The unit was raised in 1979 as the Foreign Operating Group (FOG), who was created to overthrow the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. Failed Clandestine operations, usually result in some form of USG explanation. To lawyers, this is a distinction with a difference. Under the guiding hand of JSOC, the ISA operated alongside other JSOC and CIA elements, under the codename Gray Fox. The Cantor, busy writing, asked me how it went. (amazon.com), " Veritas Omnia Vincula Vincit The web portal tool will maintain a repository of all INSCOM and non -INSCOM They must maintain a demeanour of trustworthiness and calmness, so any approached HUMINT sources feel safe and trusted. 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 they soundly slept in the reverie of their grand plan, the Sandman and the Tooth Fairy happened by and found the car unlocked. And with that our boss, the Cantor, doled out a mission for a two-man team of mandarins. 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. Eventually, agents had pinpointed the locations of a number of cartel hideouts and high-value targets, including Pablo. 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. These intelligence gathering methods outline how intelligence is gathered and what is done with it afterwards. 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. 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. _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); Plus, they wouldnt have to load the car back up again the next day what a grand and magnanimous plan that proved to be. "ISA's existence became public in 1982 as a result of a scandal involving US POWs in Vietnam. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ Intelligence Support Activity-Bragg developed an online tool, the pilot for which was planned to commence on June 1, 2019, to standardize the System Authorization Access Request, Acceptable Use Policy and Privileged Access Agreement for the command. 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. 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). These missions include finding Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, locating Army Gen. James Dozier when he was kidnapped by the Red Brigade in 1981 and taking out observation points in Afghanistan to protect friendly forces in the area. Federal Bureau of Prisons Special Operations Response Team (SORT), " Veritas Omnia Vincula Vincit Support Veteran Journalism . Its worth noting that Bravo troop was never compromised while conducting espionage against the Assad regime in Syria. Lawyers for both Titles within the respective DOD and CIA bureaucracies, fought to preserve their interpretations of applications, to prevent one department from intruding into the territory of the other. (Source). ". By Almighty God and with honor, The ISA wasn't popular within JSOC. ISA was asked to form an Algerian-based plan and a Beirut-based one for rescue. RecPak is a meal replacement for the outdoors that saves you weight, space and time in the most challenging environments, just add water. This site uses cookies. He would be given instructions and equipment along the way, and was required to perform certain assignments, for example, setting up a SATCOM system. USSOCOM receives, reviews, coordinates and prioritizes all Defense Department plans that support the global campaign against terrorism. (Source) Once the safe house was located, using a mixture of SIGINT, GEOINT and HUMINT, a raid was initiated. 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. As previously mentioned, its members cross train with the CIA, Americas most comprehensive civilian intelligence agency. 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). 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. 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). Now, shes a third-term Virginia congresswoman. For a Tier 1 group dedicated primarily to intelligence collection and support, the equipment of the ISA cannot be completely verified, nor can any weapons or equipments continued use be verified. Small Wars Journal is published by Small Wars Foundation - a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. 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. The SEALs, SAS, and SBS added additional capabilities over time, responding to the needs of modern conflict. Exactly who would execute the direct-action operations, would be determined after the intelligence determine the situational necessities. They require units with combinations of trained specialized personnel, equipment, and tactics that exceed the routine capabilities of conventional military forces. "Apparently, ISA's direct action element was also put on alert during the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro. After a massive effort, including remote viewers from the United States, turned up nothing, a team of ISA signals intelligence specialists was also sent over to Italy to provide any assistance they could, along with sophisticated equipment and specially outfitted helicopters. 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. Featured Book: 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 focuses on gathering human intelligence based on contact with field agents, and signals intelligence (intercepted communications) to support Delta Force and DEVGRU operations. The ISA technicians were instrumental in the tracking and capture of a number of Red Brigades terrorists, and most probably the location of the kidnapped Dozier himself. The ISAs HUMINT collectors gather information from human sources via coercion and interrogation depending on the asset. Secret Warriors: Inside the Covert Military Operations of the Reagan Era by Steven Emerson Get the weekly email from Grey Dynamics that makes reading intel articles and reports actually enjoyable. ISA intelligence specialists, K9 units, security experts and demolition experts were sent to the country undercover as military advisers. (Source) This indicates that members of the primary four battalions who are combat specialists will have a wide range of skills, and therefore a high range of weapons they utilize. Delta troop is tasked with countries that are a softer target for infiltration such as the Philippines or Morocco. This is a potentially significant compromise. the Cantor lamented in earnest. Zones are prepared, field intelligence is gathered, and targets are laid out for other forces. Some forces were focused on eliminating Iraqi forces and others focused on deposing the ruling Hussein family. Given the nature of their operations and the close work and training they receive alongside other US special operations forces, much of their equipment is likely to mimic that of the special mission units they support and work alongside. Additionally, ISA recruits from other branches of the US military and potentially elsewhere in the intelligence community. 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. These operatives have a cover in the commercial sector, typically as an international businessperson. 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'). 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 The ISA initially had only support activity and HUMINT gathering functions. The planners in DAMO-ODSO were acutely aware of the different legal authorities contained in Title 10 and Title 50 statutes. Parsing one from the other can be quite difficult and largely determined by the location and nature of the target. Immediately after, he would be dropped off in a city, and asked to perform clandestine activities. The vast majority of the ISAs operations in Afghanistan are still classified. Ironically, the embassy in Iran was on their itinerary, but, history intervened, and it was overrun by a mob who took the larger part of the staff hostage. The ISAs execution of SIGINT monitoring was so successful that the month-long operation was extended to three years. It built a reputation for daring, flexibility and a degree of lawlessness. Gaining entry into the ISA is not easy; candidates already must be part of a special operations forces group. 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 Congressional hearing was held, and the media revealed the existence of a 'classified military intelligence unit'. The whole force drove north as planned, putting Kay and me upfront to clear ahead and report back to the assault force. Some of ISA's most recent deployments was in 1993 in Somalia. Special Operations Forces are the elite commandos of the U.S. military. Deployed together with a small Delta Force contingent, Centra Spike flew over Colombia in their airplanes and continued to track Escobar. 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), Mission Support Activity (MSA), Office of Military Support (OMS), Field Operations Group (FOG), Studies and Analysis Activity (SAA), Tactical "During the 1983 American invasion of Grenada, special forces units were plagued by lack of useful and up-to-date intelligence. Under the umbrella group of Joint Special Operations Task Force 20, the Intelligence Support Activity helped track down and locate Saddam Hussein. Within these battalions, there is a cyber ops teams, technology ops teams and mission support teams. (Source). Prior to Saddams capture, over 40 members of his family were captured and interrogated to determine his whereabouts with little success. LTG Odom acquiesced but took every opportunity to oppose actions engaging his traditional intelligence elements. ISA has been known to utlizes signal skimmers to pick up enemy radio transmissions and zero in on their location. The decision was made to deploy another ISA unit. 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. The raid was cancelled over fears that the French and Italians tipped Karadzic off. There are four primary battalions with various responsibilities being spread across them. 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'). (Source), The ISAs selection and training is geared towards intelligence specialisation despite conducting occasional direct engagement. And now somebody SOMEBODY knows that somebody is recording all the cars turning down that specific road. This Army Special Operations unit, goes by many names, which is indicative of the various activities, functions and environments performed by these operators. Since that time the unit reports to Special Operations Command or SOCOM in Tampa Florida, United States. . Key to the concept was that there would be a single in-house element (FOG) that either side could use e.g. Additionally, ISA operates a number of fixed and rotary wing aircraft and these pilots fit somewhere into the puzzle that is ISA. The trials of the ISA in Queens Hunter were not the only time the team was tested in South America. "In 1984, political instability swept through the Seychelles, a group of islands off the coast of Africa. He later commanded both the 1/75th Rangers and the 1st Ranger Training Brigade. 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. The Intelligence Support Activity, commonly called "The Activity" . The US wanted a team to covertly survey the situation on the ground and provide officials with a survey of the US embassy. I delivered the unemotional skinny to the Cantor who neither commented nor looked up from his work. A case officer is someone who handles a foreign asset by giving them collection requirements and ensuring their safety. The rescue force was forced to launch with sketchy data forcing a worst-case force list. This has been more visible in their operations in Afghanistan, Operation Winter Harvest and Operation Queens Hunter. They were never used. Both Army and the Agency recognized the changed nature of the world and the requirements of the emerging terrorist/hostage issues. We provided documents for viewing from both the Agency and DOD lawyers supporting the organization and outlining the rationale. In short order, Langley provided people, training, and a conduit to its various intelligence and planning aspects. The moronic mandarins merely blinked and nothing more. Both were doing the same thing in Colombia, except Centra Spike was doing a better job, at a much lower cost. So where are the pilots? What does one actually do with such persons? US News & World Report describes Torn Victor as 'trained as high-risk intelligence gatherers,' a title fitting the ISA. These are primarily preparation intelligence and tactical/ strategic intelligence for active operations. The plan involved flying feet above the turbulent Mediterranean Sea, at night, through hostile airspace. One such organization, the Red Brigades, composed of far-left communist-leaning extremists, kidnapped U.S. Brigadier General James Dozier. Its members often use disguises to avoid detection and if they are compromised they can quickly disappear from sight and completely change their appearance. It is known that the unit has changed its codename over . As with any clandestine unit, only so much can be known about any of the JSOC special mission units. 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. Lgion trangre (French Foreign Legion) | The JTF was largely dependent upon the CIA to provide the vital confirming HUMINT as to the hostage location. During the operation, a rivalry developed between Centra Spike, and a CIA intelligence unit named Majestic Eagle. They are called upon to perform the toughest duties in the armed forces, and their actions directly affect the protection of America's freedom. 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.