The Intelligence Support Activity, commonly called "The Activity" . The Cantor sent me out as usual to throw the lock, wait for our operational vehicle to pass, then shut it again. Most officials disliked the unit's head, Jerry King, and thus, JSOC did not send the unit in. (Source) At the time, the Salvadoran Army was facing attacks from leftist groups and more lethal right-wing death squads. Lets just settle on Gray Fox for now, as these operators fill in the gray area between Title 50 intelligence gathering and Title 10 unconventional warfare operations. (Source) These collectively will compose some of the roles within a primary battalion of the ISA. Special Boat Service (SBS) |, Camouflage patterns: Their unique abilities are called upon when other special operations forces have not been able to complete their mission due to a gap in intelligence. Special Recon, Direct Action. If they would have been caught, they were done. SMU operator (on ISA breaking into an Al-Qaeda safehouse), Additionally, HUMINT operatives working deep undercover will sometimes work in male-female teams. As an ancillary, but crucial action during this period, LTC Bruce Mauldin and I, with the CSAs concurrence and support, visited the Hill and had several closed-door sessions with appropriate committee Chairs and Ranking Members regarding the unit's establishment, roles and missions, and funding lines. The SEALs, SAS, and SBS added additional capabilities over time, responding to the needs of modern conflict. Meaning that the government of the country these troops are operating in known that they work for the US government, however they dont necessarily know that theyre a spy. The web portal tool will maintain a repository of all INSCOM and non -INSCOM Most ISA trainees are from Army Special Forces, meaning many have skills in CQC, sniping, counter-sniping and general tactical engagements. When the CIA took credit for Centra Spike's work, the Army became furious and a competition was arranged between the two units. Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis. HUMINT collection cant be done without boots on the ground, so members of the main battalions are likely conducting field operations. An ISA technician with a SATCOM was provided for the operation to aid in the tracking. Later that same year, Delta Force and ISA operators were sent to Saudi Arabia to help organize and train a Special Purpose Detachment of the Saudi National Guard. The unit selects operatives for deployments based on their language proficiency and their ability to blend in with the locals. Officials developed a contingency plan for the new situation: ISA operators were to infiltrate the city and confirm the locations of the hostages, as well as make contact with the Lebanese Christian militia. (Source) This indicates that members of the primary four battalions who are combat specialists will have a wide range of skills, and therefore a high range of weapons they utilize. US News & World Report describes Torn Victor as 'trained as high-risk intelligence gatherers,' a title fitting the ISA. ISA was close to making the exchange, but the deal fell through at the last minute. He would be given instructions and equipment along the way, and was required to perform certain assignments, for example, setting up a SATCOM system. The ISA also has likely integrated other new intelligence fields into its scope. The other half flew to Cyprus to join the rest of the rescue force. The Cantor said nothing. The Cantor finally said something, and he said it very very loudly when the mandarins lost control of some weapons and encrypted radios. These operatives were responsible for helping take down insurgent networks in Iraq. Intelligence Support Activity provides US special forces with intelligence gatherers, man hunters, assassins and deep penetration agents. The forms of intelligence gathered by the Activity include: HUMINT (HUMan INTellgence) Delta Force and SEAL Team Six were scrambled in preparation to liberate the hostages if needed, as the airplane hopped back and forth from Beirut to Algiers. The selection process and training for special operations groups are secret. On December 2, 1993, with help from Centra Spike and a mobile Colombian surveillance team, Escobar's hideout was pinpointed, and Colombian police moved in. The Intelligence Support Activitys operations in El Salvador, under Operation Queens Hunter, demonstrated the effectiveness of the newly founded squadrons mastery of SIGINT and cross-departmental cooperation. Intelligence Support Activity The Army's most obscure special-ops unit is the roughly 300-strong Intelligence Support Activity, formed in 1981, which has gone by various codenames over the years. Both Army and the Agency recognized the changed nature of the world and the requirements of the emerging terrorist/hostage issues. The planners in DAMO-ODSO were acutely aware of the different legal authorities contained in Title 10 and Title 50 statutes. I didnt think a thing of it, as it had taken me a while to throw that lock open on my first few tries. ISA intelligence specialists, K9 units, security experts and demolition experts were sent to the country undercover as military advisers. Covert operations are shrouded in plausible deniability. by Michael Smith . Developed hunt methodology for Albuquerque-based Counter Human Traffic organization DeliverFund llc as an Intelligence Analyst and Network Disruption Team Leader in the Get The Daily Situation. This intelligence then triangulated the possible location of Dozier. 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There was a chain barricade that the Serbian police (MUPs) used to block access to a side road that junctioned with highway M4. Title 10 is the broad statute regarding what DOD is authorized to do. The Cantor, busy writing, asked me how it went. We had a key to that lock that the MUPs did not know about; that is, I could pick the lock with consistency. Centra Spike agents operated all around Colombia, as well as neighbouring countries where the cartels influence extended. Along with Queens Hunter, ISA was involved in many operations across Central America, in Panama, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Intelligence Support Activity > Service branch: Army > Also known as: Gray Fox, ISA, USISA, The Activity . Its worth noting that Bravo troop was never compromised while conducting espionage against the Assad regime in Syria. Alpha and Charlie troops utilize official cover to collect human intelligence. A top-secret 'Army electronic surveillance team', was sent to aid the Colombians in August of 1989, as a part of Operation Heavy Shadow. 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The amount of accurate and up-to-date information about the ISA is very small, due to the extremely high secrecy surrounding the unit, but over the years, various books and reports have gleamed some information about the ISA. Gray Fox was formed in 1980 in response to the infamous failed rescue attempt of American hostages under Operation Eagle Claw in the Tehran embassy. Gaining entry into the ISA is not easy; candidates already must be part of a special operations forces group. The unit's missions range from Latin America, fighting communist guerrillas and drugs barons, to Africa, the Middle East and central Asia, tracking down terrorists. Intelligence Support Activity The Army's most obscure special-ops unit is the roughly 300-strong Intelligence Support Activity, formed in 1981, which has gone by various codenames over. The Intelligence Support Activity (ISA), the 1st Capabilities Integration Group (Airborne), or simply The Activity is a component of the US Army and acts as a dedicated intelligence group for SOCOM. Once they arrived they took pictures of the embassy from every angle, recorded the types of locks on all doors, inside and outside, recorded the number of windows and exits, and created a blueprint of the building. As a result, ISA was almost disbanded, but Army officials succeeded in ensuring its survival, albeit on a much tighter leash. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Meyer was determined that no future SOF OP with Army forces would be conducted absent credible quality CIA/DOD/NSA and Army intelligence. "When TWA Flight 847 was hijacked on June 14, 1985, America's counter-terrorist forces went on full alert. Key was the requirement to develop a competent counter resolution force. Almost simultaneously, another truck bomb exploded in the French barracks, killing 56. We locked the chain back up behind it and returned to base. The Intelligence Support Activity conducts its operations during and in advance of US military operations. Primarily acting as enablers for JSOC special mission units. (Source). They skillfully pushed the car down the dirt driveway and out onto the hardball road a-ways where they could hot-wire and start the car without being heard by the slumbering princesses in the safe house. Intelligence picked up reports that the two, along with other Sudanese officials were the targets of Libyan-sponsored terrorist assassinations. An investigation by journalist Mark Bowden (author of Blackhawk Down) revealed that in 1989, the Colombian government asked for US help in tracking down Escobar. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; Spec Ops Profile: Intelligence Support Activity, Paris Davis, Black Green Beret in Vietnam, Finally Awarded Medal of Honor at White House, Navy SEAL Dies in Parachute Mishap, 4th Training Death in 14 Months, Special Operations Commander Fired After Being Arrested for Alleged Drunk Driving, Hit and Run, 8 Fun Facts About the USO to Celebrate Its Birthday. He seemed equally satisfied when they reported the next morning that the clandcam was up and recording and that they would have the product with them when they returned the next morning. Members of FOG infiltrated Nicaragua using false passports. It was the type of mission ISA was designed for, but no agents were sent in. Key to the concept was that there would be a single in-house element (FOG) that either side could use e.g. The TRADOC DCS, G-2 develops, describes, and delivers the OE in order to support the Army's preparations to fight and win the nation's wars. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ Federal Bureau of Prisons Special Operations Response Team (SORT), " Veritas Omnia Vincula Vincit Typically the ISA pulls from the Green Berets due to their prior special operations experience, language skills, and autonomy. But, ISA also sponsored a private rescue mission by Vietnam War veteran Bo Gritz, providing him with thousands of dollars worth of communications equipment, cameras, along with plane tickets and intelligence photos. Things became more complicated though, as the airplane took on more terrorists and weapons on one of its hops to Beirut, and Algerian authorities refused Delta permission to mount a rescue on their soil. (Source). The rapidly deteriorating situation in the country prompted the United States to create a small Special Forces unit with the purpose of surveying the US embassy. This page was last edited on 1 April 2008, at 06:57. After the rescue attempt, then CSA Shy Meyer, convened a small group of people within Army DCSOPS to address future SOF/CT structure in the aftermath of the failure, and while still under a POTUS mandate, to be prepared to conduct an In-Extremis rescue within 10 days. Being highly proficient in the collection of HUMINT and SIGINT has made them a very effective, yet specifically dedicated, intelligence task force. Operators from the unit entered Nicaragua using false passports, and proceeded to photograph the embassy from every angle, record the types of locks on all doors, inside and outside, record the number of exits and windows, and finally drew up the internal layout of the building. The unit was raised in 1979 as the Foreign Operating Group (FOG), who was created to overthrow the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. (Source). Stew Smith and Jeff Nichols discuss the new testosterone to epitestosterone ratio (T/E) used at BUDS to deter use Abigail Spanberger spent almost a decade as a CIA operations officer. The next morning arrived, but the moping mandarins came empty-handed: Ok, give me a rundown on the entire operation starting from when you arrived at the install site.. Now, shes a third-term Virginia congresswoman. In the summer of 1980, FOG agents were infiltrated into Teheran to report back on the hostages' whereabouts, movements of the Iranians, as well as to recruit local agents. On the one occasion where he accompanied DSCOPS representatives to the Hill for a closed classified session regarding FOG activities, he voiced his concern regarding management, where the Committee Chairman, in plain, but polite language, told him that the Committee was satisfied with the arrangements. During Anaconda, ISA intelligence helped save both the 10th Mountain Division and 101st Airborne Division at Takur Ghar. All rights reserved. In effect, the ISAs exploitation of signal intelligence saved the lives of 100s of US soldiers from the 10th Mountain and 101st Airborne divisions. (Source). It is unclear how often the ISA interrogates subjects, though given their covert operations they likely at least interrogate high-value targets. (Source), The tactics and techniques of the ISA are some of the most unique among all the JSOC special operations groups. Bravo troop tackles the extremely difficult target countries like Syria which had a sophisticated counterintelligence network. The second rescue force was not going to be affected by the same problem, and the FOG was established in July of 1980, under the control of Colonel Jerry King. Operatives tradecraft for avoiding detection is impeccable. US intelligence gathering methods centre around the US intelligence process, composed of the phases Plan, Prepare, Collect, Process, and Produce. *Lighting a path to truth* Former Navy JAG Worldwide U.S. Military Defense. . The forms of intelligence gathered by the Activity include: The Activity is thought to made up of around 300 operators and is under the command of JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command). Featuring 931 new and updated case-based questions, organized into seven core areas of process design, this Self-Assessment will help you identify areas in which . (Source). ODSO/FOG overcame much of this through replication of capability generously funded and supported by CIA. "In 1983, a five-man ISA unit led by Lt. Col. William Cowan was dispatched to Beirut, Lebanon to deal with the increasing threat to American interests in the area. Exactly who would execute the direct-action operations, would be determined after the intelligence determine the situational necessities. Establishing cover as husband and wife to live in and conduct intelligence collection missions within a target country. This has been more visible in their operations in Afghanistan, Operation Winter Harvest and Operation Queens Hunter. They were never used. Royal Cape, Granite Rock and Powder Keg were some, Centra Spike and Torn Victor being other possible cover names. All the tools you need to an in-depth Intelligence Support Activity Self-Assessment. ISA members are often multilingual. Delta Force | Due to their specialization in intelligence, they can operate as vanguard teams to support another units operations. They must maintain a demeanour of trustworthiness and calmness, so any approached HUMINT sources feel safe and trusted. The ISA has gone by many name: Intelligence Support Activity or Mission Support Activity, and nicknamed The Activity, Task Force Orange . Direct action (DA) is a term used in the context of military special operations for small-scale raids, ambushes, sabotage or similar actions. Mission. Known as the Confederate Air Force, a joke refencing their title, the Army of Northern Virginia. Direct action differs from conventional offensive actions in the level of physical and political risk, operational techniques, and the degree of discriminate and precise use of force to achieve specific objectives."[1]. Unless you plan to body-check those cars I would junk up.. The OSS was a direct action "group" that was directly involved in sabotage, infiltration, combat and even assassination. For the four main battalions, numbering in total over 300 operators, there are different roles members could fall into. During the operations training course, candidates are taught infiltration techniques, advanced air operations, offensive and off-road driving, personal defensive measures and communications. The force is supposedly around 250-275 operators, who excel in intelligence gathering, languages and electronic surveillance. Under the US Central Intelligence Agency's National Clandestine Service, there is a Special Activities Division to operate without apparent national identification for plausible deniability. The eventual shootout that ended Pablos life may not have directly involved the ISA, however, its efforts certainly aided in the eventual locating and killing of the cartel boss. "Known as the Intelligence Support Activity, or ISA, when it was established in 1981, this unit fought in drug wars and counter-terror operations from the Middle East to South America. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); (Source), Additionally, the ISA has acted as a pseudo-security element for the CIA. I could tell by her skunk-eye that she had a dagger in the pipe ready to launch, so I lightened up. Authors cartoon depicting the mandarins installing the soon-to-be compromised surveillance camera. While driving through northern Lebanon, Cowan and his mates suffered several close calls with Syrian roadblocks and patrols. Reconnaissance overflights revealed a possible location where POWs, still believed to be held by the Vietnamese early in the year. Had the force been aware of the actual hostage location and situation, the force could have continued past Desert One and probably succeeded. However, Operation Anaconda is one of few of the ISAs Afghanistan operations known to the public. Initially, Delta Force turned to the CIA for information regarding the number of guards, how they were armed and what security measures they had in place. Cowan traveled the Lebanese countryside pinpointing the locations of Syrian anti-aircraft emplacements. Every component of the US military was involved in the Invasion of Afghanistan, including the ISA. Gen Meyer demurred on the request, citing the several parts of the world where Army FOG personnel were actively supporting SOF elements, the Agency, and CINC. The strategists decided the best option would be to send an ISA team in to provide accurate intelligence on the situation, and to prepare to secure landing zones for a Delta rescue force. I delivered the unemotional skinny to the Cantor who neither commented nor looked up from his work. It was agreed that FOG would be a Joint organization and roles and tasks were developed for eachalways mindful of the Title 10/50 issues. Ironically, the embassy in Iran was on their itinerary, but, history intervened, and it was overrun by a mob who took the larger part of the staff hostage. The terrain was extremely rugged, the enemy was far more entrenched than anticipated, and Murphys Law was in full effect. Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 operators on the loose? 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This extra length concealed the main eavesdropping antennas, while others could be lowered from the belly while in flight. It was so simple that we didnt even need to create a nursery rhyme to recite to help us remember all the steps. The Department of Defense in 1965 outlined its need to be more involved with collecting intelligence, supported by Robert McNamara. Since its inception, the Activity has been providing invaluable intelligence and support to many United States operations. Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance, otherwise known as Force Recon, are a company-sized (about 200) recon and direct-action element that falls directly under the Marine Expeditionary Force. The raid was cancelled over fears that the French and Italians tipped Karadzic off. . > Role: HUMINT (human intelligence), SIGINT (signals intelligence), direct action. Both sides would work together on developing the intel, and then a decision would be made regarding a specific operational tasking to avoid statutory conflict. The force is supposedly around 250-275 operators. Operatives must also go unnoticed, being able to blend into crowds and not draw attention. "During the 1983 American invasion of Grenada, special forces units were plagued by lack of useful and up-to-date intelligence. Bravo and Delta troops utilize commercial or non-official cover. The ISA technicians were instrumental in the tracking and capture of a number of Red Brigades terrorists, and most probably the location of the kidnapped Dozier himself. During the 1990's the unit was known as Capacity Gear. A team of mandarins was tasked with blocking traffic in the same fashion on the south side of the ambush site, then with following the assault force north to provide rearguard to the convoy. US News & World Report 7/6/98 - "Hunting war criminals: The first account of secret U.S. missions in Bosnia" by Richard J. Newman, https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Intelligence_Support_Activity&oldid=305336, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Lawyers for both Titles within the respective DOD and CIA bureaucracies, fought to preserve their interpretations of applications, to prevent one department from intruding into the territory of the other. The Untold Story of Women in Special Operations, We Are Abandoning the Women of the Special Forces, SOAA Calls for Support of our Afghan Allies in The Hill, SOAA Supports Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret.
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