| Defence Intelligence and Security Centre
 | |
|---|---|
| Chicksands, Near Shefford, Bedfordshire, England | |
| Coordinates | 52°02′33″N 0°21′45″W / 52.04251°N 0.36258°W |
| Type | Garrison |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Controlled by | Joint Services |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1936 |
| In use | 1936 - present |
| Garrison information | |
| Occupants | Royal Navy, Intelligence Corps, Royal Air Force |
The Defence Intelligence and Security Centre (DISC) is the location of the headquarters of both the Defence College of Intelligence and the British Army Intelligence Corps. It is located at Chicksands, Bedfordshire, approximately 35 miles (56 km) north of London.
Site History[]
Chicksands was the site of RAF Chicksands, an RAF signals collection station during and after the Second World War; during the war, it was one of the "Y-Stations" which sent intercepted signals to the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park, where ciphers and codes of several Axis countries were decrypted, most importantly the ciphers generated by the German Enigma and Lorenz machines. The station was used by the United States Air Force from 1950 to 1995, also for signals collection, being the location for its first 1,443 feet (440 m) diameter FLR-9 direction finding antenna, commonly known as the Elephant Cage, from 1963 to 1995. The site was closed as an RAF station in 1997, then handed over to the Intelligence Corps allowing the Corps Headquarters and training delivery to re-locate from Templer Barracks in Ashford, Kent.
Defence College of Intelligence[]
The Defence College of Intelligence (DCI) is responsible for delivering training in intelligence and security to members of the British Armed Forces, police and other public sector staff as well as international partners. Training is delivered over three sites, Chicksands, Defence School of Language Beaconsfield and the School of Photography at the Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering, Cosford.
HQ Intelligence Corps[]
The Headquarters of the Intelligence Corps is located on site, with all core training for Intelligence Corps soldiers and officers being delivered through the DCI.
HMS Ferret[]
HMS Ferret is a training unit of the Royal Naval Reserve which delivers intelligence-related operational capability.[1]
15 (United Kingdom) Psychological Operations Group[]
15 (United Kingdom) Psychological Operations Group is a tri-service, or "purple", military unit parented by 1 Military Intelligence Brigade comprising over 150 personnel, approximately 75 from the regular Armed Services and 75 from the Reserves. The Group supports deployed commanders in the provision of psychological operations in operational and tactical environments.[2][3]
15 (UK) PSYOPS Group was established immediately after the 1991 Gulf War when the success of US military psychological operations convinced the Ministry of Defence that the UK required a similar capability. Initially it was composed of just a single desk officer with the intention that it would be augmented by additional personnel when required. As such the Group was referred to in military terminology as a 'shadow' unit.[4] Subsequently conspiracy theorists have suggested incorrectly that 'Shadow' was a covert code name for the Group and members of the Group have been targeted in the press.[5]
Since 1991 the Group has grown significantly in size to meet operational requirements and has participated in every major UK military operation since that period. The Group's Honorary Colonel is Lieutenant General Sir Paul Newton, formally Commander of Force Development and Training for the British Army.[6]
In October 2012, the Group was awarded the Firmin Sword of Peace for its "valuable contribution to humanitarian activities by establishing good and friendly relations with the inhabitants of any community at home or overseas". The citation noted that: "A small team from 15 POG has been continuously deployed to Helmand for six years. Working predominantly with the Afghan civilian population, it has sought to inform, reassure, educate and through the promotion of free and unbiased discussion persuade Afghans that their futures are best served not with the Taliban, nor with ISAF, but with themselves and their elected government. The unit runs a network of radio stations employing local Afghans as DJs, broadcasting music, poetry, debate programmes and even a Helmandi soap opera, as well as producing graphical posters and leaflets to communicate in an area where literacy rates are only around 20%. Recent projects include information campaigns to prevent children picking up spent ordnance they find, disseminating information from farming and veterinary workshops using their radio stations, and promoting debate on political issues of the day".
The Sword was presented to the Group's then Commanding Officer Commander Steve Tatham RN at a ceremony in London by the Chief of Defence Staff General Sir David Richards.[7] The award was covered by the BBC which was granted exclusive access to the Group.[8]
Other resident units[]
- Intelligence Corps Museum
- Army Cadet Force detachment
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ "Bedford - HMS Ferret". Royal Navy. http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/The-Fleet/Maritime-Reserves/Royal-Naval-Reserves/RNR-Units/Bedford-HMS-Ferret. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ↑ "15 (UK) Psychological Operations Group". Ministry of Defence. http://web.archive.org/web/20060620154544/http://www.army.mod.uk/15psyops/index.htm. Retrieved 23 August 2008.
- ↑ "Psychological Ops Group". Royal Navy. http://web.archive.org/web/20100702002020/http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/psychological-ops-group. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
- ↑ Jolly, Stephen (October 2000). "Wearing the Stag's Head Badge: British Combat Propaganda since 1945". In Minshall, David. The Psywar Society. pp. 86–89. ISSN 0956-2400.
- ↑ Muir, Hugh (13 December 2012). "Master of black propaganda gets top job at MoD". London. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/dec/13/hugh-muir-diary-jolly-mod. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
- ↑ "15 (United Kingdom) Psychological Operations Group: Annual Report". 15 (UK) PSYOPS Group. http://www.psywar.org/psywar/reproductions/15POG_Annual_Report_2008.pdf. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
- ↑ "Firmin Sword of Peace awarded to 15 (UK) Psychological Operations Group". Ministry of Defence. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/firmin-sword-of-peace-awarded-to-15-uk-psychological-operations-group. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
- ↑ Wyatt, Caroline (27 October 2012). "Psy-ops: Tuning the Afghans into radio". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-20096416. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
External links[]
- Images
The original article can be found at Defence Intelligence and Security Centre and the edit history here.