(Source) At the time, the Salvadoran Army was facing attacks from leftist groups and more lethal right-wing death squads. It is unclear how often the ISA interrogates subjects, though given their covert operations they likely at least interrogate high-value targets. (Source) Operatives must not look out of placeor easily recognizable. No unit is quite as secretive as the Intelligence Support Activity. Special Recon, Direct Action. Along with Queens Hunter, ISA was involved in many operations across Central America, in Panama, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Like many special operations groups, their active arsenal is not likely a small rigid loadout, it is a range of various weapons that are available to suit the units needs. These operatives mirror the function of CIA case officers and even go through CIA training at the Farm in Virginia. Electronic specialists and SIGINT operators comprised part of the force. to FOG, SOG, SAD, SMU, ISA, and, FID, the focus of which is the ISA through 2015. The OSS was a direct action "group" that was directly involved in sabotage, infiltration, combat and even assassination. (Source), Active operational support is also a crucial role of the ISA. Barrett is the world leader in long-range, large-caliber, precision rifle design and manufacturing. "During the 1983 American invasion of Grenada, special forces units were plagued by lack of useful and up-to-date intelligence. The ISA team left Beirut in January 1984. (Source). ISA intelligence specialists, K9 units, security experts and demolition experts were sent to the country undercover as military advisers. (Source) The US military sought to carry out intelligence operations without the direct need of US intelligence agencies. The situation quickly worsened, until officials in the US embassy were in genuine concern for their lives, so much that the ambassador cabled for immediate help. By November 1993, the noose was tightening around Escobar, and Centra Spike managed to track him down to a suburb of Medellin called Los Olivos. Since its inception, the Activity has been providing invaluable intelligence and support to many United States operations. The U.S. Army Intelligence Support Activity (ISA) is a special operations unit that collects "actionable" intelligence in preparation for activities by other special operations units, particularly those related to counter-terrorism missions. The ISA specializes in gathering human intelligence, signals intelligence and combat. He scurried off to the barricade. The authors note that "All information used in this article has been obtained from publicly available, open source documents." Barrett products are used by civilians, sport shooters, law enforcement agencies, the United States military, and more than 75 State Department-approved countries around the world. 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. "Apparently, ISA's direct action element was also put on alert during the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro. Delta Force | Operatives tradecraft for avoiding detection is impeccable. Eventually, agents had pinpointed the locations of a number of cartel hideouts and high-value targets, including Pablo. "Also in 1989, ISA was rumoured to have taken part in the hunt for the richest drug trafficker in the world, Pablo Escobar, operating under the code-name Centra Spike. Gen Meyer, Gen Vaught (DAMO-OD), and LTC Jim Longhofer (DAMO-ODSO), traveled to Langley and met with the new Director and his operational elements director. 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. Delta troop is tasked with countries that are a softer target for infiltration such as the Philippines or Morocco. (Source). 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. The following article on the Intelligence Support Activity was copied from Specwarnet.net online. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); His elements were being heavily tasked, and a directed intelligence pipeline was established to FOG. "Currently, ISA is believed to be under control of JSOC, and published accounts have it organized into administration, training, SIGINT, HUMINT and direct action elements. Fort Belvoir, North Virginia, United States. It was completely hidden from view, covering its existence with a series of regularly changing code names like Centra Spike, Royal Cape, and Grey Fox. 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. The vast majority of their operations are clouded not just in shadow, but in complete darkness. Not only did this demonstrate that the ISA was functionally effective, it showed that it could operate alongside not only various elements of the US military, but foreign military elements as well. 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It built a reputation for daring, flexibility and a degree of lawlessness. The Cantor sent me out as usual to throw the lock, wait for our operational vehicle to pass, then shut it again. This was the birth of the Field Operations Group (FOG)-later ISA/Secret Army of Northern Virginia. With it, they had a unit of military spies able to covertly infiltrate a country and provide hands-on, critical intelligence, as well as to raise logistical support for counter-terrorist commandos in case of a crisis. According to The Secret War by William M. Arkin, published in the Los Angeles Times on October 27, 2002, "The Army created a highly compartmentalized organization that could collect clandestine intelligence independent of the rest of the U.S. intelligence community and follow through with covert military action. (Source), The ISAs selection and training is geared towards intelligence specialisation despite conducting occasional direct engagement. Delta was finally given the go-ahead and flew to Sicily and Cyprus along with Task Force 160 and Seaspray helicopters, thus ending the need for ISA's help. FOG became permanent and renamed ISA on March 3, 1981. (Source). Italian forces conducted the raid itself; rescuing Dozier and returning him to the US without a single casualty. Rather than disbanding the unit, it was expanded. Samuel is a King's College graduate with an MA in War Studies. Russia's Spetsnaz combines DA and SR units. 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. 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. a Title 10 operation or a Title 50 operation. But if the copyright owners want to get in touch to have them immediately removed from this site then please contact our webmaster. By the time though, the situation had begun to subside. (Source). The unit was raised in 1979 as the Foreign Operating Group (FOG), who was created to overthrow the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. The support provided can come in a range of different forms. On October 23, 1983, a truck bomb slammed into the US Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 Americans, and injuring scores more. "ISA's existence became public in 1982 as a result of a scandal involving US POWs in Vietnam. Additionally, these operative can remotely turn on a cellphone thats been turned off, which allows them to hear everything going on near it. The US recognized the usefulness of this unit and began surveying embassies across the world. The specialists, nicknamed 'knob turners' operated sophisticated electronic eavesdropping equipment located in the back cabin of specially-outfitted Seaspray Beechcraft 100 airplanes. He commanded airborne battalions in both the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the 82nd Airborne Division. Russia and Ukraine battle daily in the sky. ", Sources: Talk about close target recce. Thats pretty frickin ballsy. Two people with a lockpick kit and a camera. They also provided protection for numerous Arabian princes, and established good contacts while down there. If an operative is in a country with an official cover, possessing a firearm can mean being sent to prison or death. Special Operations (SO) encompass the use of small units in direct or indirect military actions focused on strategic or operational objectives. Highly recommended. Bravo troop tackles the extremely difficult target countries like Syria which had a sophisticated counterintelligence network. INSCOM's functional brigades and groups may provide general support, general support reinforcing, or direct sup-port to theaters through intelligence reach, or they may be Working alongside SEASPRAY, a specialized aviation unit that would later form a part of Delta Force, the ISA would conduct aerial SIGINT operations to assist the Salvadoran Army against guerrillas. Eliciting information from select sources, The exploitation of documents, media and materials. "In 1982, ISA SIGINT specialists took part in Operation Queens Hunter, a Seaspray operation in the skies above El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. "Known as the Intelligence Support Activity, or ISA, when it was established in . While Delta and DEVGRU focus on direct engagement and specialized combat tactics, the ISA conducts intelligence and espionage operations at a tactical level. "The ISA's origins are in the Foreign Operating Group (FOG), whose origin in turn is in the 1979 overthrow of Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. ISA agents even managed to obtain Lebanese license plates, which would allow Delta to be parachuted in with their own cars, then 'legitimized' with the plates. The unit would be immediately deployed to any country where a terrorist act against the United States had taken place, and would start providing critical intelligence, as well as setting up landing zones and infiltration routes for the counter-terrorist force. The operation, code-named Great Falcon, made a deal with the Iraqi government for a T-72, in exchange for 175mm cannons. "Cowan put together another five-man team, but their deployment was stalled for three weeks. He looked up at me momentarily though he did not repeat himself. PO Box 1077 MURFREESBORO, Tennessee 37133 United States, P.O. So there they were sitting in our Tactical Operations Center in Bosnia waiting to be integrated into our PIFWC hunting operations. The unit's history, the politics that have shaped it and the operations it has carried out are recounted in great and fascinating detail. Through their mastery of SIGINT, the ISA quickly got on the task of intercepting radio and telephone transmissions. US News & World Report describes Torn Victor as 'trained as high-risk intelligence gatherers,' a title fitting the ISA. 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The agents prepared contingency plans for a commando force to enter Beirut clandestinely, and to strike at Hizbollah and Syrian targets. Originally referred to as Task Force Orange, other names have included Centra Spike, Torn Victor and Gray Fox. Due to their specialization in intelligence, they can operate as vanguard teams to support another units operations. As previously mentioned, its members cross train with the CIA, Americas most comprehensive civilian intelligence agency. There are four primary battalions with various responsibilities being spread across them. "When TWA Flight 847 was hijacked on June 14, 1985, America's counter-terrorist forces went on full alert. To this point, the CIA and the DOD followed separate independent paths as defined by statutes contained in Title 10 (DOD authorities) and Title 50 (Intelligence agency authorities). The ACSI, LTG Odom, strongly objected to the authority lines for FOG and asked Meyer to switch the Army portion from DCSOPS to the ACSI. (Source). The unit selects operatives for deployments based on their language proficiency and their ability to blend in with the locals. All Rights Reserved, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). For the four main battalions, numbering in total over 300 operators, there are different roles members could fall into. A case officer is someone who handles a foreign asset by giving them collection requirements and ensuring their safety. At last, he came back, and, handing me the tools lamented: I couldnt get that fucker!. The Cantor finally said something, and he said it very very loudly when the mandarins lost control of some weapons and encrypted radios. That night, the mandarin and I stashed our car and cut through an orchard whose northwest corner gave way to the bollards and the chain barricade. ISA was asked to form an Algerian-based plan and a Beirut-based one for rescue. Join our mailing list to stay in the loop for free! Nowadays the ISA focuses on the preparation of the battlespace for military operations across the globe. But what if I dont need signal intercept and intelligence gathering support for my mission?, Look, Geo theyre here, theyre queer, and theyd like so say hello just deal with it because theyre not going away. (Source). Such as procuring equipment, getting funding for operations/training, and human resources functions. The negotiations were going so well that Iraq decided to throw in a Mil Mi-24 Hind D helicopter and a MiG-25 fighter-interceptor. (Source). Boss Cantor seemed satisfied with how the mandarins gathered the necessary hardware for the mission and then marched smartly out the door. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); As the name implies, SIGINT Squadron is responsible for ISAs signals intelligence mission. Read Next: Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 operators on the loose? HUMINT collection cant be done without boots on the ground, so members of the main battalions are likely conducting field operations. They discovered there was no co-ordination between them, and vital information regarding terrorist attacks was not being shared. In 1979 the need for a dedicated special operations intelligence unit was solidified following the overthrowing of Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. As such, the activities and specifics of Gray Fox are not widely made available. This Intelligence Support Activity All-Inclusive Self-Assessment enables You to be that person. ". The JTF was largely dependent upon the CIA to provide the vital confirming HUMINT as to the hostage location. The US Department of Defense has defined direct action as "Short-duration strikes and other small-scale offensive actions conducted as a special operation in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments and which employ specialized military capabilities to seize, destroy, capture, exploit, recover, or damage designated targets. 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). These are primarily preparation intelligence and tactical/ strategic intelligence for active operations. These techniques include intelligence gathering, infiltration and intelligence support. Well, say that was certainly good news. RecPak is a meal replacement for the outdoors that saves you weight, space and time in the most challenging environments, just add water. In the 1980s, extremist parties on both sides of the political spectrum plagued Italy. Box 378 Red Hook, New York 12571 United States. As with any clandestine unit, only so much can be known about any of the JSOC special mission units. The Beechcrafts were made to appear normal from the outside, save for a wingspan six inches longer. International Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Interview with Dr. Niamh Gaynor, Transnistria and Russian Tensions: Moldova 12-month Forecast, Terrorist Threat in Senegal: A 12-month Forecast, Terrorist Threat in Guinea: A 12-Month Forecast, 7.3. The US military and many of its allies consider DA one of the basic special operations missions. (Source). So where are the pilots? However, his several interventions and temporary blockage of many initiatives, showed that his primary intent was to arrest the development and contain the capability. Under the guiding hand of JSOC, the ISA operated alongside other JSOC and CIA elements, under the codename Gray Fox. Infiltration relies much less on stealthy engagement, and much more on subtlety and effective tradecraft. _gaq.push(['_setDomainName', '.specwar.info']); ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? by Michael Smith The unit is organized into several elements. The cover of these operatives is typically much harder to develop since it requires a reason to be in and out of the target country on a frequent basis, and to have inauspicious ties to the target country. The whole force drove north as planned, putting Kay and me upfront to clear ahead and report back to the assault force. Immediately after, he would be dropped off in a city, and asked to perform clandestine activities. The team put together a detailed critique and proposed changes to the organization of the forces, but the document was ignored by the higher officials insisting that security was adequate.
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