BSAA

The BSAA (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) was a public multinational anti-bioterrorism organization which was formed in order to investigate, prevent and combat bioterrorism following the destruction of the Umbrella Corporation. It was primarily funded by the Federation of Pharmaceutical Companies and its member companies with its most significant corporate sponsor having been TRICELL. It held eight branches worldwide under the jurisdiction of the United Nations as a U.N.-controlled Special Forces. 1 2

History

Formation (2004)

In 2003, Umbrella was found guilty of all charges related to the destruction of Raccoon City and was shut down and bankrupted. However, the dismantlement of the corporation led to an unforeseen situation. The remnants of Umbrella began to spread further. Former employees and researchers began leaking viral strains and B.O.W.s from the company onto the black market, sparking a new age of bioterrorism with terrorists, guerilla fighters, rogue nations and unstable state governments rushing to acquire them. In order to combat the problem, the Federation of Pharmaceutical Companies organized the BSAA in 2004, with the Private Anti-Bioterrorism Unit as one of its foundations. 

The founder and first director of the BSAA was Clive R. O'Brian. Only eleven people were initially recruited into the BSAA and helped found it. These eleven founding members were referred to as the "Original Eleven" (after the "Original Seven" astronauts selected for Project Mercury). Initially, agents of the organization could only act as observers and instructors to military and police units around the world which conducted anti-bioterrorism operations, and although they could participate in said operations, they could not organize operations themselves. 

Unfortunately, the world’s bioterrorism problem was now much bigger than anyone had anticipated, and so a new course of action was necessary to handle the problem. To that end, consideration was given to creating a team that could react instantly to threats, but the BSAA was still only a civilian-led NGO. They could not operate freely in sovereign nations, and thus were unable to conduct investigations, make pertinent arrests, or even use force when the situation dictated it. It was clear now that the threat of bioterrorism was now the entire world's problem, and something would have to be done. 

Plagas Incident (Autumn 2004)

In the aftermath of the incident which involved the ancient parasitic organism "Plaga", the BSAA was the only organization with access to the report by Leon S. Kennedy, a confidential document not to be viewed by anyone outside of the secret U.S. agency Leon belonged to or the BSAA.

Terragrigia Panic (2004)

In 2004, a terrorist organization known as "Il Veltro" launched a bioterrorism attack on the Mediterranean "floating city" of Terragrigia. The BSAA supported the FBC (Federal Bioterrorism Commission) in resolving the incident but were sidelined and director O'Brian was forced to work without much support staff. He objected to the FBC's decision to use the island's solar satellite, the "Regia Solis", to scorch the city in order to prevent the infection from spreading, but had no authority over the decision.

In 2005, director O'Brian colluded with FBC agent Raymond Vester in orchestrating a false resurrection of Veltro in order to unravel the actions of Morgan Lansdale. Aware that a mole was inside the BSAA reporting directly to Lansdale, several BSAA agents unknowingly took part in the operation planned by O'Brian. During the mission, the European headquarters of the BSAA was raided by Lansdale and FBC agents and O'Brian was placed under arrest. However, due to the actions of Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, video evidence displaying Lansdale's cooperation with Jack Norman, the leader of Veltro, was secured and played back in the BSAA headquarters. Lansdale was immediately arrested.

Reformation (2005)

After the arrest of Morgan Lansdale in 2005, director O'Brian took responsibility for his actions in the incident and stepped down from his post and became an advisor to the BSAA. The FBC was dissolved and the BSAA was overhauled with the agents and resources of the FBC integrated into the organization, and it was reformed by the United Nations as a U.N.-controlled Special Forces making it a public organization and ensuring its acceptance by the member states. However, only 70% of the member states allowed the BSAA to operate on their soil, while the remainder only allowed the BSAA to do so on a conditional basis. The current incarnation of the BSAA was established with these in mind, and BSAA units are kept at numerous locations throughout the globe. The BSAA continued to receive most of its funding from the Federation of Pharmaceutical Companies and its member companies.

One major sponsor of the BSAA was the pharmaceutical division of TRICELL, which became the largest pharmaceutical company in the world following the bankruptcy of Umbrella and its purchase of WilPharma Corporation. It was also a trustee corporation and contributor when the BSAA formed. The company was extremely influential in putting pressure on the BSAA headquarters if any incidents arose which were not in TRICELL's best interest.

The BSAA remained a public organization with international staff. Owing to the logistics of running an organization, it was a well-known public fact that most of its funding came from the Federation of Pharmaceutical Companies. While this relationship was the target of much criticism, the federation's funding removed the financial burden from participatory nations, and as such, removed any motivation to change the situation and incur unwanted expenses. As for the federation, their sponsorship acted as a much needed industry-wide PR service. This partnership was beneficial to all parties involved.

Spencer Estate Inrush Operation (August 2006)

In August 2006 the BSAA discovered the whereabouts of Oswell E. Spencer, the former CEO of the Umbrella Corporation, and launched a raid on the European mansion where he was living in hiding. Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine were dispatched to arrest him, but they instead found him killed by Albert Wesker. In the ensuing fight, Jill sacrificed herself to save Chris by plunging herself and Wesker out of a window and over a cliff. The BSAA initiated a full-scale search for Jill's body and personal effects, but nothing could be found. On November 23, Jill was officially declared dead and a memorial gravestone without her body was made.

Branches

Since BSAA teams were meant to be able to be deployed within 12 hours, every headquarters of each branch was located near air force bases or airport hubs. The BSAA Headquarters was located in England at an undisclosed location, with no further details were released to the public. The branches established worldwide included North America, West Africa, East Africa, Oceania, Middle East, South America, Europe (where its headquarters is based) and Far East. Their jurisdictions are listed below:

• European Headquarters: Europe and western Russia
• Middle East Branch: The Middle East and part of Africa
• North American Branch: The entire North American continent
• South American Branch: The entire South American continent
• West African Branch: The western part of the African continent
• East African Branch: The eastern part of the African continent
• Far East Branch: Eastern Russia and the countries east of India
• Oceanian Branch: Australia is the center of operations for Oceania
  (Antarctica, where the Umbrella Antarctic Base was located, falls under the jurisdiction of the Oceanian Branch.)

Units & Offices

Members of the BSAA were culled from the best the world had to offer, with many members being former members of other military units. The organization's support staff was also quite large and came primarily from government organizations in numerous different countries. These support staff provided technical, tactical, medical and mental support to field operatives.

Special Operations Unit

BSAA deployment teams were maintained in two separate groups, the first being the Special Operations Unit (SOU), which were sanctioned to infiltrate areas, engage in direct combat and subdue any offenders. The SOU teams were normally comprised of 12 members divided into three separate four-man cells. The SOU's special feature lay in the flexibility of its personnel depending on the operation. Members from different units and cells could be brought in to assist in operations too big or difficult for a single SOU team to handle. In cases where unknown B.O.W.s were involved, the efficacy of the tactical team's methods for handling them may be low, and consideration had to be taken to the strong points that raised their efficacy. In bioterrorism cases where it became impossible for either the SOU or SOA to complete their missions, the BSAA resorted to evacuation and carpet-bombing of the affected area.

Air Support Platoon

The Air Support Platoon was primarily tasked with providing air support for ground forces during missions, as well as being in charge of a direct transmission from ground forces to headquarters.

Special Operations Agents

The second group were the Special Operations Agents (SOA) that performed investigation and espionage activities, or when a full team could not penetrate a certain area. They were considered the eyes and ears of the organization. Generally referred to simply as "agents", they normally worked alone. In some cases however, a two-man cell would be used. Members of the SOA were typically higher ranked and more skilled than SOU members, but only in terms of psychological state and situation handling aptitude. In actual skills and abilities, they were likely to be outmatched by SOU members. Sometimes agents were forced go beyond the jurisdiction of a BSAA branch to carry out their missions. Many of them were dispatched to areas with unlawful activities.

Infiltration Agents

These agents were responsible for penetrating a designated area and quickly blending in with the local population in order to obtain first-hand intelligence in response to concerns over a possible threat. The information they supplied was then passed onto the Intelligence Analysis Office and then taken into consideration by the Operation Planning Office if a threat was deemed high.

Technology Research Office

The BSAA's technical office was responsible for developing, repairing and researching new technological devices. They also provided IT support and managed the organizations data.

Intelligence Analysis Office

This office was responsible for analyzing intelligence gathered in the field or through outside sources to determine a potential bioterror threat, with the information then relayed to the Operation Planning Office or straight to the SOU or SOA.

Operation Planning Office

This office was tasked with planning counter-bioterror operations and works closely in conjunction with the Intelligence Analysis Office. They determined everything about an operation such as entry and exit routes, backup, support and so on.

Footnotes

1. 1. No. 02 BSAA
2. 2. BIOHAZARD archives II (Page 231-233)