View source for Northern Ireland Training and Advisory Teams (Northern Ireland)

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The [[Northern Ireland Training and Advisory Teams (Northern Ireland)]] was a cover name given to units of the [[Special Reconnaissance Unit]] in Northern Ireland after the creation of the latter in 1972 following the debacle of the [[Military Reaction Force]] the initials of which became public knowledge. NITAT was also used as a cover name for the [[14th Intelligence Company]], which in turn was a cover name for the SRU.

==SAS assessment of foundation of 14th Int==
Former SAS soldier [[Ken Connor]], states that he was part of a three man team sent to assess the [[Military Reaction Force]] in 1972, which he refers to as the [[Military Reconnaissance Force]] (the cover name given to it by the British), in the wake of the [[Four Square Laundry]] episode, when the initials MRF became known.

::It soon became apparent that its cover was blown and the group of people running it were so out of control that it had to be disbanded at once.

::Without reference to each other, we all produced the same recommendation: it's been a useful tool, but it's well past it's sell-by date. Get rid of it, acquire the needed skills, then reform it in a different guise.

::The result was 14 Int - the Fourteenth Intelligence Company.<ref>Ken Connor, ''Ghost Force, The Secret History of the SAS'', Cassell & Co, 1998, p269.</ref>

[[14 Intelligence Company]] would, therefore, seem to be a cover name for the [[Special Reconnaissance Unit]]. According to a top Secret briefing prepared for Prime Minister [[Harold Wilson]] in April 1974, the Special Reconnaissance Unit replaced the [[Military Reaction Force]] units created in 1971:

:In 1972 the operations of the MRF were brought under more centralised control and a higher standard of training achieved by establishing a Special Reconnaissance Unit (SRU) of 130 all ranks under direct command of [[HQNI]].<ref>[http://www.spinprofiles.org/images/e/ee/PREM16slash154.pdf Defensive Brief D Meeting between the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach 5 April 1974 Army Plain Clothes Patrols in Northern Ireland]. National Archives PREM 16/154 </ref>

It seems that the 14th Int was not the only cover name for the SRU. According to the same briefing:

:The term ‘Special Reconnaissance Unit’ and the details of its organisation and mode of operations have been kept secret.
:The SRU operates in Northern Ireland at present under the cover name “[[Northern Ireland Training and Advisory Teams (Northern Ireland)]]” – NITAT(NI) – ostensibly the equivalent of genuine NITAT teams in UKLF [United Kingdom Land Forces] and BAOR [British Army of the Rhine].<ref>[http://www.spinprofiles.org/images/e/ee/PREM16slash154.pdf Defensive Brief D Meeting between the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach 5 April 1974 Army Plain Clothes Patrols in Northern Ireland]. National Archives PREM 16/154 </ref>

Other cover names for parts of '14th Int' included the [[4 Field Survey Troop]], which operated between 1973 and 1975.

==Notes==
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[[Category:Northern Ireland]][[Category:Counterinsurgency]][[Category:State Violence and Collusion Project]]