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. It is tasked to collect actionable intelligence in advance of missions by other US special operations forces . It was Delta Forces first mission and a horrific failure. (Source), The failure of Operation Eagle Claw was a turning point for US special operations. At the point of execution, the road became bureaucratically bumpy. (Source). 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. It was late in the evening after a long day and long drive for the mandarins, who finally stopped to stay the night in one of the many safe houses we had scattered throughout the country. At one point during the Global War on Terror, ISA along with a component from the Airforce and Delta began to build a fleet of ISR aircraft. Every modern military relies on intelligence, and the US military is a voracious consumer of intelligence, from both an analytical and functional standpoint. It is common for the appearance and demeanour of an agent to be the key to their success as an infiltrator. INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL OPERATIONS - Federation of American Scientists The unit's history, the politics that have shaped it and the operations it has carried out are recounted in great and fascinating detail. "The government realized the importance of the FOG. Dozier was taken hostage and mistreated, with the Red Brigades viewing him as an ideological foe that needed to be made an example of. The DCS, G-2 is the Director of the Operational Environment Enterprise (OEE) and author of the Army's approved current Operational Environment (OE). Operatives infiltrated internet cafes in Baghdad and conducted flyover operations in aircraft filled with signal interception gear. They also have direct action elements within their battalions, alongside specialists in HUMINT and SIGINT. ISA intelligence specialists, K9 units, security experts and demolition experts were sent to the country undercover as military advisers. US Army Intelligence Support Activity (USAISA), also known as ISA, The Activity, GREY FOX and, in recent times, the Mission Support Activity (MSA), is a top secret Army intelligence unit. var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; The Invasion of Iraq was an extremely complex time for the US military with units scattered across the country conducting a wide variety of missions. In 1979 the need for a dedicated special operations intelligence unit was solidified following the overthrowing of Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. Centra Spike was withdrawn in 1993 for a temporary assignment in Somalia to aid US special forces there, but resumed the hunt later in the year. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox. Centra Spike was known to operate under several cover names, including Torn Victor, Cemetery Wind, Capacity Gear and Robin Court, and closely matched ISA's description. Some solid intelligence gleaning prompted the community into action to capture PIFWC Serbian General S. Kladanj on his scheduled move out of Serbia proper into the Republic of Serbia. Operatives tradecraft for avoiding detection is impeccable. The ISA has gone by many name: Intelligence Support Activity or Mission Support Activity, and nicknamed The Activity, Task Force Orange . In 2003 the CIA and ISA conducted a joint operation in Somalia. Sound Like You? Two task forces of JSOC took part in the search and rescue operations, Delta Force and a detachment of the ISA. The whole force drove north as planned, putting Kay and me upfront to clear ahead and report back to the assault force. But it had no effect on me or what I was doing not for now at least. When government officials found out, they were horrified, they seemed to have a rogue agency within its ranks. Their role is to bridge the gaps when it is simply too dangerous for other agencies to put boots on the ground, and as these gaps change in every operational environment, so too do their responsibilities and activities. ISA focuses on gathering human intelligence based on contact with field agents, and signals intelligence (intercepted communications) to support Delta Force and DEVGRU operations. Special Operations (SO) encompass the use of small units in direct or indirect military actions focused on strategic or operational objectives. In 2003 four troops: A,B,C, and D made up the squadron. find out more 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. Fort Belvoir, North Virginia, United States. Prior to Saddams capture, over 40 members of his family were captured and interrogated to determine his whereabouts with little success. Operatives can covertly enter enemy buildings to plant cameras. Intelligence Support Activity A Complete Guide - 2020 Edition ISA was allegedly co-operating with Task Force Ranger, and was responsible for tracking down Somali warlord Mohammed Farah Adid, through electronic surveillance and Somalian informants. ISA would operate under a host of cover names to confuse anyone without the need to know. 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. Highly detailed knowledge of an infiltration location is also key. The specialists, nicknamed 'knob turners' operated sophisticated electronic eavesdropping equipment located in the back cabin of specially-outfitted Seaspray Beechcraft 100 airplanes. Box 378 Red Hook, New York 12571 United States. He had literally tried to muscle open the lock with tools designed for a sincerely delicate operation. National and Joint Intelligence Support - United States Army However, the CIA couldnt provide these answers so Delta turned to the FOG. The cyber operations team extends into other offsets of intelligence gathering, including OSINT, cyber threat intelligence and cyber warfare. The planners in DAMO-ODSO were acutely aware of the different legal authorities contained in Title 10 and Title 50 statutes. Case officers also target and recruit potential assets. 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. The CIA was leading extraordinary rendition operations in Somalia in conjunction with the ISA and the help of local warlords. Plus, they wouldnt have to load the car back up again the next day what a grand and magnanimous plan that proved to be. Eliciting information from select sources, The exploitation of documents, media and materials. Me, I dont like to be on the delivery end of harsh criticism; however, I do find that whole situation with the mandarins to be just ever so slightly south of sensational, and fairly fundamentally novice! 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. When operatives are in less restrictive environments they can often be seen carrying weapons used by locals, most often in the form of AKs. Operatives must also go unnoticed, being able to blend into crowds and not draw attention. 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ISA was asked to form an Algerian-based plan and a Beirut-based one for rescue. We provided documents for viewing from both the Agency and DOD lawyers supporting the organization and outlining the rationale. They were so adept that observers commented they could literally pluck information from the air, speaking not only to the revolutionary use of SIGINT but also the skill of the ISA. 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. If an operative is in a country with an official cover, possessing a firearm can mean being sent to prison or death. Smith's book lifts the lid of secrecy on the Activity, one of America's least well known Special Ops units. I delivered the unemotional skinny to the Cantor who neither commented nor looked up from his work. 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. By continuing to use this site you consent to our use of cookies. (function() { It is unclear how often the ISA interrogates subjects, though given their covert operations they likely at least interrogate high-value targets. All rights reserved. These operatives have a cover in the commercial sector, typically as an international businessperson. The ISAs execution of SIGINT monitoring was so successful that the month-long operation was extended to three years. I pulled out a pick and tension bar and handed them to him. var _gaq = _gaq || []; There are also teams within the ISA who can conduct direct action missions should the need arise. The ISA also has a direct action arm comprised of men and women recruited from the US Army Delta . Geo, take a mandarin with you, the Cantor directed without looking at me. "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. 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. "ISA was also rumoured to be operating in Bosnia in the last few years under the code-name Torn Victor. There's a lot of fascinating special operation history in the Netflix thriller "Lou," but going into details would reveal Jason McCarthy of goruck.com and Stew Smith discuss his journey to, through, and after Army Special Forces and being Copyright 2023 Military.com. The Pentagon frequently disavows knowledge regarding their activities or even their existence, and they've been given different names multiple times to misdirect any probes into their identity or activities. The emerging problems our Nation faced in the early 1980s with terrorism, airplane hijacking, and hostage taking, created considerable challenges for the government (USG) to resolve. ISA was highly classified. Featured Book: 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 debris revealed a spider hole and as an operator prepared a grenade, Saddam poked his head out of the hole. These operatives were responsible for helping take down insurgent networks in Iraq. The survey was successful, which led defense officials to create ad hoc Special Forces units to survey US embassies in hotspots around the world. 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. It has since changed names several times to avoid media publicity, having been alternately known as the Tactical Concept Activity, the Tactical Coordination Detachment, the Tactical Support Team, and the Studies and Analysis Activity (SAA), among other designations. The force is supposedly around 250-275 operators, who excel in intelligence gathering, languages and electronic surveillance. Law and the killing of a Russian propagandist: Some Q & A BY CHARLIE DUNLAP, J.D. 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. A top-secret 'Army electronic surveillance team', was sent to aid the Colombians in August of 1989, as a part of Operation Heavy Shadow. Under Operation Winter Harvest, a small team of Delta Force technicians was dispatched to Italy to provide assistance with the search for Dozier. 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. No unit is quite as secretive as the Intelligence Support Activity. He looked up at me momentarily though he did not repeat himself. and other specialized capabilities to support Army, joint, unified action partners, and the U.S. intelligence commu-nity. Wickham did transfer authority to the ACSI with predictable and less than beneficial results. Intelligence Support Activity | The Activity | Gray Fox WOAH, WOAH, WOAH! the Cantor interrupted, youre telling me you put in the camera in daylight hours, and now everyone is supposed to be surprised and sympathetic that its gone?. They were never used. 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. 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. Being highly proficient in the collection of HUMINT and SIGINT has made them a very effective, yet specifically dedicated, intelligence task force. Here, Ive got it, offered the mandarin with hand extended to my lock pick set. "Today, the ISA operates under the code name Gray Fox. Working closely with Special Forces and the CIA, Gray Fox also places operatives inside hostile territory. The Department of Defense in 1965 outlined its need to be more involved with collecting intelligence, supported by Robert McNamara. A Civilian's Guide to U.S. Special Forces | The National Interest These intelligence gathering methods outline how intelligence is gathered and what is done with it afterwards. This intelligence then triangulated the possible location of Dozier. And with that our boss, the Cantor, doled out a mission for a two-man team of mandarins. These operatives mirror the function of CIA case officers and even go through CIA training at the Farm in Virginia. 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. You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article. The moronic mandarins merely blinked and nothing more. The direct action element reportedly trains with Delta Force and DEVGRU to maintain their skills. Little is known about the organization or its activities, but it is clear that they serve as a. During the period leading up to the engagement, as well as potentially during the infamous Battle of Takur Ghar (aka the Battle of Roberts Ridge), ISA operators conducted aggressive SIGINT operations, intercepting enemy communications and feeding them to allied forces. What does one actually do with such persons? 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 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. All the tools you need to an in-depth Intelligence Support Activity Self-Assessment. On Gen Meyer's departure, his successor, John Wickham, attempted to disband the unit, but Jack Marsh, in his role as ASD SO/LIC prevented it, and required it be retained, and resourced. Meyer was incensed at the lack of CIA interest/dedication/support to the rescue task and believed that was a major factor in the failure. There are four primary battalions with various responsibilities being spread across them. (Source). Green Berets are considered unique from other special operators for various reasons, most . A simultaneous raid on the targets was to be made. Parsing one from the other can be quite difficult and largely determined by the location and nature of the target. Intelligence Support Activity provides US special forces with intelligence gatherers, man hunters, assassins and deep penetration agents. How do you guys block?, I dont know how you guys operate. The Cantor said nothing. During the 1990's the unit was known as Capacity Gear. The forms of intelligence gathered by the Activity include: HUMINT (HUMan INTellgence) Eventually, agents had pinpointed the locations of a number of cartel hideouts and high-value targets, including Pablo. Sadly, the team's evaluation did not serve to upgrade American security standards, and a truck bomb exploded from within 40 feet of the embassy entrance later that year. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Delta Force | 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. With the expansion, the FOG has renamed the ISA and officially established as a unit on January 29th, 1981. In sum, Uniforms do Clandestine, Civvies do Covert. A goodly amount of minutes went by. Most ISA trainees are from Army Special Forces, meaning many have skills in CQC, sniping, counter-sniping and general tactical engagements. These techniques include intelligence gathering, infiltration and intelligence support. Read Next: Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 operators on the loose? His elements were being heavily tasked, and a directed intelligence pipeline was established to FOG. 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). 2023 The SOFREP Media Group. It was settled, and Majestic Eagle withdrew from the operation. The ISA team left Beirut in January 1984. ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? It built a reputation for daring, flexibility and a degree of lawlessness. The Cantor finally said something, and he said it very very loudly when the mandarins lost control of some weapons and encrypted radios. The Headquarters element of ISA is located in Fort Belvoir, VA but the squadrons and supporting elements are scattered across the Maryland/D.C./Virginia area. " Under the umbrella group of Joint Special Operations Task Force 20, the Intelligence Support Activity helped track down and locate Saddam Hussein. The United States Army Intelligence Support Activity ( USAISA ), frequently shortened to Intelligence Support Activity or ISA, and nicknamed The Activity is a United States Army Special Operations unit originally subordinated to the US Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM). 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. (Source) Gray Fox operators and intelligence specialists operated alongside other special operations units, including Delta Force and DEVGRU, as well as other components of the US Army. ISA has been known to utlizes signal skimmers to pick up enemy radio transmissions and zero in on their location. And now somebody SOMEBODY knows that somebody is recording all the cars turning down that specific road. 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 . For the four main battalions, numbering in total over 300 operators, there are different roles members could fall into. 25: More Chinese Ferry Tales: China's Use of Civilian Shipping in Military Activities, 2021-2022, Hospital Ships: A Vital Asset for SOUTHCOM and South American Navies, The Goshen Massacre and the Specter of Cartel Spillover Into the US, Dangerous Alliances: Russias Strategic Inroads in Latin America, Year Ahead Emerging Technologies and the Collection of Battlefield Evidence, How Does Matter Matter In International Conflict and Security? 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. "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. Italian forces conducted the raid itself; rescuing Dozier and returning him to the US without a single casualty. The United States Army Intelligence Support Activity(USAISA), frequently shortened to Intelligence Support Activity (ISA),also known at various times as Joint Reconnaissance Evaluation Group (JREG),[citation needed]Mission Support Activity (MSA), Office of Military Support (OMS), Field Operations Group (FOG), Studies and Analysis Activity (SAA), When hostages were taken in the Tehran embassy in 1980, it became clear that FOG needed to become a larger group with more resources. US Navy SEALs | Bravo troop tackles the extremely difficult target countries like Syria which had a sophisticated counterintelligence network. This was never forthcoming despite the greatest pressure upon the Agency. It was discovered that he was tape-recording the operation, prompting fears that ISA head Jerry King might use the tape as leverage in case the op went bad. to FOG, SOG, SAD, SMU, ISA, and, FID, the focus of which is the ISA through 2015. The United States realized that insufficient intelligence gathering was the critical point of failure in our attempt to rescue the American hostages and that there was a gap between the Intelligence and Special Operations communities. This extends beyond knowledge of things like general location, language and culture. Well, say that was certainly good news. One such organization, the Red Brigades, composed of far-left communist-leaning extremists, kidnapped U.S. Brigadier General James Dozier. ISA operatives are masters of tradecraft. 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. Its budget would be carefully concealed so that it never made a paper trail, and only a dozen officials would know the names and locations of all of ISA's agents and safehouses. RecPak is a meal replacement for the outdoors that saves you weight, space and time in the most challenging environments, just add water. When Escobar surrendered in 1991, Centra Spike was pulled out, only to return a year later, when Escobar escaped from his comfortable prison. ISA members are often multilingual. The OSS was a direct action "group" that was directly involved in sabotage, infiltration, combat and even assassination. While Delta and DEVGRU focus on direct engagement and specialized combat tactics, the ISA conducts intelligence and espionage operations at a tactical level. 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. 160th SOAR | See Intelligence Collection Directive (ICD) 112, . 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. However, due to the nature of ISAs mission, its operators are rarely likely to carry weapons into the field. The vast majority of the ISAs operations in Afghanistan are still classified. > Role: HUMINT (human intelligence), SIGINT (signals intelligence), direct action. "These commands and white Special Forces like the Green Berets, as well as Air Force combat controllers and commandos of eight different nations report to a mind-boggling array of new command cells and coordination units set up after Sept. (Source), Additionally, the ISA has acted as a pseudo-security element for the CIA. 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. The ISA is perhaps the most major outlier doctrinally from its other, better known, counterparts within JSOC and SOCOM as a whole. Additionally, ISA operates a number of fixed and rotary wing aircraft and these pilots fit somewhere into the puzzle that is ISA. Grey Dynamics is a Private Intelligence firm based out of London with analysts, researchers, and investigators worldwide. "ISA was divided into branches of signals intelligence (SIGINT) specialists, human intelligence (HUMINT) specialists, and a highly compartmentalized direct action element, the 'shooters'. Everyone in the unit is on on the Department of the Armys Special Roster, which means they dont exist. For obvious reasons, the unit doesnt exactly publicize their makeup. SIGINT operations extended to areas with overlapping guerrilla operations, such as Nicaragua, which was facing the increased foe of the Contras. 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. ISA: Soldier Spies of the Intelligence Support Activity Stationed in the fifth floor of the American embassy, and operating from specially outfitted Beechcraft 300 and 350 aircraft, Centra Spike tracked Escobar around the country. His areas of focus are extremism in the Western world, military privatization and the impact of climate change on global security. A key driver for the meeting was the recognition that quality operational intelligence was virtually non-existent. US Army Rangers | The Elite Within the Elite: A Guide to U.S. Special Forces