The NCMI traces its origins to the organization of a medical intelligence section in the Office the Surgeon General of the United States Army during World War II. Prior to entry into the war, the Surgeon General established medical intelligence to support planning for the administration of military governments in U.S. Army occupied territories occupied by providing detailed guides for civil public health and sanitation conditions. As the prospect of United States entry into the war increased, the need for a full-time staff of medical intelligence analysts became apparent.