The mandarins decided they were much too tired and sleepy to unload their car to safekeep all of their sensitive items in the house with them. (Source), The tactics and techniques of the ISA are some of the most unique among all the JSOC special operations groups. On October 23, 1983, a truck bomb slammed into the US Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 Americans, and injuring scores more. (Source). "The government realized the importance of the FOG. US Navy SEALs | The US recognized the usefulness of this unit and began surveying embassies across the world. "Gray Fox's low-profile eavesdropping planes also fly without military markings. 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'). No unit is quite as secretive as the Intelligence Support Activity. 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. The CIA would talk directly to the warlords while the ISA provided SIGINT support and ground security for them. Both Army and the Agency recognized the changed nature of the world and the requirements of the emerging terrorist/hostage issues. ISA was asked to form an Algerian-based plan and a Beirut-based one for rescue. "On December 17, 1981, Colonel James Dozier, the highest ranking American army officer in the NATO southern European Command was kidnapped by members of the Red Brigade terrorist faction. Russia and Ukraine battle daily in the sky. The ISA's HUMINT collectors gather information from human sources via coercion and interrogation depending on the asset. 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. 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. (Source). Original content is published under aCreative Commons Licenseper ourTerms of Use. 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). 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 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'). A DOD lawyer was assigned to the development planning, and Col Jerry King (MG Vaught's Chief of Staff for the Iran JTF) became the first head of the FOG. The Cantor said nothing. In short order, Langley provided people, training, and a conduit to its various intelligence and planning aspects. ISA intelligence specialists, K9 units, security experts and demolition experts were sent to the country undercover as military advisers. The unit conducts close survelliance with cameras, even going as far as covertly entering terrorists safe houses and planting hidden cameras. Once inside, Centra Spike agents would plug in laptops into the airplane's power and could simultaneously track four frequencies. (Source), The ISAs selection and training is geared towards intelligence specialisation despite conducting occasional direct engagement. In 2003 the CIA and ISA conducted a joint operation in Somalia. All the tools you need to an in-depth Intelligence Support Activity Self-Assessment. 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. The Intelligence Support Activity conducts its operations during and in advance of US military operations. It was a body of men and women first sent to Japan to study Ninjitzu, then on to Chinas Shao Lin Temple to study Kung Fu, then finally to Iran to study the ways of the Immortals under the former King of the Persian Empire, Xerxes the Great. Retired Army Col. Paris Davis stood in the White House as President Biden draped the Medal of Honor around his neck, nearly Chief Special Warfare Operator Michael T. Ernst died following a "military freefall training accident" on Feb. 19 in Marana Lt. Col. Collin Charlie Christopherson, the commander of the 1st Special Operations Maintenance Squadron, was arrested How much do you know about the morale machine that's been deploying with U.S. troops since WWII? 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). Originally referred to as Task Force Orange, other names have included Centra Spike, Torn Victor and Gray Fox. Case officers also target and recruit potential assets. ISA was highly classified. 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. (Source). Tracking dummy targets over Medellin, Centra Spike managed to pinpoint their locations within 200 meters, while Majestic Eagle came no closer than four miles. The ISAs HUMINT collectors gather information from human sources via coercion and interrogation depending on the asset. Read Next: Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 operators on the loose? Geo, take a mandarin with you, the Cantor directed without looking at me. There are four primary battalions with various responsibilities being spread across them. Failed Clandestine operations, usually result in some form of USG explanation. 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. Every component of the US military was involved in the Invasion of Afghanistan, including the ISA. The aim of the operation was to monitor cross-border raids and movements of Sandinista forces and rebels in El Salvador. And now somebody SOMEBODY knows that somebody is recording all the cars turning down that specific road. (Source). 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. Electronic specialists and SIGINT operators comprised part of the force. Marpat Camo Test |. 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. 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. ISA members conducted extensive interviews with Special Forces members in the country, Lebanese Army and CIA and embassy officials. Colonel Jerry King retained his position as the head of the group, now 100-strong and headquartered in a nondescript building in Arlington, Virginia. But the poor Cantor had to suffer through the mandarin menace sure enough. It is common for the appearance and demeanour of an agent to be the key to their success as an infiltrator. Operationally, the ISA is a dedicated intelligence group, doing the intelligence leg work for special operations groups. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; 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. Cowan and another ISA agent managed to drive through every sector of Beirut, even the Shiite suburb, a dangerous practice at the time. The examples and perspective in this article, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Joint Publication 1-02 Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms", United States Army Special Operations Command, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Direct_action_(military)&oldid=1081847487, This page was last edited on 10 April 2022, at 01:40. ISA members are often multilingual. (Source) The US military sought to carry out intelligence operations without the direct need of US intelligence agencies. The authors note that "All information used in this article has been obtained from publicly available, open source documents." It later took on other roles like SIGINT as battlefield requirements changed over time. They must maintain a demeanour of trustworthiness and calmness, so any approached HUMINT sources feel safe and trusted. Bravo and Delta troops utilize commercial or non-official cover. Human intelligence (HUMINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) are the most common products of their operations. ". The decision was made to deploy another ISA unit. var _gaq = _gaq || []; (Source). 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. As the name implies, SIGINT Squadron is responsible for ISAs signals intelligence mission. (function() { The ISA comprises 5 primary elements: administration, training, SIGINT, HUMINT and direct action. As with any clandestine unit, only so much can be known about any of the JSOC special mission units. This was never forthcoming despite the greatest pressure upon the Agency. Most ISA trainees are from Army Special Forces, meaning many have skills in CQC, sniping, counter-sniping and general tactical engagements. 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. When Escobar surrendered in 1991, Centra Spike was pulled out, only to return a year later, when Escobar escaped from his comfortable prison.
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