In order to play any of the nearby Sandmen team char- acters, a group of players must all be willing to create a three-person team. Most Sandmen teams rotate through field missions and in-house research to alleviate the bore- dom that comes with excessively repetitive missions.
Internal Operations: This subdivision is responsible for
overseeing the gritty details of security: allocating personnel, coordinating budgeting, etc. It is responsible for spot-checking security measures in all NDD facilities and reviewing security personnel. Internal Operations prizes efficiency and generally does not interact much with other NDD operatives, even within DDS. Investigators frequently oversee security reviews and are called upon to deal with difficult operatives.
To MJ3 or lower operatives, Internal Operations is the subdi- vision that performs the drudge work of DSS. IO also handles internal security, personnel review, and termination of security risks. To decrease security concerns outside of DDS, all IO mat- ters are coded “Delta” and elaborate and misleading titles are frequently used. These methods have proven effective among personnel with MJ5 clearance or lower. Personnel with MJ6 clearance are generally aware of IO but are required to coop- erate in any way necessary.
DDS personnel refer to all higher-level IO agents as “Wardens” and give them a wide berth and healthy dose of respect.
Mission Security: Mission Security participates in all out-
bound missions, from the planning stage to the extraction. As Directorate policy dictates, no outbound mission is planned or initiated without an assigned MS operative. Once assigned to a mission, the MS operative watches over the mission, has sole discretion if continuance of the mission has become a liability, and takes action to abort the mission if necessary.
MS agents are specifically trained by IA to create plausible deniability. If the need arises for damage control, they create a cover story on the spot to provide short-term defense until Project HEARST or another element of IA can stage a compre- hensive deception. If a simple cover story is insufficient, they have been trained to plant evidence and engage in other meas- ures as needed to protect the integrity of NDD operations.
DDS maintains a presence on all missions. These operatives focus on enhancing security for task forces to the fullest extent consistent with the mission parameters. DDS appreciates the consideration shown by all personnel toward security matters and the deference granted DDS operatives in these matters. When a team leader is lost or sacrificed, or his judgment vio- lates security protocols without sufficient justification, DDS agents are required to assume control. On critical missions, a second DDS agent is assigned to the team but his identity is not revealed unless matters dictate such necessity. Although DDS has been forced to take over less than 10% of missions due to loss of leadership, less than 3% of those cases resulted from poor judgment shown by the mission leader. This reflects favor- ably on all Directorate training and leadership initiatives.
Extraction and Clean-Up: E&C is responsible for retrieving
operatives and equipment that are in trouble, and cleaning up after a mission has gone badly awry. At any given time, an E&C team is on full readiness for immediate deployment; during periods of high operational activity, more than one may be
placed on recall alert. Any high-risk mission has an E&C team assigned to it on dedicated standby.
Members of E&C teams are recruited from across the divi- sions of the Directorate, selected for excellence not only in com- bat skills but also other fields of training necessary for accom- plishment of the subdivision’s mission. In many respects, an E&C team functions just like one of the U.S. military’s special operations units, both in mission and capabilities.
Each E&C team is composed of ten members, and every member is tasked with duties according to his operational spe- cialties. On top of these fields of specialty, each must also be an experienced and competent combat operative. Most members of E&C teams are fluent in more than one language as well.
Standard organization includes a team leader and assistant team leader (also known as the operations officer), an intelli- gence specialist and assistant intelligence specialist, a commu- nications specialist and assistant, a medic and assistant, and finally the team’s weapons specialist and assistant. Duplication of tasks gives the team depth and the ability to split into small- er operational units if needed, and ensures that the loss of a sin- gle team member does not jeopardize its mission.
Teams are heavily armed and prepared for activities ranging from quick extraction to ongoing rescue missions into enemy territory. They are skilled in demolitions, communications, and even field medicine. The teams work closely with Project HEARST in preparing a site.
E&C operatives are taught that misdirecting attention is best. Still, they will not hesitate to completely destroy any evidence that might compromise NDD security.
Each E&C operative is trained to treat the team or data to be extracted as a higher priority than his own safety. Consistent with the completion of their mission, all E&C operatives are ready and willing to give their lives for the Directorate. E&C has managed a success rate of 83% on extractions and 95% on clean-ups.
When a situation cannot be rectified to the team’s satisfac- tion, a Slash and Burn (S/B) operation is conducted. This oper- ation uses destruction of evidence and/or witnesses to provide deniability. While the purposeful destruction of evidence is apparent, the nature of that evidence is concealed. At present, only 10% of all clean-ups require S/B. E&C’s recent impressive success rates can be attributed to the implementation of a pro- tocol requiring a standby E&C team for any high-risk mission.
On the rare occasions when neither extraction, clean-up, nor S/B prove effective, any partial measures available are imple- mented. Then IA is notified of the situation and its teams dis- credit any internal, private, governmental, or public reports that emerge in the aftermath.
Aerospace Interdiction: Aerospace Interdiction is per-
haps the most coveted of all DDS assignments. Its members hold the distinction of being the foremost—and possibly only—
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paramilitary force prepared for battle in space. Interdiction personnel are trained in zero-gravity maneuvers and tactics and skilled with weapons appropriate to the peculiar obsta- cles presented by combat in space. While Interdiction has yet to be tested in a real combat mission, the subdivision prides itself on conducting its training exercises under conditions that are as realistic as possible.
Interdiction is closely associated with R&D Astronautics and IA’s Project BREASTPLATE, for obvious reasons.
MiB Program: MiB agents are three-person teams that
operate in the public eye. Although they employ operatives from three divisions, due to the nature of their missions, MiB teams fall under the jurisdiction of DDS.
An MiB team handles routine questioning of witnesses to alien or supernatural events, and examines any incident site that might have nonmundane origins. MiB teams also are directed to find and retrieve specific targets that are of NDD interest. Standard MiB teams have three members: a Liaison, a Forensic Technician, and a Conflict Specialist.
The Liaison is operationally detached from IA and handles all communication with witnesses, from simple questioning to interrogation if needed. He also deals with any alien encoun- ters, allied or enemy. He is directed to follow all contact proto- cols and maximize NDD interests in all situations.
The Forensic Technician—usually detached from SRD, but occasionally also an IA operative—is trained to investigate any scene and determine the threat involved: alien, supernatural, or mundane. With those skills, he also covers up any evidence, making it appear mundane or otherwise throwing off any atten- tion it might have received.
The Conflict Specialist is trained primarily in combat skills. He handles all situations that endanger the team, and his skills and abilities often determine its survival. He receives secondary training in vehicles in order to pilot all craft for the team and secure its safety.
This program began prior to Directorate involvement with the Gna-Tall. Its original purpose was to investigate EBE sight- ings and activity throughout the United States. When the Directorate alliance with the Gna-Tall began, it was discovered that Gna-Tall could assume the guise of humans to a nearly undetectable measure. Considering the advanced capacities provided by the Gna-Tall, DDS has incorporated a number of these altered EBEs into the program.
DDS maintained the original EBE investigation operations, but the MiB program has expanded. Gna-Tall working closely with the Directorate are teamed in MiB groups of two Gna-Tall and one human Liaison. These teams accompany other opera- tives on missions, assist on specific security details, and work on missions themselves. These teams have been designated “Hybrids.”