The aim of the operation was to monitor cross-border raids and movements of Sandinista forces and rebels in El Salvador. 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 Intelligence Support Activity, commonly called "The Activity" . The ISA consistently attaches itself to other units, either as a temporary or more permanent component. Units in Sarajevo tracked Karadzic electronically, while other agents were on the ground in Pale, Karadzic's home. 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. Its purpose is unlike many other special operations forces of the US military, not dedicated to direct combat, and more towards secretive and clandestine actions necessary to support other military operations. Through their mastery of SIGINT, the ISA quickly got on the task of intercepting radio and telephone transmissions. Both were doing the same thing in Colombia, except Centra Spike was doing a better job, at a much lower cost. There was a chain barricade that the Serbian police (MUPs) used to block access to a side road that junctioned with highway M4. It built a reputation for daring, flexibility and a degree of lawlessness. The FOG was re-named the Intelligence Support Activity (ISA), and given an initial budget of $7 million. Unfortunately, the police were either heavily corrupted or unwilling to arrest Escobar, and the intelligence went to waste. A vehicle on time and on target rolled through the barricade. ISA operatives are highly skilled in the various arts of HUMINT gathering including: (Source). They also have direct action elements within their battalions, alongside specialists in HUMINT and SIGINT. All Rights Reserved. Few special operations forces are clad in as much secrecy as the Intelligence Support Activity. Key to the concept was that there would be a single in-house element (FOG) that either side could use e.g. 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. and other specialized capabilities to support Army, joint, unified action partners, and the U.S. intelligence commu-nity. 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. (Source). US Army intelligence defines HUMINT as including: The sources of this information can come from enemy combatants, including regular armed forces, and civilian sources. 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 time, the manhunt for Escobar was being led by Col. Hugo Martinez, who did not intend to let Escobar get away, and who operated with ruthless efficiency, aided by Centra Spike's intelligence. 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. and direct action combat. This intelligence then triangulated the possible location of Dozier. My team, me and happy-trigger-fingered Kay-Kay, were to position north of the ambush site, report the approach of the Generals car, then pull our car out onto the highway to block traffic for the hot minute it took the assault force to stop Klandanjs car and scoop him up. They also noted the specific funding line and agreed to manage it as a priority classified line absent committee discussion. action is "necessary to support identifiable foreign policy objectives of the United States, and is Since 2003, t. Guerrilla insurgents in Nicaragua composed only one part of the multitude of threats facing the US With cartels all over South America creating chaos for pro-US forces, Pablo Escobar and his cartel were the targets of several US government agencies and departments, including the ISA. ", Sources: ISA has been known to utlizes signal skimmers to pick up enemy radio transmissions and zero in on their location. Cake duty! In the 1980s, extremist parties on both sides of the political spectrum plagued Italy. Cowan traveled the Lebanese countryside pinpointing the locations of Syrian anti-aircraft emplacements. The unit was raised in 1979 as the Foreign Operating Group (FOG), who was created to overthrow the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. (Source), The ISAs selection and training is geared towards intelligence specialisation despite conducting occasional direct engagement. "In and around Afghanistan, Gray Fox was part of a secret sphere that included the CIA's paramilitary Special Activities Division and the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command. Within these battalions, there is a cyber ops teams, technology ops teams and mission support teams. 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. 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. Here, Ive got it, offered the mandarin with hand extended to my lock pick set. 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. During these operations, the ISA operated alongside other combat groups, providing them with signals intelligence support and field intelligence, including HUMINT. "Today, the ISA operates under the code name Gray Fox. The CIA proved unable to provide the critical intelligence Delta Force needed, such as the number of guards, the type of weapons they were using and what kinds of locks were on the doors. A key driver for the meeting was the recognition that quality operational intelligence was virtually non-existent. Candidates then are put through a battery of assessment and selection courses as well as background checks and psychological testing. 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. ISA members are often multilingual. USSOCOM receives, reviews, coordinates and prioritizes all Defense Department plans that support the global campaign against terrorism. (Source) Training involves different espionage and intelligence methods that allow ISA members to carry out their essential HUMINT operations. Intelligence picked up reports that the two, along with other Sudanese officials were the targets of Libyan-sponsored terrorist assassinations. They discovered there was no co-ordination between them, and vital information regarding terrorist attacks was not being shared. At the point of execution, the road became bureaucratically bumpy. This is how we block. Small Wars Journal is published by Small Wars Foundation - a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. It was the type of mission ISA was designed for, but no agents were sent in. In the aftermath, the FOG was hard at work gathering intelligence in Iran in preparation for Operation Credible Sport, the second attempt to rescue the hostages. The FOG was able to clandestinely enter Tehran and gather the required intelligence. The unit exists in an altered form today, but it is an example as to how the USG can effectively mix Title 10 and 50 rules to achieve a common end and how conventional bureaucracies can stifle needed imaginative resolutions. US intelligence gathering methods centre around the US intelligence process, composed of the phases Plan, Prepare, Collect, Process, and Produce. ISA operatives are masters of tradecraft. 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 Support Activity - Role The Activity's primary role is to gather actionable intelligence in order to pave the way for special operations undertook by units such as Delta Force (known as 'operational preparation of the battlespace'). 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. Its worth noting that Bravo troop was never compromised while conducting espionage against the Assad regime in Syria. He had literally tried to muscle open the lock with tools designed for a sincerely delicate operation. They must maintain a demeanour of trustworthiness and calmness, so any approached HUMINT sources feel safe and trusted. Once admitted, candidates must pass the operations training course, which teaches infiltration techniques, advanced air operations, offensive and off-road driving, personal defensive measures and communications. Killer Elite > Role: HUMINT (human intelligence), SIGINT (signals intelligence), direct action. "ISA was also rumoured to be operating in Bosnia in the last few years under the code-name Torn Victor. The Cantor, busy writing, asked me how it went. 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. In one particular situation, Delta and Torn Victor agents supposedly donned French uniforms (Pale is in the French sector of the UN zone) and traveled to Pale hoping to conduct closer surveillance of his whereabouts. The Joint Special Operations Command and the frequently-renamed Intelligence Support Activity are similar units. Operatives must also go unnoticed, being able to blend into crowds and not draw attention. (Source) At the time, the Salvadoran Army was facing attacks from leftist groups and more lethal right-wing death squads. FOG became permanent and renamed ISA on March 3, 1981. Barrett is the world leader in long-range, large-caliber, precision rifle design and manufacturing. In 2003 the CIA and ISA conducted a joint operation in Somalia. 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. 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. One of their major tasks was to create 'pathfinders'. 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. 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 mission support teams help actualize the other major goal of supporting other forces in a battlespace. The operation went smooth up until the force rolled away. 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. Some of ISA's most recent deployments was in 1993 in Somalia. Tracking dummy targets over Medellin, Centra Spike managed to pinpoint their locations within 200 meters, while Majestic Eagle came no closer than four miles. geo sends. The unit was raised in 1979 as the Foreign Operating Group (FOG), who was created to overthrow the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. That close-holding of his cards was typical of him. Most officials disliked the unit's head, Jerry King, and thus, JSOC did not send the unit in. Failed Clandestine operations, usually result in some form of USG explanation. The exact makeup of ISAs force structure is hard to determine. Fort Belvoir, North Virginia, United States. This page was last edited on 1 April 2008, at 06:57. "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. 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