Unfortunately, the hostages were dispersed throughout the country, and the chance never came for a second attempt, but the seeds were planted for the Intelligence Support Activity. Unless you plan to body-check those cars I would junk up.. Eventually, agents had pinpointed the locations of a number of cartel hideouts and high-value targets, including Pablo. find out more 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. An ISA technician with a SATCOM was provided for the operation to aid in the tracking. "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. (Source), Outlined as the primary purpose of the ISA since its inception, intelligence gathering is one of its most essential tasks. 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. The force is supposedly around 250-275 operators, who excel in intelligence gathering, languages and electronic surveillance. "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. The decision was made to deploy another ISA unit. Once inside, Centra Spike agents would plug in laptops into the airplane's power and could simultaneously track four frequencies. People know ISA mostly for its involvement in Operation Anaconda. . 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. 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! The unit has been under command of the US Army but some time after September 11th 2001 command was placed under direct control of the Joint Special Operations Command or JSOC at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, United States. Most ISA trainees are from Army Special Forces, meaning many have skills in CQC, sniping, counter-sniping and general tactical engagements. (Source) This allowed the forces involved in the surrounding Shahikot Valley to be more informed of enemy movements and positions. (Source). The unit is organized into several elements. [2] Unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance and direct action roles have merged throughout the decades and are typically performed primarily by the same units. 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ISA operatives often work in disguise and undercover. 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. Support Veteran Journalism . 2023 The SOFREP Media Group. Working closely with Special Forces and the CIA, Gray Fox also places operatives inside hostile territory. At the point of execution, the road became bureaucratically bumpy. The unit was raised in 1979 as the Foreign Operating Group (FOG), who was created to overthrow the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. What does one actually do with such persons? Special Operations Forces are the elite commandos of the U.S. military. var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; The plan involved flying feet above the turbulent Mediterranean Sea, at night, through hostile airspace. Cowan and another ISA agent managed to drive through every sector of Beirut, even the Shiite suburb, a dangerous practice at the time. The cyber operations team extends into other offsets of intelligence gathering, including OSINT, cyber threat intelligence and cyber warfare. G-2 - U.S. Army Training Doctrine and Command If some elements (especially photos) were originally yours please consider Specwar.info to host for free. US Army Rangers | ISA operators would infiltrate either Beirut or Algiers on commercial flights to avoid tipping off the terrorists or the authorities. In 2003 the CIA and ISA conducted a joint operation in Somalia. Officially formed in 1980 as FOG then transitioning to the USAISA from 1981 to 1989, this unit now operates under changing names like Capacity Gear or Quiet Enable. A much more classified component was a solely-US effort codenamed Green Light, focusing specifically on former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. 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. Feeling the working end of my pick with my fingers I could tell that it was destroyed; the neck had a corkscrew twist in it and it was staved to shit. 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. 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. The U.S. Army's Intelligence Support Activity is arguably the most secretive unit out of the five tier one units in the United States Military. Colonel Jerry King retained his position as the head of the group, now 100-strong and headquartered in a nondescript building in Arlington, Virginia. RecPak is a meal replacement for the outdoors that saves you weight, space and time in the most challenging environments, just add water. October 16, 2020 They are known by many names: Task Force Orange; the Intelligence Support Activity; The Activity; the Army of Northern Virginia; the Field Operations Group (FOG); the United States Army Intelligence Support Activity, or just shortened to Intelligence Support Activity (USISA). The operation was codenamed Amber Star, and was a joint US-British-French-Dutch effort to apprehend the suspects. Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret And now somebody SOMEBODY knows that somebody is recording all the cars turning down that specific road. 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. Jose Solano - Intelligence Analyst - CACI International Inc | LinkedIn These operatives have a cover in the commercial sector, typically as an international businessperson. With the expansion, the FOG has renamed the ISA and officially established as a unit on January 29th, 1981. Highly recommended. 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. The third known squadron is the Mission Support Squadron. 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. The OSS was a direct action "group" that was directly involved in sabotage, infiltration, combat and even assassination. Establishing cover as husband and wife to live in and conduct intelligence collection missions within a target country. HUMINT-related activities at the Department of Defense and Defense Intelligence Agency level, subsequent to the disestablishment of the DHS, included continued issuance of DoD directives or instructions governing elements of HUMINT operations - including those concerning human source validation ( Document 44 ), creation of the since 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. Under Operation Winter Harvest, a small team of Delta Force technicians was dispatched to Italy to provide assistance with the search for Dozier. "Cowan put together another five-man team, but their deployment was stalled for three weeks. ISA members conducted extensive interviews with Special Forces members in the country, Lebanese Army and CIA and embassy officials. "Apparently, ISA's direct action element was also put on alert during the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro. Barrett is the world leader in long-range, large-caliber, precision rifle design and manufacturing. All information and multimedia on Specwar.info comes from a wide number of sources. From 5 miles away and 4,575m above the ground, operatives could target insurgents communications via cellphone. Intelligence Support Activity A Complete Guide - 2020 Edition A simultaneous raid on the targets was to be made. For the four main battalions, numbering in total over 300 operators, there are different roles members could fall into. Since its inception, the Activity has been providing invaluable intelligence and support to many United States operations. 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. The mandarins had inexplicably turned and ran south back to our home base leaving no rear guard for the main body. "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. HUMINT collection cant be done without boots on the ground, so members of the main battalions are likely conducting field operations. The moronic mandarins merely blinked and nothing more. This extra length concealed the main eavesdropping antennas, while others could be lowered from the belly while in flight. 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? The mission criteria were pretty simple: we would fail our mission if we missed reporting the generals car, or if we allowed someone to get around our blocking position and into the ambush site. Box 378 Red Hook, New York 12571 United States. Russia's Spetsnaz combines DA and SR units. (Source). As a result, ISA was almost disbanded, but Army officials succeeded in ensuring its survival, albeit on a much tighter leash. During the operation, a rivalry developed between Centra Spike, and a CIA intelligence unit named Majestic Eagle. "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. Along with reviewing the security and organization again, ISA was also tasked with formulating plans for reprisals against the Syrians who had shot down two US fighters. These deployments include Operation Winter Harvest, Operation Queens Hunter and their role in Operation Anaconda. Know a SEAL from a Night Stalker: a breakdown of US Special - SOFREP 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. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); Task Force Mandarin [better known as Task Force Orange or the Intelligence Support Activity (ISA)] was a support organization formed to provide signal intercept and intelligence gathering capabilities to Tier One organizations. > Role: HUMINT (human intelligence), SIGINT (signals intelligence), direct action. These members function as case officers. US Army Intelligence Support Activity (ISA) | Specwar.info "In late 1981, ISA agents were involved in the attempt to acquire a Soviet T-72 tank, which had obsessed intelligence analysts. Or these operatives can clone a cellphone, allowing them to send and receive communications to and from the phone from a remote locations. Based on photos of ISA operatives and reasonable assumption, they are most likely to carry: For a unit like ISA, firearms are not its primary weapons. However, the CIA couldnt provide these answers so Delta turned to the FOG. " 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. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ . They set up protection for the president and installed a security system. 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. A declassified document provides background information about the Intelligence Support Activity (ISA ), a little known intelligence gathering unit that collects tactical intel for Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and other Special Operations units. The unit was raised in 1979 as the Foreign Operating Group (FOG), who was created to overthrow the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. 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. This includes Clandestine operations, but not those which are Covert. to FOG, SOG, SAD, SMU, ISA, and, FID, the focus of which is the ISA through 2015. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); This is a potentially significant compromise. the Cantor lamented in earnest. The operation, code-named Great Falcon, made a deal with the Iraqi government for a T-72, in exchange for 175mm cannons. 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. An ISA agent was secretly infiltrated into Beirut where he provided real-time intelligence on the location of the hostages. Special Operations (SO) encompass the use of small units in direct or indirect military actions focused on strategic or operational objectives. ". They also noted the specific funding line and agreed to manage it as a priority classified line absent committee discussion. 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. This extends beyond knowledge of things like general location, language and culture. Special Air Service (SAS) | The training processes of other military groups however grant general insight into the selection and training of the ISA. It is common for the appearance and demeanour of an agent to be the key to their success as an infiltrator. ISA was asked to form an Algerian-based plan and a Beirut-based one for rescue. There was a chain barricade that the Serbian police (MUPs) used to block access to a side road that junctioned with highway M4. 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. Boss Cantor seemed satisfied with how the mandarins gathered the necessary hardware for the mission and then marched smartly out the door. (amazon.com), " Veritas Omnia Vincula Vincit The CIA would talk directly to the warlords while the ISA provided SIGINT support and ground security for them. Not wishing to be a dire critic, I found it rather novice of him, but drew another pick from my kit and threw open the lock. Both the CSA and the Director understood that each offered something the other did not and that together, a much better response capability could be generateda point that POTUS emphasized through the National Security Council to both. They also have direct action elements within their battalions, alongside specialists in HUMINT and SIGINT. ISA members are often multilingual. COL Nightingale is a retired Army Colonel who served two tours in Vietnam with Airborne and Ranger (American and Vietnamese) units. Its members often use disguises to avoid detection and if they are compromised they can quickly disappear from sight and completely change their appearance. These are primarily preparation intelligence and tactical/ strategic intelligence for active operations. 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). Years before its actual formation, the need for the ISA, or an operational entity like it, was already being examined. Get the weekly email from Grey Dynamics that makes reading intel articles and reports actually enjoyable. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; Once a member of the ISA passes the initial selection, it trains alongside different intelligence specialists, including members of the CIA. Are you one of them? The trials of the ISA in Queens Hunter were not the only time the team was tested in South America. 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. In the 1980s, extremist parties on both sides of the political spectrum plagued Italy. The "Pakistani cook" piece, delivered as Delta boarded the aircraft, was viewed as an implausible source though subsequent inquiry revealed that the crucial info was available much earlier, but intentionally not shared for several reasons.