6/20/2023 0 Comments Intelligence support activity![]() ![]() Within these battalions, there is a cyber ops teams, technology ops teams and mission support teams. There are four primary battalions with various responsibilities being spread across them. The ISA comprises 5 primary elements: administration, training, SIGINT, HUMINT and direct action. ![]() Intelligence Support Activity Organisation With the expansion, the FOG has renamed the ISA and officially established as a unit on January 29th, 1981. Rather than disbanding the unit, it was expanded. Ultimately, Operation Credible Sport was cancelled but the FOG had proven its usefulness. ![]() The FOG was able to clandestinely enter Tehran and gather the required intelligence. However, the CIA couldn’t provide these answers so Delta turned to the FOG. 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 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. It was Delta Force’s first mission and a horrific failure. The failure of Operation Eagle Claw was a turning point for US special operations. The US recognized the usefulness of this unit and began surveying embassies across the world. 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. Members of FOG infiltrated Nicaragua using false passports. The US wanted a team to covertly survey the situation on the ground and provide officials with a survey of the US embassy. In 1979 the need for a dedicated special operations intelligence unit was solidified following the overthrowing of Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. Originally the unit was known as the Field Operations Group or FOG and was designed to fill the Army’s need for clandestine intelligence collection. ( Source) The US military sought to carry out intelligence operations without the direct need of US intelligence agencies. The Department of Defense in 1965 outlined its need to be more involved with collecting intelligence, supported by Robert McNamara. Years before its actual formation, the need for the ISA, or an operational entity like it, was already being examined. History of the Intelligence Support Activity There are also teams within the ISA who can conduct direct action missions should the need arise. Additionally, ISA gathers SIGINT primarily by intercepting enemy communications or sending an agent to physically bug a target. The ISA’s HUMINT collectors gather information from human sources via coercion and interrogation depending on the asset. Human intelligence (HUMINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) are the most common products of their operations. The Intelligence Support Activity conducts its operations during and in advance of US military operations. While Delta and DEVGRU focus on direct engagement and specialized combat tactics, the ISA conducts intelligence and espionage operations at a tactical level. The ISA is perhaps the most major outlier doctrinally from its other, better known, counterparts within JSOC and SOCOM as a whole. Operationally, the ISA is a dedicated intelligence group, doing the intelligence leg work for special operations groups. Primarily acting as enablers for JSOC special mission units. Nowadays the ISA focuses on the preparation of the battlespace for military operations across the globe. Originally the ISA operated as a tactical arm of the National Security Agency. Its scope is quite large, and it often works in support of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), SOCOM and even other intelligence agencies. 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. ISA has gone by many names over the years but its current one is not public knowledge. The Intelligence Support Activity (ISA), the 1st Capabilities Integration Group (Airborne), or simply The Activity is a component of the US Army and acts as a dedicated intelligence group for JSOC.
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