Tier 1 Operator Breaks Down The 3 Secret Tier 1 Units Nobody Talks About

About this video

Ritland’s guest, a former member of a secretive tier-one military intelligence unit, describes the structure and selection process for what is commonly known as ‘orange’ or the Intelligence Support Activity (ISA). The guest recounts the unit’s origins after the Iran hostage crisis, its clandestine mission set combining CIA, NSA, and DIA capabilities, and details the grueling five-week selection and nearly year-long training pipeline focused heavily on tradecraft and covert operations.

Key takeaways

• The guest explains that ISA (referred to as ‘orange’) was created by the Army as its own intelligence capability after the CIA refused to share sources during the Iran hostage crisis, and evolved into a hybrid unit supporting Delta and SEAL Team Six while conducting independent strategic operations.
• According to the guest, the unit’s selection mirrors Delta Force but is slightly shorter and more mentally challenging, with roughly one-third of candidates making it through (approximately 20 out of 60 in his class), followed by an 11-month training course emphasizing tradecraft over tactical skills.
• The guest describes tradecraft training as essential clandestine operational skills including surveillance detection, cover maintenance, and source handling, noting that compromising cover can destroy years of intelligence work and that operators must conduct seemingly normal activities for weeks to avoid detection by foreign security services.

Episode details: published August 27, 2026 · 736.7K views · 22:37 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Stories told by Mike Ritland’s podcast guests are the guests’ own accounts, attributed to them — not independently verified. Commentary is Ritland’s, presented as his analysis.

← Previous: JTAC Selection with David Goggins · Next: When You Mix ELITE Players in ONE team 💀* →

All Mike Ritland videos · Mike Ritland profile · Mike Drop (official site)