History | GCIS

History of the Ground Coordination Intelligence Service

Created by the Office of the Historian

GCIS DSM Operators in New York City in September of 2025.

The history of the Ground Coordination Intelligence Service (GCIS) is a story of transformation driven by necessity, experience, and an unwavering commitment to protecting vulnerable individuals. Over a period of more than seven years, what began as a small intelligence and investigative capability focused on school safety, bullying prevention, and youth welfare evolved into a specialized operational service dedicated to combating human trafficking, child exploitation, and other transnational crimes.

Director Gavin McCune giving a speech about inclusion while being present as the co-host for the 2022 Special Olympics in Reno, NV.

Origins Within the Department of Unity

The foundations of GCIS can be traced to the Department of Unity (DoU), an organization established by Gavin McCune in 2017 to support youth through educational, behavioral, and community-based initiatives. As the Department expanded, leadership recognized the need for a dedicated security and intelligence capability to protect personnel, maintain organizational integrity, and assist schools in addressing growing safety concerns.

On December 10, 2019, senior Department of Unity leadership convened to discuss future organizational priorities. Among the topics considered was the creation of a security component capable of strengthening operational security and supporting Department activities. Those discussions continued throughout early 2020 and culminated on April 22, 2020, when Director Gavin McCune, Chief Emmanual Hernandez, and Chief of Staff Lidia Harper formally explored the establishment of a security enforcement and intelligence organization.

Several precursor organizations emerged during this period. On March 25, 2019, the Office of Threat Interdiction was established and divided into two operational elements: the Counter Insurgency Group and the Executive Dignitary Protection Team. Later, on October 5, 2019, the Department created the Investigations Branch to conduct administrative investigations and assist schools with cases involving bullying, violence, and student suicides.

These early organizations laid the foundation for what would eventually become GCIS.

Operators from the Northern Atlantic Counter Trafficking Task Group of 1st MIG performing ground reconnaissance of Bryan Park for later operations in Eastern Virginia.

Establishment of the Special Intelligence Agency

In June 2020, the Department of Unity formally established the Special Intelligence Agency, the predecessor to the modern Ground Coordination Intelligence Service. Its primary mission was the collection and analysis of intelligence concerning issues affecting youth, including bullying, mental health, school safety, and student welfare.

During this same period, the Department restructured its investigative functions. On June 2, 2020, investigative operations were divided between the Office of Professional Standards, responsible for internal misconduct investigations, and the Bureau of Investigations, tasked with supporting schools facing bullying-related incidents.

Additional operational capabilities were developed to support Department activities. On June 28, 2020, the Management of Transportation and Aviation Protection was established to protect Department personnel during travel operations. Though originally designed for protective functions, this capability would later evolve into an operational asset supporting counter-trafficking missions in transportation environments.

On February 12, 2021, the Office of Protection Affairs, formerly known as the Office of Threat Interdiction, officially transitioned into an investigative intelligence organization, further expanding the Department's intelligence and investigative capacity.

GCIS DOI Rescue volunteers in the United States of America

The Formation of GCIS

As the Department's intelligence and investigative activities expanded, leadership sought to unify these capabilities under a single structure. In November 2022, the Department of Unity established the Global Criminal Intelligence Service (GCIS), consolidating intelligence, investigative, and justice-related functions into one organization.

At the time, GCIS remained focused largely on school safety, behavioral research, investigations involving bullying, and intelligence analysis supporting Department initiatives. Few could have predicted that events occurring only days after its creation would permanently alter its future.

A Washoe County School District Police FPIC outside a Reno School.

The November 22, 2022 Turning Point

The defining moment in GCIS history occurred on November 22, 2022.

That day, the Department of Unity co-hosted the Special Olympics in Reno, Nevada, promoting messages of inclusion, confidence, and opportunity. Following the event, participants completed the Department's International Environmental Behavioral Research Survey, an anonymous assessment designed to measure student experiences relating to safety, bullying, mental health, sexual harassment, and other social concerns.

At approximately 1100 Pacific Standard Time, analysts from the Global Behavioral Research Center identified two survey submissions containing alarming information. Both submissions indicated that the respondents had experienced human trafficking, while one individual claimed to be actively being trafficked at that very moment.

The alert was immediately transmitted to the Department's operational centers. Volunteer investigators and intelligence personnel were deployed to investigate the claims, while Director Gavin McCune notified local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, including the Washoe County School District Police, Sparks Police Department, Reno Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Marshals Service, and Homeland Security Investigations.

Subsequent investigations confirmed the severity of the situation. Authorities determined that one victim was actively being trafficked by her parents, while the second had previously been trafficked without parental knowledge.

The discovery profoundly impacted Department leadership. What began as a school safety and behavioral research mission suddenly exposed a criminal threat operating directly within the communities the organization served. Human trafficking was immediately elevated to a strategic priority and added to the organization's Global Interest Schedule.

This event marked the birth of the modern GCIS mission.

GCIS DSM Global Human Exploitation Targeting Group -- North Carolina, United States of America

Transition to an Anti-Trafficking Intelligence Service

Following the events of November 2022, GCIS rapidly expanded beyond its original purpose. Intelligence resources increasingly focused on identifying trafficking indicators, supporting investigations, and assisting law enforcement efforts targeting individuals involved in exploitation and abuse.

The organization evolved from a primarily analytical and educational support entity into a specialized intelligence service committed to combating human trafficking and crimes against children.

To support this transition, GCIS established dedicated investigative and operational structures capable of conducting intelligence collection, criminal analysis, and mission planning against trafficking networks.

The most significant development came with the creation of the Office of Clandestine Service, later redesignated as the Directorate of Strategic Missions.

Established only three and a half months after GCIS began focusing on anti-trafficking efforts, the Directorate represented a major shift in organizational capability. It provided a dedicated operational arm capable of conducting intelligence-led missions against traffickers, sexual predators, and criminal organizations exploiting vulnerable populations.

The Directorate quickly became responsible for some of the organization's most sensitive activities, including covert investigations, operational intelligence collection, strategic targeting efforts, and support for law enforcement operations.

The Covert Action Directive

On December 17, 2023, GCIS launched its Covert Action Directive under the Directorate of Strategic Missions.

Originally known as the Special Missions Activity, the Directive authorized the deployment of operatives in support of anti-trafficking initiatives across multiple regions of the world, particularly South America and Asia. These missions focused on gathering intelligence, identifying trafficking networks, supporting investigative efforts, and disrupting criminal enterprises engaged in human exploitation.

The Directive reflected a significant expansion of GCIS's operational reach and demonstrated the organization's commitment to confronting trafficking wherever it occurred.

At the same time, other GCIS components evolved to support the anti-trafficking mission. The Management of Transportation and Aviation Protection shifted from traditional protective operations toward transportation-based counter-trafficking efforts, identifying potential victims and suspicious activity within airports, rail systems, and commercial transportation networks.

Independence from the Department of Unity

As GCIS continued to expand, leadership recognized that its growing operational responsibilities required greater organizational independence.

In December 2024, Director Gavin McCune and former Director of Intelligence Justin McCune began planning the separation of GCIS from the Department of Unity. Their objective was to establish GCIS as an independent organization capable of focusing exclusively on intelligence and operational missions without the administrative constraints associated with its original parent organization.

On February 25, 2025, the Ground Coordination Intelligence Service formally separated from the Department of Unity oversight.

Following the separation, the Department created the Office of Security Affairs to assume many of the security, research, and investigative responsibilities previously handled by GCIS. Meanwhile, the newly independent Ground Coordination Intelligence Service concentrated entirely on intelligence operations, strategic investigations, and anti-trafficking initiatives.

The Modern GCIS

Today, the Ground Coordination Intelligence Service bears little resemblance to the organization established in 2020.

What began as a small intelligence office conducting research on bullying and mental health has evolved into a mission-driven intelligence and operational service focused on identifying, investigating, and disrupting human trafficking networks and individuals who exploit children and vulnerable populations.

Through the Directorate of Strategic Missions, Directorate of Intelligence and Analysis, and supporting operational components, GCIS conducts intelligence collection, covert investigations, strategic targeting, and operational support efforts against criminal enterprises operating across international boundaries.

Its mission is clear and uncompromising: to identify those who profit from human exploitation, investigate the networks that enable trafficking and abuse, and support efforts to bring offenders to justice.

The transformation of GCIS stands as a testament to how a single event can redefine an organization’s purpose. The discoveries made on November 22, 2022, altered the trajectory of the Service forever. Since that day, every strategic initiative, operational capability, and investigative effort has been aligned toward one objective—protecting the vulnerable and relentlessly pursuing those responsible for human trafficking and crimes against children.