CIA Special Activities Division PMO Skill Set

[ClayDowling]

Kromm's statements also mesh well with what has been publicly acknowledged by the CIA. Tony Mendez talked a good bit about the training for operatives, since he helped to develop a considerable amount of it.

They acquire their skill sets over the years, in a form of continuing education, as their missions require it. They also have highly specialized people for certain tasks, who are brought in on specific missions when needed. So there are people who, during the cold war, could slip into the bowels of the Kremlin. But it's not like just any CIA agent could do it. And there are agents who can take a group of diplomats and smuggle them out of a police state disguised as a film crew, but that doesn't describe most CIA employees.

[TheOneRonin]

Originally Posted by Kromm

Special-ops units and highly trained field elements of intelligence services are remarkably capable. Nobody would doubt that! However, it's important to bear in mind that the "official word" about such a unit – its mission statement, the decree that authorizes its creation, what former members are allowed to talk about, etc. – always portrays a best-case scenario. If the world hears about a bunch of armed men who arrive and depart in the dark, accomplishing a mission that requires skills A, B, and C, and technical means X, Y, and Z, are you going to say (1) that teams have individual specialists in A, B, and C, and that there are some teams with X, others with Y, and a few with Z, or (2) that every man-jack can do A, B, and C, and that every team has X, Y, and Z on-deck 24/7? Since nobody can prove you wrong thanks to the inevitable secrecy surrounding such people and their operations, you're going to say (2) every time, because that conceals actual capabilities and intimidates would-be enemies of the state.

I don't doubt that one one bit. And I am a proponent of having specializations divided up amongst team members. To me, that is a core conceit of any team-based story telling game.

But I also believe that, in Special Operations units, you will always have a core set of capabilities in every operator. In an ODA, for example, your Weapons Sgts will probably be able to shoot better than the rest of the team, but the rest of the team had damned well better be able to shoot better than most of the regular Army combat arms units. And while your ODA Medical Sgts can run circles around most paramedics, the rest of the team had damned well better be trained up at least to the Combat Lifesaver level.

One of things I'm trying to accomplish is to define that core set of skills that every SAD SOG operator will have, regardless of specialty. Then I can work on building the specialization packages that the rest of the team can pick from to round out their characters.

This kind of best-case-scenario skill set is propaganda, however. It isn't good for a single, realistic template. I have a lot of experience with template creation, and I would say that a template that offers a choice of packages that collectively give the whole team the officially claimed capabilities is a more realistic approach. Rather than create a 500-point template which consists of a 250-point core with 250 points of special skills, create a 200-point template with a range of six to eight 50-point skill sets, and require the players to pick one or two of those sets per character. If every PC will be a member of such a team, insist that they collectively cover the entire range . . . and perhaps even restrict some selections to just one person per team.

Sorry if I left that out, but that's really my intent in a nutshell. I was inspired by your Secret Agent campaign and the method you used for character creation.

I'm trying to do something similar.

But my first step is pinning down the core skillsets that everyone will have. That means being able to shoot, move, and communicate. That also means a hand-full of other things. And that's what I came to the forums for...to tap the collective expertise of the GURPS Gurus on what the core skills in this template will look like.

[jason taylor]

Does the team have a core purpose? Does it specialize in eliminations or extractions or what not?

[TheOneRonin]

Originally Posted by ClayDowling

Kromm's statements also mesh well with what has been publicly acknowledged by the CIA. Tony Mendez talked a good bit about the training for operatives, since he helped to develop a considerable amount of it.

I think we are talking about two different things. Tony Mendez was an espionage artist for the CIA's Technical Services Division. He went to college, and was picked up by the CIA because of his talent with drawing.

Just about every SAD PMO comes from a US Military Special Operations background, and most come from Tier 1 SMUs like CAG/ACE, DEVGRU, 24th STS, and ISA.

Yes, these people are trained as CIA Core Collectors (read: spies), but they are SO much more than that. Tony Mendez, at his peak, was probably worth about a 1/4th the number of Build Points a recently graduated SAD PMO has.

<snip> But it's not like just any CIA agent could do it.

Again, PMOs are NOT "just any CIA agent".

Please read:

CIA Special Activities Division

[ClayDowling]

I'm not comparing them to Tony Mendez. But because of practical realities, there will be a similar build up of skills over time, rather than somebody just arriving on the scene as a fully fledged super hero. I would expect that people will be as super-heroic as they need to be, but not much more.

The CIA want ads for these people are available on their website. A specops template should make a good starting point based on what I saw. For PCs, I would build up points through play.

[Kromm]

It's important not to mythologize special-ops personnel. I used to do that . . . then I met people who actually did the job. It really is less about "I have the equivalent of 23 technical degrees, and qualify as a real-world superman," and more about "I am very determined, and willing to do whatever it takes." In GURPS terms, special-ops people do have lots of skills and training, and pass tough screening; it would be reasonable to start them with ST, DX, IQ, and HT all at 12, and to give them 50-60 points of skills where ordinary folks might be fortunate to see 20-30 points. However, their definitive traits are: (1) high Will, so that they don't freeze up (pp. B360-361) or flinch (p. B364), and can use lots of extra effort (pp. B356-357); and (2) Fit or Very Fit, so that they don't wash out of training (p. B293), and can recover FP quickly after that extra effort.

Another thing to consider is that many of these people have what GURPS would call Hyper-Specialization and One-Task Wonder perks. They are not broad generalists at their skills, and often know only a single application well or even at all. For instance, an operator trained in computer intrusion may well have a point in Computer Operation and Hyper-Specialization (Operate the standard intrusion script package), and perhaps One-Task Wonder (Computer Programming defaults to full IQ when adjusting the script package to a new challenge). I rather doubt that he could go head to head with a career cyber-criminal from a cold start with nothing but a new laptop computer, a Linux distro, and an Ethernet cable.

[TheOneRonin]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Does the team have a core purpose? Does it specialize in eliminations or extractions or what not?

From Wikipedia:

As the action arm of the NCS, SAD/SOG conducts direct action missions such as raids, ambushes, sabotage, targeted killings and unconventional warfare (e.g., training and leading guerrilla and military units of other countries in combat). SAD/SOG also conducts special reconnaissance, that can be either military or intelligence driven, but is carried out by Paramilitary Officers (also called Paramilitary Operatives) when in "non-permissive environments". Paramilitary Operations Officers are also fully trained case officers (i.e. "spies") and as such conduct clandestine human intelligence (HUMINT) operations throughout the world.

[TheOneRonin]

Originally Posted by ClayDowling

I'm not comparing them to Tony Mendez. But because of practical realities, there will be a similar build up of skills over time, rather than somebody just arriving on the scene as a fully fledged super hero. I would expect that people will be as super-heroic as they need to be, but not much more.

Yes and no. On one hand, yes, there will be an accumulation of skills and an improvement in competency over time. I think that's the case with just about any professional skill set, whether soldier, accountant, or cook. A 45 year old PMO who has 15 years of SpecOps experience and 12 years of experience as a SAD/SOG operative will have a much more robust and well developed skillset than a guy who just finished the CST program.

On the other hand, most of these guys come from Tier 1 units and have 10+ years in Special Operations. So they are already VERY skilled when they walk in the door of the CST program.

The CIA want ads for these people are available on their website. A specops template should make a good starting point based on what I saw. For PCs, I would build up points through play.

Here is the add in question.

And yes, a SpecOps template is a good starting point. But you still have to add the "Spy" skillset that all of the Clandestine Services Agents are trained in.

"Veteran Special Forces Weapon Sgt" as a template is going to fall short of the real world skills that a PMO would have, even if he was an 18B before joining the CIA.

[Dwarf99]

Personally I find it's easiest and more realistic when you don't have many "lenses" to pick a primary template and make a lens out of a secondary one at a rate of 1/5 the total cost of the second.

[TheOneRonin]

Originally Posted by Kromm

It's important not to mythologize special-ops personnel. I used to do that . . . then I met people who actually did the job. It really is less about "I have the equivalent of 23 technical degrees, and qualify as a real-world superman," and more about "I am very determined, and willing to do whatever it takes."

No arguments here. I've also found that they are all voracious readers, and extremely fast learners.

Certainly not "supermen", but definitely on the outer edge of the bell curve.

In GURPS terms, special-ops people do have lots of skills and training, and pass tough screening; it would be reasonable to start them with ST, DX, IQ, and HT all at 12, and to give them 50-60 points of skills where ordinary folks might be fortunate to see 20-30 points. However, their definitive traits are: (1) high Will, so that they don't freeze up (pp. B360-361) or flinch (p. B364), and can use lots of extra effort (pp. B356-357); and (2) Fit or Very Fit, so that they don't wash out of training (p. B293), and can recover FP quickly after that extra effort.

Maybe I just haven't been playing GURPS long enough, but I find it VERY difficult to fit all of the real world skills that you would find in an typical 30 year old SF Sgt inside 60 points, even with just 1 -4 points in each skill. I'm probably missing something...maybe I need to post what I'm thinking makes sense, and you guys can correct me.

Another thing to consider is that many of these people have what GURPS would call Hyper-Specialization and One-Task Wonder perks. They are not broad generalists at their skills, and often know only a single application well or even at all. For instance, an operator trained in computer intrusion may well have a point in Computer Operation and Hyper-Specialization (Operate the standard intrusion script package), and perhaps One-Task Wonder (Computer Programming defaults to full IQ when adjusting the script package to a new challenge). I rather doubt that he could go head to head with a career cyber-criminal from a cold start with nothing but a new laptop computer, a Linux distro, and an Ethernet cable.

Here is where I need help. What books are Hyper-Specialization and the One-Task Wonder perk in?

This is the list of skills and points in each skill that I figure a Special Forces Senior Weapon Sgt in the 1st Special Forces Group would have. It's not 60 points of skills...it's about double that.

Is it really over doing it?

Skill [Points]
Area Knowledge (East Asia) [1]
Armory (Small Arms) [2]
Camouflage [2]
Climbing [2]
Computer Operation [1]
Current Affairs (East Asia) [1]
Detect Lies [2]
Diplomacy [4]
Driving (Auto) [4]
Electronic Ops (Comms) [2]
Electronic Ops (Surveillance) [2]
Escape [2]
Expert Skill (Military Science) [1]
Explosives (Demo) [2]
Fast Draw (Ammo) [2]
Fast-Draw (Longarm) [1]
Fast-Draw (Pistol) [1]
First Aid [1]
Forced Entry [2]
Gesture [1]
Gunner (Machine Gun) [1]
Gunner (Rockets) [1]
Gunner: Grenade Launcher [1]
Gunner: LAW [1]
Guns (LMGs) [1]
Guns (Pistols) [1]
Guns (Rifles) [12]
Guns (Shotgun) [1]
Guns (SMGs) [1]
Hiking [1]
Intel Analysis [4]
Judo [4]
Karate [4]
Knife [2]
Knot-Tying [1]
Leadership [4]
Lockpicking [2]
Navigation (Land) [4]
Observation [4]
Parachuting [2]
Savior-Faire (Military) [1]
Smallsword [4]
Solider [4]
Stealth [4]
Survival (Jungle) [2]
Swimming [2]
Tactics [8]
Teaching [2]


Also, I've been reading GURPS Special Ops 3rd Ed, and if I'm converting to 4th ED skill points properly, those templates have 160+ points in skills alone, especially for Delta and SEALs.