ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Espionage, Intelligence, and Security Volume ...

Delta ForceBackground investigations. The PSI program of the DSSoversees background investigations on military, civilian,and contractor personnel affiliated with DOD. PSIs areused to determine the suitability of an individual for entranceinto the armed services, for access to classifiedinformation, and for appointment to sensitive positionswithin DOD. PSIs conducted by DSS special agents aresubmitted to the agency’s Personnel Investigations Centerat Fort Meade, Maryland, where they are processed.When completed, PSIs are sent to the appropriate DODadjudicative facility, which makes the determination as tothe individual’s suitability. DSS is thus purely a reportingand screening agency, and has no power to choose orreject individuals for positions within DOD.The work of processing security clearances, the mostprominent service of DSS, has also provided the occasionfor a number of frustrations. In July 2000, the agencyexperienced the breakdown of a $100 million computersystem, thus temporarily bringing to a halt its backgroundchecks. Also in that month, a review panel that includedrepresentatives of DSS came under fire for approving anaward to Loral Space & Communications Corporation “foroutstanding security performance and practices.” In 1996,Loral had forwarded a report on a Chinese rocket to theChinese government without first obtaining State Departmentclearance, a situation that had led to a grand juryinvestigation. The backlog of security clearance investigationsforced DSS to turn to civilian contractors for help. InJune 2002, DOD investigators learned that one of the firmsDSS had used, Government Business Services Group,may have submitted false reports to DSS and claimed tohave completed work it had not done. As of fiscal year2004, DOD had transferred responsibility for conductingmost background checks from DSS to the Office of PersonnelManagement (OPM).Other DSS programs. Under the ISP heading in DSS are threeindustrial security programs, the largest of which is theNational Industrial Security Program, or NISP. DSS representativesworking in the NISP oversee security at clearedcontractor facilities, and assist the contractor’s staff informulating and maintaining security programs. The othertwo ISP sections are the Arms, Ammunition, and Explosives(AA&E) Program, which provides protection for munitions,and the Critical Infrastructure Program (CIP), whichoversees systems vital to the operation of DOD. Additionally,the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office(DISCO) in Columbus, Ohio, processes, issues, and maintainsISP facility and personnel clearances.The Security, Education, Training, and AwarenessProgram includes instruction in counterintelligence andother areas. Training takes place at the DSS Academy, orDSSA, in Linthicum, Maryland, where some 10,000 studentsfrom DOD and the defense industry learn coresecurity disciplines that integrate training in CI and informationsystems. Education is provided through combinationsof formal classroom teaching, computer-based learning,and correspondence, distance, or tele-training.In the realm of counterintelligence, the DSS CounterintelligenceOffice, established in May 1993, seeks to integratean awareness of counterintelligence with DSS coremission areas. Its aims are to infuse the defense workforcewith counterintelligence knowledge, to increase awarenessof counterintelligence throughout DOD and the contractorbase, and to assist those it trains in recognizing andreporting intelligence collection activities conducted byforeign powers or groups.❚ FURTHER READING:PERIODICALS:Barr, Stephen. “Defense Department Agrees to Have OPMTake Over Background Checks.” Washington Post. (February5, 2003): B2.Pincus, Walter. “Computer Shutdown Hits Defense SecurityService; Backlog of Background Checks Grows.”Washington Post. (July 8, 2000): A10.———. “A Pentagon ‘Embarrassment’: Loral Wins, IsStripped of Award for Security Practices.” WashingtonPost. (July 19, 2000): A21.Pound, Edward T. “Keeping Secrets Secret.” U.S. News &World Report. (June 3, 2002): 22.ELECTRONIC:Defense Security Service. (February22, 2003).SEE ALSOClassified InformationCounter-IntelligenceDOD (United States Department of Defense)Security Clearance InvestigationsDelta ForceDelta Force is one of the two principal United Statescounter-terrorism units, the other being the Naval SpecialWarfare Development Group, formerly known as SealTeam Six. Created in 1977 by Colonel Charles “Charlie”Beckwith, Delta Force is headquartered at Fort Bragg,North Carolina. Little is known about the elite unit, whichis highly trained and well equipped with state-of-the-artweaponry, airborne insertion equipment, and other formsof technology. Delta Force has participated in a multitudeof counter-terrorist actions from 1979 onward.Formation. In forming Delta Force, which was activated inNovember 1977, Beckwith drew on his experience withthe British 22nd Regiment Special Air Service (SAS), withwhich he worked in an exchange program in 1962 and1963. Despite the heavy influence of SAS, with which it322 Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security