E Squadron,[1][2] formerly the Increment,[1][3][4][5][6] is a British paramilitary unit tasked with conducting covert operations, paramilitary operations and others at the behest of the Director Special Forces and Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service. Its members are selected from the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF), Defence Intelligence and are trained and tasked with carrying out operations in close contact with the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6.
| E Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1990s(?)-2005 (as the 'Increment') 2005-current (as E Squadron) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Type | Paramilitary Unit |
| Role | Unconventional Warfare Direct Action Espionage |
| Size | Highly Classified |
| Part of | MI6 (SIS) |
| Engagements | 2011 military intervention in Libya |
Its name was publicly mentioned in an email sent out by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence in 2021.[7]
Operations alongside the CIA
editE Squadron has been known to operate in conjunction with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division.[2] [need quotation to verify]
History (including the Increment)
editFrom Richard Tomlinson's book The Big Breach, detailing the accounts of his experience as an SIS Intelligence Officer, the basic facts about the composition of the Increment and its relation to SIS are noted:
The army provides a detachment from the SAS regiment, called Revolutionary Warfare Wing in Hereford, and the navy provides a small detachment from their Special Boat Service in Poole. Both have similar roles as far as MI6 is concerned and are known collectively within the service as the ‘increment’. To qualify for the increment, SAS and SBS personnel must have served for at least five years and have reached the rank of sergeant. They are security vetted by MI6 and given a short induction course into the function and objectives of the service. If they have not already learnt surveillance skills, they take a three- week course at the Fort. Back at their bases in Hereford and Poole, their already substantial military skills are fine-tuned. They learn how to use improvised explosives and sabotage techniques, as well as advanced VIP protection skills, study guerilla warfare organisation and practise advanced insertion techniques - for example high-altitude parachuting from commercial aircraft or covert landings from submarines. Advanced civilian qualifications are acquired: several of the SBS Increment have commercial ship's skipper’s tickets in their alias name, enabling them legally to hire, say, a fishing trawler.
On the IONEC, a week of the course is dedicated to familiarisation with the increment and the S&D flight and ‘military week’ was eagerly anticipated by most of us.[4]
IONEC is an acronym for the "Intelligence Officers New Entry Course", the programme in which Intelligence Officer recruits/trainees at SIS enroll.[4] Some of the training, specifically the firearms training, takes place at Fort Monckton. [8]
From the personal blog[3] of former British Army 22 SAS Soldier Colin Armstrong best known by his pseudonym Chris Ryan:
I've been asked if the Increment is real, and if the kind of deniable 'black' ops I depict in my novel of that title really happen. The Increment most definitely exists. It's a small group of badged guys who are part of E Squadron. They are specially selected for their skill, which is amazing even by SAS standards. They have to undergo incredibly stringent background security checks because they are entrusted with the most sensitive operations within the entire military. To be a member of the Increment is to be the best of the best.[3]
Selection, Training and Operations
editIncrement members were drawn, as previously stated, primarily from the Revolutionary Warfare Wing (RWW) of 22 SAS and from the equivalent wing of the SBS or the SBS itself. They were deployed for assassinations, sabotage or dangerous/high-risk operations such as the arresting of war criminals in the Balkans. [6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Urban, Mark (19 January 2012). "Inside story of the UK's secret mission to beat Gaddafi". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 Sep 2020. Retrieved 20 Sep 2020.
- ^ a b Neville, Leigh (2015). Special Forces in the War on Terror. Osprey Publishing. p. 296. ISBN 9781472807908.
- ^ a b c Ryan, Chris (31 July 2012). "The Increment - is it real?". Chris Ryan's Official Blog.
- ^ a b c Tomlinson, Richard (2001). The Big Breach. Moscow, Russia: Narodny Variant Publishers. pp. 26, 48. ISBN 9780970554789.
- ^ Tweedie, Neil (18 October 2011). "Meet the spy who is harder than James Bond". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- ^ a b Bennett, Richard M. (13 June 2003). "Assassination and the License to Kill". Asia Times Online. Please note that the full article text only seems to be available on the page linked, under "Annex", which is a memorandum from Dr Martha Mundy titled 'Memorandum from Dr Martha Mundy' addressed to the UK Parliament. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- ^ Atlamazoglou, Stavros (22 June 2021). "A British army email mishap publicly mentioned a military intel unit so secretive its members are banned from social media". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ Davies, Philip H. J. (2000). "From special operations to special political action: The 'rump SOE' and SIS post-war covert action capability 1945–1977". Intelligence and National Security. 15 (3): 63, 64. doi:10.1080/02684520008432617 – via Taylor & Francis Online.