Military Intelligence is not an oxymoron

Published 11:38 am Thursday, November 9, 2017

The United States Army Security Agency (ASA) was the U.S. intelligence branch between 1945 and 1977. However, it existed as the Army Signals Intelligence Operations as far back as World War I. Besides intelligence gathering, ASA had responsibility for the cryptographic security of all Army communications. In 1977, the ASA was reorganized to create the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM).

ASA was responsible for intercepting, monitoring, and interpreting the radio signals of the Soviet Union, China, and North Vietnam. The ASA had operational centers wherever the United States had a military presence – publicly acknowledged or in secret. Due to the extremely sensitive nature of their work, all ASA personnel were required to hold a Top Secret/Cryptographic security clearance.

Upon leaving the ASA, all personnel signed an affidavit keep all ASA-related/classified information secret for 30 years. Today, many ex-ASA veterans can now identify themselves by wearing a ball cap, which is proudly emblazoned with the ASA patch of an eagle claw grasping a pair of lightning bolts. In fact, one of these former ASA “electronic spies” lives right here in Pell City and is the author of this article. My ASA duties extended from 1962 to 1968.

After my training at the Radio Direction Finding (RDF) school at Fort Devens, MA, I was assigned to Bangkok, Thailand. I was only a 19-year-old kid, who had never heard of either Bangkok or Thailand. I had to look at an encyclopedia map before I knew how close Thailand was to Vietnam. Although ASA did not see active combat, that doesn’t mean we weren’t in danger. Security was very high, and it was a priority of the enemy to find and destroy our ability to monitor them. A fellow ASA’er, Jim Davis, was the first documented military fatality in what would ultimately become the Vietnam War.

We flew from Oakland Army Terminal in California to Bangkok in a propeller-driven airplane with 49 hours in the air. Once there, I learned to hone the basic RDF operator skills I was taught at Fort Devens. After sharpening my Morse code sending and receiving abilities and other technical skills, I was transferred to work RDF at Chiang Mai in northwest Thailand. Located in the mountains, it was a wonderful (and cooler) place to live and work. In fact, life and duty was so good that, at end of my first enlistment, I decided to re-enlist in the ASA.

In 1966, I was transferred to Udorn, Thailand, to begin a new ASA Operations Center in northeast Thailand, in direct support of the rapidly growing U.S. commitment in Vietnam. The Udorn challenges included a difficult work environment and rustic living arrangements (20-man squad tents with zero air-conditioning). However, we endured those adversities until the construction was completed on a large new facility which came to be known as the 7th Radio Research Field Station (aka: Ramasun Station). In 1968, after more than 5 years in Thailand, I rotated back to the U.S.A. ending my time in service with the ASA.

Here in Pell City, I often wear my black veteran’s hat with the ASA patch. If you would like to say “Hello” or just want to chat for a bit, I’d love to share some stories with you. I’m proud to have served my country, my people, and my flag in the “hush hush” area of radio signal intelligence to protect our troops.