State Security Service of Georgia

State Security Service

Agency overview
Formed	1 August 2015
Preceding agency	State Security Agency of the MIA
Jurisdiction	Georgia, not limited to - in cooperation with international agencies
Employees	Classified
Annual budget	Classified
Agency executive	Vakhtang Gomelauri[1][2], Major General
Website	http://ssg.gov.ge/en

The State Security Service of Georgia (SSSG) (Georgian: სახელმწიფო უშიშროების სამსახური) is a secretive militarized government agency of the Republic of Georgia, which covers a broad spectrum of tasks to preserve national security in accordance to state legislature and relevant laws.^[3] Its missions are to protect the constitutional order, sovereignty, territorial integrity and military potential of Georgia from illegal acts of special services and individuals of foreign countries; to prevent violent and unconstitutional change of order and state authority. Further it is to ensure economic security and fight terrorism on national and international level, transnational organized crime and international crime as well as carry out measures towards prevention, detection and suppression of corruption. It is also responsible for protecting state secrets. The newly established independent agency is a former subordinate branch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia and has been activated in 2015.^[4][5]

Fields of activities

Counter terrorism

The fight against terrorism is one of the main priorities of the SSSG notably due to recent developments in the Middle East. Georgia has been participating in the War on Terror from the beginning and has to some extent found itself increasingly becoming a transit country for combatants and potential islamic terrorists as violance keeps continuously rising in the conflicted arab nations.^[6] Even though the likelihood of a terrorist attack may be minimal to the country itself, such activities undermine and endanger the political and military efforts of allied and partner nations thus why Georgias efforts in those areas are essential to not only regional security. If direct operational and surgical means are required to effectively deter and combat terrorist threats the agency deploys two special units - one of which is part of the Special Operations Department and operates primarily on domestic level to contain individuals or entire cells that conduct radical activities wich endanger national security.^[7] The Counterterrorism Center is the primary division dominantly engaged in anti-terror warfare and fields the country's most experienced and designated force in that area. In accordance to their tasks and activities the members of its tactical response group regularly train and retrain on all forms of combat particularily in connection with counter terrorism including among other, special sniper courses, alpine warfare, special CQB training, the search and destruction of terrorist camps, specialization on explosive devices, their defusal and deploying means to prevent and counteract the use of weapons of mass destruction. The center operates in conjunction with the nations own and foreign intelligence services including Interpol. Each of its operator undergoes foreign courses in cooperation with a number of partner nations to constantly enhance his capabilities.^[8] Material and equipment as well as infrastructural needs have been steadily upgraded over the years.^[9][10] The unit is also the first to engage in high risk domestic or international operations, former starting in the mid-to late 1990s and latter from 2001 on losing an undisclosed number of servicemen. Georgia is an active member and advisor of the global anti-terrorist coalition and constantly participates in multinational operations.^[11]

Prevention and proliferation of CBRN threats

Georgia is the regional center for biological-and virological research and also hosts a number of soviet miliary- and research facilities as well as storage areas that contain radioactive and chemical substances.^[12][13] Those facilities are subjected to a permanent state of control and monitoring by the SSSG. However on the occupied territories international security measures have not been implemented thus maintaining transit routes and much greater vulnerability to smuggling of CBRN material through the country than already present.^[14][15][16] Such weaknesses have been exploited on multiple occasions throughout the years. Many attempts were made to smuggle depleted and enriched uranium in or out of the country, however most of those have been prevented by investigative and operative events. In the more recent period alone over 19 individuals have been detained on charges of illicit trafficking of nuclear material in four incidents. Georgia works closely with the US, UN, partner nations and the CBRN CoE and was the first nation to elaborate and adopt the Stragegy and Action Plan of the EU thus becoming one of the primary members of the 28 nations initiative. One of the SSSGs prioirities is to also become member of the G7 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction.^[17][18]

Structure

The SSSG consists of following structural entities:

• Administration
• Counterterrorism Center
• Anti-Corruption Agency
• Counterintelligence Division
• State Security Division
• Information-Analytical Division
• Operative-Technical Division
• Division for Operative Measures
• Economic Division
• Special Operations Department
• Facilities Protection Division
• Main Division Human Resources.
• General Inspection

References