Special Operations.Com

Central Intelligence Agency

Special Activities Staff (SAS)

Military Special Projects (MSP)

SAS in action in Bosnia, late 1990's.

Overview

Note: The SAS's actual designation is Military Special Projects, or MSP. The unit was redesignated in 1995, when General Boykin assumed the Deputy Chief post after coming over from the US Army's Delta Force.

The Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) Directorate of Operations (DO), which is headed by a Deputy Director for Operations (DDO), is responsible for handling covert actions conducted on the Agency's behalf. Within DO are a number of subsections, including Counterterrorism, Counternarcotics, Counterintelligence Staff (CIS), Covert Action Staff (CAS), Special Operations, and others. Of these groups, the Special Operations unit is tasked with conducting paramilitary (PM) covert operations.

The Special Activities Staff (SAS)

The Special Activities Staff (SAS) is one of the least known covert units operating on behalf of the US Government. Operating in teams as large as 12, or as small as one, the SAS is considered  to be among the world's top special operations units. SAS personnel have been described as being particularly skilled in counterterrorist/hostage rescue operations, and are said to capable of "taking down" any type of vehicle, aircraft, ship, building, or facility.

The SAS provides a pool from which the various divisions within the Agency may draw trained personnel to form a Special Operations Group, or SOG. SOG's are short-term teams that carry out paramilitary operations such as sabotage; friendly personnel/material recovery; threat personnel/material snatches; bomb damage assessment (BDA); counterterrorist (CT) operations; raids;  hostage rescues, and other activities as directed by the President.

Candidates for the SAS are primarily drawn from two sources. The first of these is the US military's Special Mission Units (SMUs) such as the Army's  Combat Applications Group (CAG) better known as "Delta Force" ( the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta), as well as the US Navy's Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU-formerly known as SEAL Team SIX). Other prospective candidates are drawn from former members of elite military units such as the USMC's Force Reconnaissance units; the US Army Special Forces; and Navy's SEAL teams, or from  within the ranks of the Agency itself.

A SOG detachment would be comprised of members from one, or more the SAS's three sections, which include a  Ground Branch, Air Branch, and Maritime Branch, depending upon the needs of the SOG, and its mission tasking. Once organized, a SOG would travel to its selected Area of Operations (AO), and execute its mission as directed by the DDO through the local Chief of Station, or whomever was tasked with carrying out the operation.

One successful operation conducted by the SAS occurred during Operation Desert Shield. During the operation a lone SAS operative repeatedly penetrated Iraqi defense in and around Kuwait City in order to deliver, and retrieve intelligence material from the besieged US Embassy. In another operation SAS operators, along with US Navy SEALs, were involved in the covert mining of Nicaraguan harbors during the 1980s.

Air Branch

Air Branch is a descendent of such groups as Air America, Southern Air Transport, and Evergreen Air. Air Branch provides all of the Agency's covert aviation assets, with both fixed and rotary wing aircraft being available for use. Reportedly there is virtually no type of aircraft that SAS Air Branch personnel cannot operate. Some Air Branch pilots are culled from the ranks of the US Army's 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

Air Branch has provided  personnel for such diverse undertakings as "Sea Spray" (A covert Army/CIA aviation unit), the covert arming of the Nicaraguan Contras, and the resupply of UNITA rebels in Angola.

Maritime Branch

Maritime Branch is primarily composed of former Navy SEALs from both "regular" blue water SEAL Teams and the counterterrorist DEVGRU, and USMC Force Reconnaissance personnel. Maritime Branch personnel receive training similar to that of Ground Branch operators, but with a greater  training emphasis on amphibious/waterborne activities. Maritime Branch operators receive training in conducting operations such as jet-ski reconnaissance and hostage rescue operations along hostile shorelines.

One example of  these activities occured during the early 80's, when Maritime Branch personnel trained Nicaraguan Contras to use of high speed boats for attacks against Sandanita shipping. They also stood by to launch underwater sabotage attacks against ships docked in Managua's harbor. Another example occurred in early 1991.  This time Maritime Branch operators instructed US military SOF in the use of modified jet skis for a possible hostage rescue mission during Operation Desert Storm.

The amphibious skills of Maritime Branch personnel are sometimes duplicated within Ground Branch, due to the fact that many Ground Branch operators  are already combat diver or scout-swimmer qualified.

Ground Branch

Ground Branch personnel are the most diversely trained group of all SAS personnel, receiving training at various civilian and military courses, with particular attention being given to the use of small arms. Training is known to include instruction in the following areas: assessing threat types; intelligence gathering; room entry techniques; tactical communications (covert radios, infrared, microwave transmitters, etc.); levels of force; use of the baton; armed and unarmed crowd control; edged weapons; unarmed combat techniques; team training and leadership;  individual and team movements; structure penetration; boarding and securing vessels; prisoner search/ snatch and handling; hostage situation management; small unit tactics; long range reconnaissance and patrol; explosives;         field medicine; extreme environment survival; and land, sea and airborne operations.

Small arms instruction is provided using a wide variety of  weapons, ranging from pistols and shotguns, to rifles and carbines. CQB shooting skills, sniping, and countersniping  are all considered vital skills and are emphasized thoughout operator training. Civilian training centers  such as John Shaw's Mid South School, TEES, BSR, and Gunsite are known to frequently play host to SAS personnel.

Another important area of  Ground Branch operator training is advanced automobile handling (evasive, high-speed emergency driving). Students learn how to drive virtually any type of vehicle under any condition, both during daylight and at night, with or without night observation devices (NODs). They also receive instruction on how to use the car as a weapon, should the need ever arise. These skills, along with related techniques, are known collectively as Tactical Vehicle Commandeering (TVC) and are learned both at civilian academies and by G8: Training Division.

All Ground Branch personnel are required to undertake every class offered by OTR that has anything to do with small arms, vehicles, terrorism, or covert fieldcraft. While such training obviously enhances the  individual operator's personal skill level, a secondary reason for such training is  the fact that Ground Branch personnel will, at some point in their career, have to serve as an instructor at a CIA or government run training facility.

SAS Training

Those individuals who pass the initial SAS selection phase, which is based on a modified version of the CAG (Delta)/Special Air Service (SAS) selection course, and accepted into the group, are then selected for one of the three operational sections. Upon arrival, the new operator will under take a wide variety of civilian and military training courses, to help develop the skills necessary for the demanding tasks that may be asked of him. 

Established during World War II as a training base for U.S. Navy Seabees, the 10,000 acre Camp Peary training center, which is also known as the Special Training Center (STC) or "The Farm", is used by  DO for a wide variety of training. The STC's primary training focus is on basic tradecraft skills such as weapons handling, explosives, infiltration and exfiltration technique. It is not unusual for students attending the Basic Operations Course (required of all Case Officers) to travel to nearby Williamsburg to practice their skills in a real-world environment. Yet, while numerous films and novels have portrayed "The Farm" as the ultimate training ground for the Agency's paramilitary operators, this is in fact, not the case. For advanced instruction in other skills, such as breaking into buildings undetected (sureptitious entry); stealing and photographing documents or equipment; "snatch and grab" techniques (recovery of a friendly or hostile individual); CQB, intelligence gathering, and a course known as AET, or Applied Explosive Techniques (which is popular with US Navy SEALs), students travel to the" Point" which is located outside of Elizabeth City, North Carolina.     

The Harvey Point Defense Testing Activity was originally constructed during World War II to serve as a base for anti-submarine patrol blimps operating along the Eastern seaboard, acts as an advanced training center for Agency, US military, and friendly special mission/operations units. One known example of this occurred when Agency personnel provided instruction to the US Secret Service (USSS) in Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) techniques.  Both the EOD and the above mentioned AET courses are managed by a group within the Agency's Department of Science and Technology known as the Special Activities Division (SAD).

Civilian facilities also play a major role in SAS operator training. The West Virginia-based ITI provides instruction for select US government specialty teams, such as the Agency's SNAP teams, CAT teams and the SAS. ITI also supplies Counterterror Surveillance instructors for the CTTC course. There is also another school, located in West Point Virginia, that teaches Agency specialty teams. The Mid-South Institute of Self Defense Shooting near Memphis, TN is known to be frequented by SAS personnel. Of all the civilian facilities, however, G8: Training Division, a private sector company, provides the preponderance of  SAS training, and thus bears closer discussion.

Formed in 1981under the direction of an EOD-qualified retired Navy SEAL, and a CIA paramilitary officer, G8 trains US government personnel in "black arts", such as CQB, tradecraft, surveillance, sniping,and other clandestine skills . G8's was originally based in the valley of Aina Haina, on the island of Oahu, in the city of Honolulu, Hawaii. In 1982 G8 moved to the mainland United States, and in a short period of time, primarily due to a growing relationship with the CIA, grew to a full-fledged training group, capable of hosting a steady flow of paramilitary personnel. As the number of students increased, so did the quantity and quality of instructors. Today, G8's staff includes not only former SAS personnel, but  former military personnel from variety of units, including the US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC); US Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM); the 20th Special Forces Group; the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (JFKSWCS), and the US Army's 75th Ranger Regiment.

Vehicle Training

An important part of SAS training includes the operation of motor vehicles in both permissive and non-permissive environments. The basic driving course called CTTC (Countering Terrorist Tactics Course) or in Agency slang as the "Crash and Bang" course, is taught at CampPerry.  This course is required for any CIA personnel being sent to a potentially hostile area.  During the course the traineeis qualified in the use of the Browning 9mm, .38 Special revolver, and Winchester 1200 12-gauge shotgun. It also introduces the student to basic counterterror driving techniques, and counterterror awareness/counter surveillance techniques. For the highly trained Ground Branch personnel such techniques are elementary, however they are still required to attend the course due to the fact they will later return as course instructors.

SAS vehicle training is broken down into several categories:

TVC is a course designed for individuals who may have to escape from hostile territory by quickly acquiring a vehicle. The training focuses on vehicle types and selection, improvising tools, overcoming security devices, and driving away. This course is followed by the more advanced Tactical Vehicle Interception (TVI), which teaches how to stop a moving auto using one, two or more vehicles or firearms.

The Evasive Driving Module (EDM) is for operators who might come under attack while operating a motor vehicle. Whether the attack be an attempted carjacking, kidnapping, or terrorist assassination, the response is the same, to get out of the situation quickly. The goal is to train the driver how to use his vehicle as a means of escape or weapon for survival. The driver will learn what a car is capable of and most importantly, his own limits. He will be shown how hard it is to stop a moving vehicle, and he will conduct a series of exercises where instructors  actually try to run the driver off the road. The driver will be taught evasive maneuvers such as forward and reverse spins and ramming. Training is brought together through realistic situational exercises where the student comes under different types of attack and is challenged to react.

The following is a sample EDM training schedule that provides a look at the areas of focus:

SCHEDULE

0900-1000 Barricade Breaching and Drivable Terrain

Ramming through a car that is blocking your path both forward and in reverse. Driving off the road as a means of escape.

1000-1100 Evasive Maneuvers

Forward and reverse 180-degree turns including limited space and curved road scenarios.

1100-1200 Vehicle Intervention Practical

The Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) is the most efficient and safest way to stop a fleeing vehicle. Students are shown this maneuver so they know how to defend against it.

1200-1300 Lunch

1300-1330 Attack Recognition Lecture

The importance of being mentally prepared in order to execute an escape maneuver.

1330-1400 Forward and Reverse 180-Degree Turn Practice

1400-1500 Barricade Confrontations Practical

Students come under simulated attack and must choose and execute the correct escape maneuver.

1500-1700 Defensive Line

Protection from being stopped while fleeing from an attacker. Students come under attack through actual contact exercises and are required to use their automobile as a weapon to protect themselves.

Advanced Driver Training (ADT)

Then there is Advanced Driver Training (ADT) module, which is actually the cornerstone of all advanced driving courses. It is the module by which all courses are built upon and a stand-alone course itself. This training teaches the student how to be a better, more confident driver. The laws of Vehicle Dynamics determine how and why a vehicle reacts as it does when in motion. These factors and the driver's interrelationship with them are practiced in an evolving series of exercises. A sample training schedule follows:

SCHEDULE

0900-0930 Vehicle Dynamics Lecture I

Understanding the driver/vehicle relationship. Vehicle language, driving form, weight transfer, ocular driving, threshold braking and off-road recoveries.

0930-1030 Vehicle Dynamics Practical I

Students practice these skills through serpentine and emergency braking exercises. Surprise off-road recoveries are conducted throughout the day.

1030-1100 Vehicle Dynamics Lecture II

Skid control and spin recovery. Understanding oversteer and understeer, and how they are controlled. How tire pressure affects performance and how to prevent blowouts.

1100-1200 Vehicle Dynamics Practical II

Skid control (oversteer and understeer) and advanced emergency threshold braking.

1200-1300 Lunch

1300-1330 Vehicle Dynamics Lecture III

Understanding multiple dynamics, braking, braking in curves, and swerving-to-avoid obstacles.

1330-1430 Vehicle Dynamics Practical III

Emergency braking in turns and swerve-to-avoid obstacles.

1430-1500 Technical Drive and Mental Aspects Lecture

The laws of vehicle dynamics are applied to allow vehicle control at above highway speeds. Techniques of stress management are discussed.

1500-1600 Technical Drive Practical

The laws of vehicle dynamics are applied to maintain control at emergency speeds.

1600-1700 Technical Drive Final

Students are asked to drive at emergency speeds under pressure, applying acquired skills.

After Sunset Night Drive Lecture

The limitations of vision and lighting. This exercise is only conducted during security courses.

One Hour Night Drive Practical

Technical driving skills are applied along with visual limitations.

Back