14 Intelligence Company

14 Intelligence Company is alleged to have been an element of the British Army Intelligence Corps which operated in Northern Ireland from the 1970s onwards. The unit conducted undercover surveillance operations against suspected members of Irish republican and loyalist paramilitary groups. Allegations of collusion with loyalist organisations were made against the unit.

tructure

Authors claiming to be former members of the unit describe an organisation [The Operators: On the Streets with Britain's Most Secret Service, James Rennie, 2004] [One up, A woman in action with the SAS, Sarah Ford,1197] [First into Action: Dramatic Personal Account of Life Inside the SBS, Duncan Falconer, 2001] [Ghost Force: Secret History of the SAS, Ken Connor, 1999] with a depot on mainland United Kingdom with four operational detachments in Northern Ireland.

*Main Det (Headquarters), RAF Aldergrove.
*East Det, based at Palace Barracks, Belfast.
*North Det, based at Ballykelly County Londonderry.
*South Det based at Fermanagh.

Selection and training of personnel from all arms of the British Armed Forces was conducted in the a number of locations on the mainland. Candidates, both male and female, volunteered for "special duties" for periods of 18-36 months, before being returned to a parent unit. Trained surveillance operators could volunteer for re-deployment after a period with the parent unit, with potential opportunities to serve in command, staff or training roles within the organisation or higher command structure.

The unit is alleged to have formed the basis of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment on its formation.Fact|date=June 2008

The unit is alleged to have had a number of names during its lifetime; Mobile Reconnaissance Force (MRF), 14 Intelligence and Security Company, Army Support Unit (ASU), Joint Communications Unit (Northern Ireland) (JCUNI).Fact|date=June 2008

Collusion accusations

14 Int was accused of acting in collusion with loyalist paramilitaries by "former intelligence personnel" Fred Holroyd and Colin Wallace around the death of senior Provisional Irish Republican Army member Francis Green, the Miami Showband killings and the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings. [ [http://www.republican-news.org/archive/2000/January06/06john.html An Phoblacht/Republican News ] ] [ [http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/irish_news/arts2006/jul13_sanctions_threatened_1976_arrests.php The SAS in Ireland - Revealed, Irish News, by Barry McCaffrey, July 13 2006] .] [Ken Livingstone, maiden speech British House of Commons, Hansard Parliamentary Debates, volume 118, July 7 1987] [ [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/violence/docs/kaystavern0706.pdf Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) report p. 160] ] [Holroyd, War without honour (Hull, 1989), pp.78-79.]

See also

* United Kingdom Special Forces
* Special Reconnaissance Regiment

Further reading

* James Rennie, "The Operators: On the Streets with Britain's Most Secret Service" (ISBN 1-84415-099-2)
* Sarah Ford, "One Up: A Woman in Action with the SAS" (ISBN 0-00-638837-X) (despite the misleading title)
* "Jackie George", "She Who Dared: Covert Operations in Northern Ireland with the SAS" (ISBN 0850526868)

References

My Life in the Shadows by Sam Alexander

External links

* http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/northern_ireland/2000/brits/transcript3.stm
* [http://www.specialforcesroh.com/browse.php?mode=viewc&catid=52 Roll of honour, awards and images.]