Unit Profile
Intelligence Support Activity provides US special forces with intelligence gatherers, man hunters, assassins and deep penetration agents. The unit was raised in 1979 as the Foreign Operating Group (FOG), who was created to overthrow the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. It is known that the unit has changed its codename over the years. 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. During the 1990's the unit was known as Capacity Gear.
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. Since that time the unit reports to Special Operations Command or SOCOM in Tampa Florida, United States.
The force is supposedly around 250-275 operators. The unit is provided with the best equipment money can buy and it is known it maintained a fleet of aircraft at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.
The unit's missions range from Latin America, fighting communist guerrillas and drugs barons, to Africa, the Middle East and central Asia, tracking down terrorists. 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. During the war on terror it was responsible for hunting hunting high value persons.
Mission
- Direct action;
- Strategic reconnaissance;
- Unconventional warfare;
- Counterterrorism;
- Activities specified by Government.
Raised and Disbanded
- raised: 1981.
Units
- Signals intelligence (SIGINT);
- Human intelligence (HUMINT);
- Assault unit;
- Administration unit;
- Training unit.
Headquarters
- Fort Belvoir, North Virginia, United States.
Operations
- Operation Winter Harvest;
- Operation Desert Storm;
- Operation Gothic Serpent;
- Operation Enduring Freedom;
- Operation Iraqi Freedom.