ECHELON, originally a secret government code name, is a surveillance program operated by the five signatory states to the UKUSA Security Agreement: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, also known as the Five Eyes.
The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and processing of information and data for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence purposes, specializing in a discipline known as signals intelligence (SIGINT). The NSA is also tasked with the protection of U.S. communications networks and information systems. The NSA relies on a variety of measures to accomplish its mission, the majority of which are clandestine. The NSA has roughly 32,000 employees.
Royal Air Force Menwith Hill is a Royal Air Force station near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which provides communications and intelligence support services to the United Kingdom and the United States. The site contains an extensive satellite ground station and is a communications intercept and missile warning site. It has been described as the largest electronic monitoring station in the world.
The Central Security Service (CSS) is a combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense which was established in 1972 to integrate the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Service Cryptologic Components (SCC) of the United States Armed Forces in the field of signals intelligence, cryptology, and information assurance at the tactical level. In 2002, the CSS had approximately 25,000 uniformed members. It is part of the United States Intelligence Community.
The National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) is a large area of land in the United States designated as a radio quiet zone, in which radio transmissions are restricted by law to facilitate scientific research and the gathering of military intelligence. About half of the zone is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of west-central Virginia while the other half is in the Allegheny Mountains of east-central West Virginia; a small part of the zone is in the southernmost tip of the Maryland panhandle.
A circularly disposed antenna array (CDAA), sometimes referred to as a circularly disposed dipole array (CDDA) or a wullenweber, is a large circular antenna array used for radio direction finding. They are used by military and government agencies to triangulate radio signals for radio navigation, intelligence gathering, search and rescue, and enforcement of broadcasting laws. Because their huge circular reflecting screens look like circular fences, some antennas have been colloquially referred to as "elephant cages". The term "wullenwever" was the World War II German cover term used to identify their secret CDAA research and development program; its name is unrelated to any person involved in the program.
Keith Brian Alexander is a retired four-star general of the United States Army, who served as director of the National Security Agency, chief of the Central Security Service, and commander of the United States Cyber Command. He previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff, G-2 (Intelligence), United States Army from 2003 to 2005. He assumed the positions of Director of the National Security Agency and Chief of the Central Security Service on August 1, 2005, and the additional duties as Commander United States Cyber Command on May 21, 2010.
Naval Support Activity New Orleans was a United States Navy installation until September 2011. During its time in operation, it was the largest military installation in greater New Orleans. It hosts activities for other branches of service and federal agencies. The address for the EastBank side of the base is 4400 Dauphine Street.
The United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) is a direct reporting unit that conducts intelligence, security, and information operations for United States Army commanders, partners in the Intelligence Community, and national decision-makers. INSCOM is headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
The Yakima Training Center (YTC) is a United States Army training center, used for maneuver training, Land Warrior system testing and as a live fire exercise area. It is located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Washington, bounded on the west by Interstate 82, on the south by the city of Yakima, on the north by the city of Ellensburg and Interstate 90, and on the east by the Columbia River. It is a part of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. It comprises 327,000 acres of land, most of which consists of shrub-steppe, making it one of the largest areas of shrub-steppe habitat remaining in Washington state. The terrain is undulating and dominated by three east-west parallel ridges, the Saddle Mountains, Manastash Ridge, and Umtanum Ridge anticlines, which are part of the Yakima Fold Belt near the western edge of the Columbia River Plateau. Vegetation consists of sagebrush, bitterbrush, and bunch grass. Vagabond Army Airfield and Selah Airstrip are located on the Yakima Training Center. The training center is also used by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force for exercises.
The Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic is an Echelon III activity of the United States Navy located in North Charleston, South Carolina.
The Marine Corps Security Force Regiment is a dedicated expeditionary security and anti-terrorism regiment of the United States Marine Corps. Its mission is to provide security forces to guard high-value naval installations, most notably those containing nuclear vessels and weapons. Additionally, it also provides the Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Teams (FAST) and Recapture Tactics Teams (RTT). Marines who complete Security Forces training are assigned a secondary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) of 8152, while instructors can earn 8153.
The Bad Aibling Station (BAS), also known as the 18th United States Army Security Agency Field Station, Field station 81, and Hortensie III is a satellite tracking station operated by the German SIGINT agency BND from nearby Mangfall Barracks in Bad Aibling, Bavaria.
After the end of World War II, all the Western allies began a rapid drawdown of military forces, including those of signals intelligence. At the time, the US still had a COMINT organization split between the Army and Navy. A 1946 plan listed Russia, China, and a [redacted] country as high-priority targets.
Vint Hill Farms Station (VHFS) was a United States Army and National Security Agency (NSA) signals intelligence and electronic warfare facility located in Fauquier County, Virginia, near Warrenton. VHFS was closed in 1997 and the land was sold off in 1999. Today the site hosts various engineering and technology companies, as well as two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air traffic control facilities.
A SIGINT Activity Designator identifies a signals intelligence (SIGINT) line of collection activity associated with a signals collection station, such as a base or a ship. For example, the SIGAD for Menwith Hill in the UK is USD1000. SIGADs are used by the signals intelligence agencies of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Sugar Grove is a community located in Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States. Its ZIP Code is 26815. It is located within the United States National Radio Quiet Zone.
The AN/FRD-10 is a United States Navy circularly disposed antenna array (CDAA), built at a number of locations during the Cold War for high frequency radio direction finding (HF/DF) and signals intelligence. In the Joint Electronics Type Designation System, FRD stands for fixed ground, radio, direction finding. 14 sites were originally constructed as a part of the "Classic Bullseye" program. Two AN/FRD-10 systems were later installed in Canada. AN/FRD-10 systems were originally constructed in the early 1960s, but after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the systems began to be shut down and demolished. The Naval Security Group operated and maintained the U.S. Navy AN/FRD-10 systems. The system had several nicknames including Fred-10 and Elephant or Dinosaur cages. As of 2015, none of the US Navy AN/FRD-10 sites are extant, but the two Canadian sites remain in service. The AN/FLR-9 was a system with a similar design and function, but operated by the US Air Force and Army.
Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads is a United States Navy Echelon 4 regional support commander that is responsible to Navy Region Mid-Atlantic for the operation and maintenance of the installation of the same name that it is headquartered on. Adjacent to, but separate from Naval Station Norfolk, NSA Hampton Roads has the largest concentration of fleet headquarters administrative and communication facilities outside of Washington, D.C., including the headquarters for United States Fleet Forces Command, Naval Reserve Forces Command and United States Marine Corps Forces Command, along with components of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the home campus for the Joint Forces Staff College. NSA Hampton Roads is also home to NATO’s Joint Force Command Norfolk and NATO's Allied Command Transformation.
