In the upper left quadrant is the candle and saucer of knowledge, on a gold field. The upper right quadrant is the compass rose on a blue field. The gold field represents the utility of open sources as a vehicle for "shedding light" on national security and national competitiveness issues in much broader terms than traditionally understood. In particular, open sources can "shed light" on non-traditional topics for which existing national intelligence capabilities are unsuited. The blue field emphasizes the importance of the maritime heritage in navigating uncharted waters, and of the environment.

The lower half, divided from upper left to lower right by a "checkerboard" pattern representative of The Great Game, contains three roses with thorns and the Chinese symbol for revolution ("fire in the lake") on the deft, and the red lion on the right. The roses and their thorns represent the opportunities as well as the dangers associated with intelligence support to policy initiatives in each of the three "worlds" - the First World and its allies, the Second World including Russia and the Balkans, and the Third World, with its very broad range of nations and problems. The character for revolution symbolizes not only the revolution in relationships between elements of the three worlds, but also the revolution in the processes and priorities of strategic as well as tactical intelligence, and the forthcoming revolution in the relationship between the intelligence and the information communities, and between the producers and consumers of intelligence. The red lion symbolizes the role of power projection as the raison d'etre for intelligence--actionable intelligence.