However, Operation Anaconda is one of few of the ISAs Afghanistan operations known to the public. The Cantor sent me out as usual to throw the lock, wait for our operational vehicle to pass, then shut it again. They are called upon to perform the toughest duties in the armed forces, and their actions directly affect the protection of America's freedom. 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. During the war on terror it was responsible for hunting hunting high value persons. In Evaluating Immunities before a Special Tribunal for Aggression Against Ukraine, the Type of Tribunal Matters, Chinas Ferry Tale Taiwan Invasion Plan Is A Legal Nightmare, China Maritime Report No. Candidates then are put through a battery of assessment and selection courses as well as background checks and psychological testing. 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" . With it, they had a unit of military spies able to covertly infiltrate a country and provide hands-on, critical intelligence, as well as to raise logistical support for counter-terrorist commandos in case of a crisis. Here, Ive got it, offered the mandarin with hand extended to my lock pick set. The ISA differs from its brother and sister task forces in that it is not primarily a combat-oriented team, excelling in HUMINT and SIGINT operations that allow it to provide extremely valuable intelligence to other military elements. Each chapter of the book brings a new chapter of the Activity's operations like Lebanon, where its efforts to rescue US hostages was stymied by its own government or Bosnia where it hunted down war criminals. (Source) At the time, the Salvadoran Army was facing attacks from leftist groups and more lethal right-wing death squads. To this point, the CIA and the DOD followed separate independent paths as defined by statutes contained in Title 10 (DOD authorities) and Title 50 (Intelligence agency authorities). Unless you plan to body-check those cars I would junk up.. This is especially useful in countries where men and women socializing is frowned upon outside of the family. However, the ISA intercepted Iraqi communications that corroborated intelligence collected from his family members. 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. The vast majority of their operations are clouded not just in shadow, but in complete darkness. Establishing cover as husband and wife to live in and conduct intelligence collection missions within a target country. Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis. Nonetheless, it is known that these operators have shown their indispensable worth to both the intelligence and SOF communities in matters of national security, supporting Delta and SEAL Team Six operations by hitting the ground first to prep the environment: gathering actionable intelligence, pathfinding, and performing a broad range of operational support. Since incorporating under JSOC in 2003, Gray Fox has expanded into direct action and hostage rescue, showing that they may be the most diversely equipped, trained and adaptable Special Missions Unit in the SOF community. Once they arrived they took pictures of the embassy from every angle, recorded the types of locks on all doors, inside and outside, recorded the number of windows and exits, and created a blueprint of the building. 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. As a result, ISA was almost disbanded, but Army officials succeeded in ensuring its survival, albeit on a much tighter leash. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. In 2003 four troops: A,B,C, and D made up the squadron. 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). They were never used. ISA was close to making the exchange, but the deal fell through at the last minute. " 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. 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. Through their mastery of SIGINT, the ISA quickly got on the task of intercepting radio and telephone transmissions. It was the type of mission ISA was designed for, but no agents were sent in. The Intelligence Support Activity conducts its operations during and in advance of US military operations. While the nerdiest Green Berets and special operators comprise the bulk of ISA, there are also non-traditional operatives who have not passed the selection course. Read Next: Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 operators on the loose? Most ISA trainees are from Army Special Forces, meaning many have skills in CQC, sniping, counter-sniping and general tactical engagements. "When TWA Flight 847 was hijacked on June 14, 1985, America's counter-terrorist forces went on full alert. However, our personal favorite is a toss-up between Cemetery Wind and Gray Fox. However, through OSINT collection we know that there are three primary squadrons: Sometimes referred to as HUMINT or Ground squadron, Operations Squadron functions as ISAs HUMINT collection squadron. By Almighty God and with honor, Additionally, conceal meant can be a factor in weapon selection too. 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. "In late 1981, ISA agents were involved in the attempt to acquire a Soviet T-72 tank, which had obsessed intelligence analysts. Special Operations Forces: I grabbed assault rifles and ammo can from our stash in the attic of the safe house and reluctantly handed one to Kay-Kay: You keep this damned thing on safe at all times! An ISA technician with a SATCOM was provided for the operation to aid in the tracking. Geo, take a mandarin with you, the Cantor directed without looking at me. Immediately after, he would be dropped off in a city, and asked to perform clandestine activities. So there they were sitting in our Tactical Operations Center in Bosnia waiting to be integrated into our PIFWC hunting operations. The Cantor, busy writing, asked me how it went. Most officials disliked the unit's head, Jerry King, and thus, JSOC did not send the unit in. In line with their proficiency in infiltration, they had an array of passports, credit cards and falsified documents to allow easy movement between territories. 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. A simultaneous raid on the targets was to be made. Part of a Delta-DEVGRU task force, ISA provided intelligence on the whereabouts of Bosnian Serb war crimes suspects. Bravo and Delta troops utilize commercial or non-official cover. Though its history is relatively brief and known missions it has undertaken even briefer, it has become one of the most interesting and influential special operations groups at the disposal of JSOC and the US military. Cowan traveled the Lebanese countryside pinpointing the locations of Syrian anti-aircraft emplacements. The forms of intelligence gathered by the Activity include: HUMINT (HUMan INTellgence) A Congressional hearing was held, and the media revealed the existence of a 'classified military intelligence unit'. 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. 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'). 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Under the guiding hand of JSOC, the ISA operated alongside other JSOC and CIA elements, under the codename Gray Fox. 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. non-covert action intelligence activityoften a collection programto be of such sensitivity that 1 Oral notifications shall be followed by a written notification. 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. and other specialized capabilities to support Army, joint, unified action partners, and the U.S. intelligence commu-nity. Escobar was shot as he was trying to escape from the roof of his house. 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. Smith's book lifts the lid of secrecy on the Activity, one of America's least well known Special Ops units. (Dominique Sumner and Peter Tomich). While Delta and DEVGRU focus on direct engagement and specialized combat tactics, the ISA conducts intelligence and espionage operations at a tactical level. The terrain was extremely rugged, the enemy was far more entrenched than anticipated, and Murphys Law was in full effect. Primarily acting as enablers for JSOC special mission units. 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. When government officials found out, they were horrified, they seemed to have a rogue agency within its ranks. 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Deployed together with a small Delta Force contingent, Centra Spike flew over Colombia in their airplanes and continued to track Escobar. Developed hunt methodology for Albuquerque-based Counter Human Traffic organization DeliverFund llc as an Intelligence Analyst and Network Disruption Team Leader in the Get The Daily Situation. Some of the more well-documented operations of the ISA shed light on the general nature of the ISAs overall operations. "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. Plus, they wouldnt have to load the car back up again the next day what a grand and magnanimous plan that proved to be. They also have direct action elements within their battalions, alongside specialists in HUMINT and SIGINT. He tasked them to install a clandestine video camera (clandcam) framed such that it would record all the license plates of all vehicles turning down a specifically designated road. 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. 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. (Source). And with that our boss, the Cantor, doled out a mission for a two-man team of mandarins. They marked secret infiltration routes and bases American forces could use if they were ever sent into the country. The specialists, nicknamed 'knob turners' operated sophisticated electronic eavesdropping equipment located in the back cabin of specially-outfitted Seaspray Beechcraft 100 airplanes. 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. ISA was asked to form an Algerian-based plan and a Beirut-based one for rescue. The following article on the Intelligence Support Activity was copied from Specwarnet.net online. 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. It was provided with a cover name, Tactical Concept Activity, and would never be acknowledged by the Pentagon. In the summer of 1980, FOG agents were infiltrated into Teheran to report back on the hostages' whereabouts, movements of the Iranians, as well as to recruit local agents. 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. It's a Special Mission Unit and conducts highly classified operations. This time around, travel through the city was a very dangerous endeavour, with roadblocks everywhere. The vast majority of the ISAs operations in Afghanistan are still classified. It is common for the appearance and demeanour of an agent to be the key to their success as an infiltrator. Funding was to be a joint undertaking. While driving through northern Lebanon, Cowan and his mates suffered several close calls with Syrian roadblocks and patrols. The monitoring of guerilla factions allowed the Salvadoran Army to successfully defend against their attacks. However, his several interventions and temporary blockage of many initiatives, showed that his primary intent was to arrest the development and contain the capability. The whole force drove north as planned, putting Kay and me upfront to clear ahead and report back to the assault force. The mandarins had inexplicably turned and ran south back to our home base leaving no rear guard for the main body. The ISAs HUMINT collectors gather information from human sources via coercion and interrogation depending on the asset. Authors cartoon depicting the mandarins installing the soon-to-be compromised surveillance camera. The ISA team left Beirut in January 1984. Army did likewise through DAMO-ODSO. In 1989, during Operation Just Cause, the American invasion of Panama, ISA proposed to deploy a team of its intelligence agents to track Manuel Noriega, but the offer was declined. 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.

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