Army MI officers are encouraged and often times forced to be in the infantry, armor or field artillery for the first 3 years of their carrers to ensure they understand maneuvering prior to becoming battalion S2s/intel officers. Few MI officers are “snooping around” as we have the reconnaissance scouts to do that. Army MI officers analyze and process the data to turn it into intelligence that commanders use to make decisions. And they process security clearances for their battalions and inspect arms rooms as physical security officers.