Ground Branch is the land-operating component of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Special Activities Division. Its personnel are drawn predominantly from former U.S. special-operations forces — Delta Force, SEAL Team 6, Army Rangers, Army Special Forces — initially seconded to the agency post-September 11 and in many cases subsequently converted to CIA staff or contractor positions. Together with Marine Branch and Air Branch, it constitutes the CIA’s permanent paramilitary capability.[1][2][3]
Mission and culture
The mission, per John Kiriakou, is functionally identical to the special-operations work the personnel performed in uniform: “all those retired special operations guys, ex–Delta Force guys, ex–SEAL Team 6 guys, that basically go there to do the same exact stuff that they were doing — a special operations mission set, like put a charge on a door, blow it open, shoot people in the face, and leave.”[4]
Within the Counterterrorism Center post-9/11, Ground Branch personnel were a visible but socially distinct presence: “Those guys on loan from SEAL Team 6 came to the office, they never interacted with any of us. I mean, not even so much as a good morning. … They just appeared one day and then they would vanish for a week at a time or two weeks at a time and then come back whispering to each other and not interacting with you.”[5][6]