The Global Response Staff (GRS) is the Central Intelligence Agency’s protective-security program for case officers operating in high-threat environments. The program was operated for the CIA by Blackwater under contract during the Iraq War period and its immediate aftermath.[1][2]
Origin and formalization
GRS originated informally — “It was just like, ‘Hey, you doing anything for the next week? We’re going to need for you to do this thing. Don’t tell anybody.’” — before being formalized into a permanent agency program after John Kiriakou’s departure from the CIA in 2004.[3][2]
Baghdad and the Green Zone
The principal early deployment was Baghdad’s Green Zone — the fortified U.S. presence in central Baghdad — where movement between fixed locations was, in practical terms, “taking your life into your hands every time.” GRS personnel were the protective screen that made case officer work in the city possible.[4]
Ethos
Kiriakou describes the role in functional terms: “Your job is literally to throw your body in front of the other guy so the other guy doesn’t get killed and can complete the meeting.”[5]