success or failure is dependent on accurate, timely and relevant intelligence. COIN is a small unit fight – requiring dispersion and decentralization – with local commanders requiring a ‘real’ capability to collect, process and disseminate intelligence."

What's the new development:

"A need for more intelligence analysts in the Corps is forcing infantry operations to get a whole lot smarter, under a new initiative that is for the first time pushing battalion-level intelligence know-how down to the rifle-company level.

The Corps is creating company-level intelligence cells — called C-LICs — in an attempt to plug the hole and curb the loss of valuable intelligence that often goes missing when units pass the baton on the battlefield, Marine officials said…"

This looks like a potentially promising development in tactical intelligence. CAA will be very interested in seeing how it works out in practice.