The Systems Exploitation Detachment (SED) was a unit within the [[United States Army Intelligence and Security Command]] (INSCOM) and the office of the assistant chief of staff for intelligence ([[ACSI]]). It was headed by Colonel [[Robert Keenan]] when the remote viewing program was initiated in 1977. [[Ed Dames]] considered the SED to be an elite unit of creative thinkers.
The SED played a crucial role in the establishment of the Army's remote viewing program. When [[Frederick Atwater]] proposed forming a remote viewing team, he presented the idea to Colonel Robert Keenan, who was in charge of the SED. Keenan approved Atwater's proposal, leading to the program's creation in 1977.
### Organizational Structure and Control
* The SED was under the control of two entities [i]:
* United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) [i]
* The office of the assistant chief of staff for intelligence (ACSI) [i]
* The remote viewing unit itself, formally known as the "Special Action Branch," took its orders from the Pentagon office of the Army’s assistant chief of staff for intelligence.
* Tasking requests for the Special Action Branch came from various offices throughout the U.S. intelligence community, including the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], the [[Defense Intelligence Agency]], and the [[President’s National Security Council]].
* Orders and information were marked with the standard Army intelligence **SECRET** and the Pentagon code word, [[STARGATE PROJECT|GRILL FLAME]].