 Originally under Colonel J. V. B. Jervis @-@ Read , the department suffered from a lack of authority and resources . In December 1943 , Jervis @-@ Read was replaced by Colonel Noel Wild , a member of the middle eastern ' A ' Force deception department , and expanded dramatically . Wild split the department into Operations and Intelligence sections . Lieutenant Colonel Roger Fleetwood @-@ Hesketh retained charge of the latter , and Wild placed Jervis @-@ Read in command of the former . Fleetwood @-@ Hesketh immediately expanded his staff , bringing in his brother , an MI5 liaison officer and a secretary . The operations section was not expanded until May , with three American officers and Major S. B. D. ( Sam ) Hood ( another ' A ' Force alumnus ) joining the department . 
