Belgian Stay-behind Network - Organization, Activities and Resources

Organization, Activities and Resources

The Belgian Gladio-branch consisted of two separate sections:

• S.D.R.A VIII (French: service de documentation, de renseignments et d'action VIII), residing under the military intelligence service, the Belgian General Information and Security Service (S.G.R) and thus the minister of Defense.
• S.T.C/Mob. (Dutch: Sectie training, communicatie en documentatie), residing under the Staatsveiligheid and thus the minister of Justice.

S.D.R.A VIII was one of the sections of S.D.R.A (military security service), which in its turn is part of the S.G.R. (general military intelligence and security service). The S.G.R's functions are formally described in a decree from 1989 and are twofold: intelligence gathering and ensuring the security of military personnel and installations, issuing clearances etc. The S.D.R.A is mandated with the second task, and is dived into functional sections: for instance, S.D.R.A III is contra-infiltration (for S.D.R.A XI, see further).

The members of S.D.R.A VIII were military personnel, trained in unorthodox warfare, combat and sabotage, parachute jumping and maritime operations. The operatives were trained to accompany the government aboard in case of a Soviet invasion, and then establish liaisons with the Belgian resistance movement and engage in warfare.