SPHERE OF SPIES
newsletter
Sherri Bigbee and Steve Hicok, a sister and brother writing team, have collaborated on the Chase Brandon espionage series.
Sherri is a TV cameraman who has a bent for obscure high tech. Steve with his
offbeat humor is currently teaching film. And Chase Brandon in LAKE OF SPIES
pushes his limits tracking a madman through Europe.
SPY CRAFT: a current collection of tech-facts
Looking Back and Forward
THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR
In the 1975 movie, Three Days of the Condor, CIA reader Robert Redford comes across more information than he should. He is rapidly the target of an international manhunt. At first the hunted, Condor turns the tables and soon becomes the hunter as he figures out how to use the know-how and spy craft he's picked up in his CIA reading assignments. This movie taken from James Grady's novel, Six Days of the Condor, is based on fact. The CIA does have a secret library of all spy novels published around the world. Fictional stories of espionage are often so authoritative that our intelligence agencies want to take a look at what's being published. State secrets, spy tradecraft tools and even terrorist plots have been known to turn up on pages.
CAMP X
Back in World War II it was called Camp X. It was a top-secret training camp for spies located on the shores of Lake Ontario 30 miles east of Toronto. The vast facility was built in 1939 and trained US, British and Canadian spies and resistance fighters. This spy school taught sabotage, counterfeiting, code breaking, and how to kill silently. "Kill or be killed" was the motto on training room walls. It was the creation of Winston Churchill's friend, Canadian millionaire William Stephenson. Ian Fleming was a student. At Camp X, the creator of James Bond learned martial arts from the former head of the Shanghai Police and stealth techniques from the Iroquois Indians. He also trained in underwater sabotage in Lake Ontario and received instructions on lock picking from burglars. Many of the scenes in the 007 movies were based on Ian Fleming's time at Camp X.
NON-LETHAL AND COUNTER WEAPONS
They're here. And what
a difference they're going to make. The wide scale use of non-lethal
weapons on the battlefield will be as significant as the introduction of
gunpowder during Europe's Renaissance. It will change the way we do war.
Here is a small sample.
Riotril or 'Instant Banana Peel' a powder-like substance sprayed and then
moistened on a road. Vehicles don't have a chance on the ice slicked road.
When Riotril becomes dry it can be peeled off.
Audio Blast Wave a blast wave created by a pulsed laser that will project
a hot, high pressure plasma in the air in front of a target. It will stop
approaching troops in their tracks.
Electronic Shell Detonator an electronic field that causes mortar and
artillery shells to explode prematurely by signalijng to them that they have
reached their targets.
Anti-laser Smoke a defense against blinding laser weapons. Lasers
can't "see" through clouds of smoke cover.
Bio-Disease Organisms nonfatal diseases targeted toward troops and
civilians. Yellow fever and hemorrahagic disease are among the choices.
Biodegrading Microorganisms microbes that turn tanks full of aviation fuel
into unusable jelly.
Metal Embrittlementers these agents are painted or sprayed on metal parts.
The molecular structure is compromised causing bridge supports and
airplane wings to fracture.
Sleep Inducers Fentanyl was the sleep-inducing drug used in the Moscow
theatre to incapacitate the Chechnya terrorists. Ketamine and BZ are also
calmatives. In the US, "Flash Bangs", also known as
"diversionary devices" are used by police in hostage situations.
This low grade explosive is often laced with calmatives to be absorbed
through the skin of criminals.
HEMINGWAY - a self-styled spy
In 1942 Ernest Hemingway was one of America's most famous writers. And because of this, what was the US Ambassador in Havana to do when the writer approached him with a bit of a madcap plan to stop the sinking of Allied ships by German U-boats off the coast of Florida? The President reluctantly agreed to fund Hemingway $500 a month to set up a spy ring in Cuba. The self-styled ring was made up of dockworkers, gamblers, a Cathloic priest, an Olympic athlete and a couple of gunrunners. Hemingway called it the "crime shop". Ever the adventurer, the writer took it one step further when he packed the hull of his fishing boat with weapons and bombs and bobbed around the ocean as bait for German submarines looking to steal supplies on the high seas. For hours each day, as they did indeed listen to radio traffic in German, Hemingway and his men on the boat drank, got bored and used their empty, floating Rum bottles as target pratice. After the "fishing" jaunts parties were tossed up at the writer's villa. J. Edgar Hoover got wind of these wild parties and the boozing sessions. Hoover thought Hemingway was free loading and pulled the plug on the spy ring in April of '43. (Ten years later, the Noble Literary Prize went to Ernest Hemingway for his novel THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, which had its roots in those Cuban coast spy days. So much for being fired!)
SPECIAL OPS: A PRIMER
"Three men behind the
enemy are worth more than fifty in front of him."
-
Fredrick the Great, 1747
Here is a brief overview of the history and
missions of our Special Forces who are already leading the battle against
terrorism.
The most vintage of the units is the Army
Rangers. This group dates back to the French and Indian Wars. When
you think of the Rangers, think rifles. They are the standoff marksmen
experts. These light infantry battalions also have a specialty. They
are excellent at raiding and taking over airfields just as in times of old when
they captured forts. When the National command Authority needed the
capability to rapidly deploy an elite military force it chose the Army Rangers.
On just 9 hours notice it can get to anywhere in the world.
The second of the Army's Special Ops is the
Delta Force. This highly classified and secretive unit was the brainchild
of Colonel Charles Beckwith who fought tirelessly from 1963 to 1977 to assemble
a new type of Special Forces. "Charging Charlie" had trained in
1962 with the British SAS. He liked what he saw. Upon returning to
the US, he decided the Army needed a Close Quarters Battle force. Delta
soldiers are trained in suprise attacks on buildings captured by terrorists.
Shoot-no shoot tactics are used to kill the enemy without hitting hostages
and civilians. Although its primary mission is hostage rescue, other
"unconventional warfare" operations are assigned to Delta.
In 1962 President John Kennedy authorized
the Green Berets. He gave the unit five missions. The visionary
Kennedy administration made combating terrorism one of them. The Berets
are also experts in recon, direct action against troops, unconventional warfare
and are instrumental in assisting friendly foreign nations in internal defense.
Today, the Green Berets are greatly contributingly to world stability by
providing protection for members of foreign governments threatened by
terrorists.
The 160th Special Aviation Regiment provides
the air support to the Army special Operations Forces. Modified Blackhawk
utility and Chinook lift helicopters insert, extract and resupply Special Ops.
The 160th not only conducts armed escorts, recon and surveillance, it also
provides a platform for command, control and communications and occasionally
engages in battle and some futuristic electronic warfare such as jamming enemy
radar.
The Navy Seals evolved from the Underwater
Demolition Teams back in World War II. In 1960 the Navy took a close look
at the successful demolition units and decided to use them as sabotuers. There
are six Navy Seal Teams which are trained to operate in six separate areas of
the world. Their missions extend from oceans and bays to rivers and
reservoirs. They can attack enemy ships, ports, dams, bridges and railway
lines and can also can destroy and/or incercept lines of communication next to
waterways.
The Air Force's largest Special Op Force is
the 16th Special Operations Wing with 90 aircraft. Most of the
planes operated by the 16th are modified 130 Hercules cargo carriers. They
fly low, day or night, taking out ground troops with 25mm Gatling guns,
semiautomatic cannons and 105 mm guns. Another retrofitted cargo plane,
the Combat Shadow Tanker, provides worldwide clandestine aerial refuling of
aircraft. Two helicopters have tailored jobs. Pave Hawk helicopters
fly into the heart of enemy territory to rescue trapped soldiers, and Pave Low
heavy lifters provide close cover fire for Special Forces on the ground.
Most Marines will tell you that they don't
have a separate Special Operations Force. However, the Force Recon
companies attached to the Marine divisions are every bit as much Special Ops as
are those found in the Army, Navy and Air Force. It is said that the
fiercely independent Marines did not want any of their troops to be placed under
the central Special Operations Command (SOCOM) in Fort Bragg, North Carolina,
and that is the reason for the refusal to acknowledge Special Ops. Marines
are known as the first ones there, the takers of the beachhead. One can
imagine how dangerous and essential is the job of Force Recon.