Only nine years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United States found itself once again in the throes of an unexpected war-this time on the Korean Peninsula. But the U.S. had seriously downsized its cryptologic operations at the end of World War II. And the remaining resources were focused on the Soviet Union.
The
Nations' military and civilian codemakers and codebreakers needed
to be united. With the stroke of his pen, President Truman created
one truly integrated organization-the National Security Agency.
NSA opened its doors in November 1952-building on the legacy of
its predecessor-the Armed Forces Security Agency.
The
National Security Agency began supporting warfighters on the Korean
battlefields from its headquarters in Washington, DC. NSA cryptologists
helped General Walker avoid enemy fire on the Pusan Perimeter
and set the groundwork for General McArthur's victorious landing
at Inchon.
After
the armistice, U.S. leaders once again turned their attention
to the Soviet threat. The Soviets had begun building and testing
nuclear weapons. Atomic bomb hysteria swept the Nation's capital.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff believed the city would be a potential
bombing target. So NSA moved to its current location at Fort Meade,
Maryland, in 1957.
By
1961, Cold War tensions took us to the brink of a nuclear war.
The Nation's worst nightmare was confirmed. In a speech by President
Kennedy, he announced "unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on the island of Cuba." President Kennedy imposed a strict
blockade on military shipments to Cuba. If the Soviets were to challenge
the U.S. Fleet, it could mean war.
NSA
closely monitored the Russian Fleet's movement. The Agency would
be among the first to inform Kennedy when the Russians stood down.
Signals Intelligence helped Kennedy to avoid a nuclear war.
A
great victory of the Cold War was won, but a crisis was festering
in Southeast Asia. U.S. cryptologists were dispatched to Vietnam-four
years before America's full military involvement. To intercept
the adversary's communications, they had to get close to enemy
lines-and would be among the first American casualties. When U.S.
troops returned home, NSA cryptologists stayed behind to provide
intelligence and secure communications support to the U.S. embassy.
They stayed until it was almost too late.
The end of the Cold War emphasized the value of Signals Intelligence and Information Assurance. NSA continued to support policymakers and combatant commanders in conflicts around the globe with real-time actionable intelligence and state-of-the-art secure communications.
NSA's
research contributed significantly to the development of the Super
Computer, the cassette tape, the microchip, quantum mathematics,
nanotechnology, biometrics, and semiconductor technology.
As the turn of the century approached, new challenges emerged. NSA would need to be more agile than ever before.