22 MAY 12

Auld Lang Syne ...

The United States Army Security Agency

HQ, USASA - Arlington, VA, USA 
(Arlington Hall Station)

USASA Training Center & School - Fort Devens, MA, USA

 1st USASA Field Station - Warrenton, VA, USA
 (Vint Hill Farm Station)

 2nd USASA Field Station -Petaluma, CA, USA
 (Two-Rock Ranch Station)

 3rd USASA Field Station - Sobe, Okinawa
 (Torii Station)

 4th USASA Field Station - Asmara, Ethiopia
 (Kagnew Station)

 5th USASA Field Station - Helemano, HI, USA
 (Helemano Station)

 6th USASA Field Station - Holmstead AFB, FL, USA
 (Seminole Station)

 7th Radio Research Field Station - Udorn, Thailand
 (Ramasun Station)

 8th Radio Research Field Station - Phu Bai, Vietnam
 (Trai Bac Station)

 9th USASA Field Station - Clark AFB, The Philippines
 (Stotsenberg Station)

10th USASA Field Station - Kyoto, Japan
(Kyoto Station)

11th USASA Field Station - Berlin, Germany
 (Field Station Berlin)

12th USASA Field Station - Chitose, Japan
 (Kuma Station)

13th USASA Field Station - Harrogate, England
 (Menwith Hill Station)

14th USASA Field Station - Hakata, Japan
 (Hakata Station)

15th USASA Field Station - Sinop, Turkey
 (Diogenes Station)

16th USASA Field Station - Hersogenaurach, Germany
 (Herso Base)

17th USASA Field Station - Rothwesten, Germany
 (Rothwesten)

18th USASA Field Station - Bad Aibling, Germany
 (Bad Aibling)

USASA Field Station Augsburg - Augsburg, Germany
(Augsburg)

USASA Field Station Shemya - Shemya, AK, USA
(Shemya)

Plus, there were detachments in places like Pakistan,
Panama, Taiwan, The Bahamas, South Korea and/or
other exotic locales ...
not to forget, the Radio Research/ASA Companies attached
to each US Army combat division.

 To paraphrase a Sherwin Williams paint company commercial:
                "We covered the world."
Unlike most other US Army units, wherever we went we had an
active mission. Combat zone or not, we were always live.

                    __________________________________         

January 2011
By Mike Bigelow
INSCOM History Office
The 337th Radio Research Company

From 1965-1972, the U.S. Army Security Agency attached a series of companies and detachments to maneuver divisions and brigades in Vietnam.

These attached ASA units provided direct communications intelligence and communication security support to tactical units. Their primary mission was to respond to the desires and needs of the tactical commander with a secondary mission to support the theater and national communications intelligence efforts.

To provide this support, ASA needed to adapt its direct support units to the supported divisions and brigades and to Southeast Asia�s signal environment. Prior to 1965, the direct support units were organized and designed for a large-scale war in Europe. Generally these units were smaller and stripped of their electronic warfare and very high frequency (VHF) intercept capabilities.

To support the airborne brigades, ASA developed a small 50-man detachment that could provide manual Morse and low level voice interception as well as conduct limited communication security monitoring.

For the unit that would become the 371st Radio Research Company, which supported the airmobile 1st Cavalry Division, ASA cut its regular direct support unit company in half and provided three voice intercept teams to be employed with the front-line brigades.

Perhaps the most typical direct support unit organization was that of the 1st Infantry Division's 337th Radio Research Company. It consisted of 168 men and supported the division by conducting voice intercept, receiving and processing Left Bank results, and manning manual Morse positions as well as communication security monitoring.

By early 1966, ASA had deployed five of these tailored units: three companies to support divisions and two detachments to support airborne brigades. Eighteen months later, seven direct support unit companies and nine direct support unit detachments were in Vietnam. Although tactically controlled by their supported commands, for administration and technical support, the direct support units fell under the command of either the 303th and 313th Radio Research Battalions.

A measure of how important these units were to their tactical commanders is the number of unit citations they earned during the war. Between 1965 and 1972, the ASA tactical units earned an amazing five Presidential Unit Citations, five Valorous Unit Awards, 54 Meritorious Unit Commendations, and 33 Republic of Vietnam Crosses of Gallantry with Palm.

                  ______________________________

           Field Station Augsburg, Germany - AN/FLR-9 Antenna Array (Elephant Cage)

 

                             HQ USASA - Arlington Hall Station, Arlington, VA

 


A few links to other blog posts concerning my ASA days.

http://jmawelsh.blogspot.com/2011/07/21-apr-11.html

http://jmawelsh.blogspot.com/2011/12/07-dec-11.html

http://jmawelsh.blogspot.com/2011/12/13-dec-11.html

http://jmawelsh.blogspot.com/2011/10/22-oct-11.html

http://jmawelsh.blogspot.com/2011/08/20-aug-11.html

http://jmawelsh.blogspot.com/2011/07/25-jul-11.html

 -Fini

PS: With the constant transfer of personnel between units,
there was always an interesting mixture assigned to any one
organization ... this had a cross-pollination effect which
contributed to new and different ways of accomplishing
the mission. Plus, there were organizations within the other
services performing their variation of the same mission ...
The USAF Security Service
The US Navy Security Group

PPS: The power behind the throne: