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The E-Mail Newsletter of the Army Security Agency Alpiners Reunion Group
Serving veterans of the SIS, ASA and INSCOM who were stationed in Germany or Austria
Volume 5 – Number 11
December 1, 2009
Ralph R, Thadeus, Editor
(Scheyern 53-56)
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ASMN
Supporting Member Bob Spalding (Scheyern 52-54) spent part of his Veterans Day (11/11 at 1100 hours) at a veteran‟s memorial called the Living Memorial Sculpture Garden. It‟s located near his home in Weed, CA. Bob says that the “statuary is at about „life and a half size except for the POW-MIA which is life size.” Bob says that he has taken several groups of friends and/or relatives to the garden and that he is always moved by the evocative figures. Bob says that if you are in the neighborhood, the garden is worth a little side trip. You can find out more about this veterans memorial by going to their web site at: http://www.weedlmsg.org.
Well John Morrison‟s question about getting married to a German national got some good responses. My own particular case was that I never considered the ASA as being “Army” so the thought of losing my clearance and serving as a “regular” never entered my mind. I waited until my tour was over, went back home, got a job and brought Eda over. We married in Cleveland, Ohio, on the New Year‟s Eve in 1956. Nine years wasted in the work that I loved.
So – having said that, here are the other responses to the question.
Supporting Member Jim Sessoms (BA/Memmingen/Sinzig 60-65, Memmingen 68-71, Augsburg/Wobeck/Berlin 74-77) sent the following: (Here are) a couple of groups on the Clearance (actually it was an Access issue) and "close and continuous relationship with a foreign national."
When I was the First Sergeant at Wobeck, between 1975 and 1976, we had a Brit(ish) Signals Unit located a few miles down the road. Since we did the same work, we had an authorized list of their cleared personnel and they did of our. We were authorized to do interchange work and we often had some of their ops working our positions. Well a relationship developed between a Brit male linguist and one of our female linguists, all brought about by the operational exchanges. When it came to the marriage intention announcement, our security folks made us debrief her for that "close and continuous relationship with a foreign national." Talk about the disappearance of common sense! I have heard of other cases, but I thought that one took the gold ribbon!
In my own situation, I met my now wife of almost 41 yrs when I was NCOIC of the DF Det. in Memmingen in July 1963. She and her parents (all Brits) were camping at a local lake. For a variety of reasons, I did not announce our intention to marry until sometime in Nov 1968. I applied for a waiver to security selection standards. My BA bosses had decided to leave me in place (back in Memmingen) even if I did not get the waiver and run everything but the pure operational/technical end of the business. We got married Dec 14, 1968 at Noon! Around 2 p.m. a Teletype message arrived in our Det. Ops that my waiver had been granted! But I knew that it was still touch and go. I just think that the security folks just went too far in the other direction for several years for whatever reason and it cost us a bunch of super folks, most of who went to the Signal Corps.
Al Poland (Bad Aibling 54-56) writes: "Joe Morrison (Scheyern 49-52) brings up a question about getting married to a German national....."
It was my experience during 54-56 and the 328th ASA Co., that anyone that married a German National was GONE, immediately. Usually it wasn't to a communication unit but the infantry or other combat unit.
We were required to submit the name of any girl that we dated 3 or more times. Although this was seldom, if ever, done.... we did have one guy that was investigated by CID; had his wall locker broken into and trashed. They only thing CID took was the professional photos of the girl involved. Although questioned extensively, he was never charged with anything nor did he lose his clearance. He had been going with her for over a year.
We had one man who "ran his mouth" to an undercover CID agent while under the influence. We were told what had happened by the CO and we never heard what happened to him. The same fate happened to several men who were determined to be gay. They disappeared in the middle of the night and we never heard from any of them again.
That's a little history above and beyond answering the question.
Bill Evans (Schneeberg 56-59 Rothwesten/Dahme/Offenbach 60-64) sent in the following: A waiver could be granted to stay with the ASA. A background investigation had to be conducted on the prospective bride. This waiver was supposed to be for critical personnel. During the late '50s and early '60s the waivers were fairly easy to come by. Then Martin and Mitchell, two NSA "low level code clerks" defected to Cuba and no more waivers were granted.
Another method used by a Schneeberg operations sergeant was, when he got orders for Turkey he sent his sweetheart to the States. After his tour in Turkey he got married in the USA and somehow arranged for orders overseas. The law at that time allowed for spouses of military personnel to expedite the citizenship process if they were being transferred overseas. By the time he reported for duty, his wife was an American citizen and he was allowed to stay with the ASA.
Dennis Bennett (Scheyern/Bad Aibling 57-62, Rothwesten 68-70, Augsburg 70-73/74-79) offers the following: “In 1959 the Agency changed their policy and allowed people who declared that they were going to marry a German to retain their Crypto Clearance until a background check could be made on the fiancé. If she passed you were allowed to stay fully cleared and work as you normally would have. I did so in Sept 1959 and retired in 1984 still working in operations at US Army field Station Kunia, in Hawaii.”
Supporting Member Russ Horn Jr. (Giessen/Frankfurt/Rothwesten 53-55 Herzo 58-61) writes that he “was married in April 1959 to a woman from Herzogenaurach. I requested to retain my clearance which was approved by the 183rd USASA Co. (Fld) Company Commander. I was told that I was disapproved for all other locations in Germany. I was later approved by USASA in September.”
And finally, Glen Caldwell (Rothwesten 61-65 Oberursel/Munich 67-69 Augsburg 71-76) adds: In Reference to Joe Morrison‟s inquiry about getting married to a German National, I was a 98C PFC at Rothwesten (319th ASA Bn.) when I put in my marriage papers. Luckily the people I worked for liked my work and put in a waiver for me to retain my clearance. This was early 1962. I got married in 62 and the waiver was granted. I continued to serve as a 98C, going to Ft. Wolters after Rothwesten and then on to Vietnam (1966/67) with the 303rd as TAREX NCO, My wife and two sons went back to Kassel Germany while I was in Nam. TAREX (within ASA) had a policy that anyone serving in NAM could have any assignment in the world that had an opening, so I returned to Germany to serve in TAREX with HQ USASA Europe at Det. B, Oberursel and then Munich (1967-69) until September 69 when I made WO1 and was assigned to Two Rock Ranch, Petaluma for 9 months before I did my tour in FS Shemya, AK. I was then reassigned to USASA Field Station Augsburg from 71 until 76. All the time with my TSSI Clearance. There was one incident however that bears mentioning. Sometime in 74 or 75 there was a SP6 who wanted to get married to a German, and who applied for a waiver. Arlington Hall came back with a message that said only if the service member was reassigned out of Germany. CW4 Dennis Bennett shot back that since I was assigned to FS Augsburg with a waiver and a German wife, that the SP6 should be given the same waiver. This resulted in my security clearance being pulled and I was assigned to the orderly room of 1st Operations as a Company Warrant officer without a duty. I did company duty for about 3 weeks and no one would tell me the reason my clearance had been pulled. I finally went to Col Flynn, FSA Commander and put in an IG complaint demanding to know why my clearance had been pulled. At the same time they told me I was being reassigned to Vint Hill Farms. To this I said "nuts" as I had already made my selection to retire in Augsburg in 76 and DA had a policy of giving a retirement location of choice and not moving anyone in the final two years. That meant they could not reassign me to Vint Hill. A day after my IG complaint was filed, I got a call from Col Flynn saying I could go back to work at Gablingen Operations, but that I "must" retire in September 76 when my 20 years was up. So I served 16 years married to a German citizen, and I stayed in Augsburg until 1991 working for 3M Gmbh and Lanier Deutschland and now draw a nice German retirement check in addition to my Social Security, Military Retirement, and VA Disability. The word I was given was that I was never supposed to be reassigned to Germany with a German wife and that Arlington Hall messed up twice assigning me back to Germany. I now enjoy living and fishing in Virginia Beach, VA. My ex-wife is enjoying living in Germany.
NEW NSA CYBERSECURITY DATA CENTER TO BE BUILT IN UTAH
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – (October 23, 2009) Gov. Gary R. Herbert, Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, and U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop were joined by Glenn Gaffney, deputy director of national intelligence for collection, in announcing the Intelligence Community‟s plans to build a data center at Camp Williams, Utah, which will provide critical support to national cybersecurity priorities.
The center will support the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI) which is aimed at securing the United States‟ information infrastructure and coordinating its defense with state and local governments, as well as the private sector. The site was chosen after a thorough competitive analysis of 38 sites.
Mr. Gaffney, whose responsibilities include oversight for Intelligence Community (IC) cyber activities, said “The Intelligence Community has an important mission in protecting the U.S. cyber infrastructure. Cybersecurity is among the most pressing of national security concerns we face, and Utahans are going to play an important role in this mission – in protecting America‟s interests.”
Earlier this year, the White House unveiled its Cyberspace Policy Review, which described a new way forward towards a reliable, resilient, trustworthy digital infrastructure for the future. In its review, the White House stated, “The architecture of the nation‟s digital infrastructure, based largely upon the Internet, is not secure or resilient. Without major advances in the security of these systems or significant change in how they are constructed and operated, it is doubtful that the United States can protect itself from the growing threat of cybercrime and state-sponsored intrusions and operations.”
The Center will add important capabilities to the IC so that intelligence agencies can exercise their lawful authorities, subject to appropriate oversight, to protect national security networks, provide technical assistance to the Department of Homeland Security, provide intelligence and warning regarding cybersecurity threats, and to otherwise carry out their proper tasks under the CNCI to meet cybersecurity objectives.
Editor: This is only part of the news release on Senator Hatch’s web site. You can see a video of the press conference at http://www.dni.gov/video/. Click on the second right hand side tab titled “Press Conference with DDNI for Collection Glenn Gaffney”. The entire video is about 30 minutes long but Gaffney’s opening statement is all within the first six minutes.
Halloween may be over but if you want to see something real scary, Google “Russian SU-30MK” and take a look at the YouTube video. Our thanks to James A. Smith (Heilbronn 55-58) for bringing this to our attention. Jim‟s comments on this aircraft follow:
“Russia now has #1 fighter plane in the world, (the) SU-30 Vectored Thrust with Canards. As you watch this airplane, look at the canards moving along side of and just below the canopy rail. The "canards" are the small wings forward of the main wings. The smoke and contrails provide a sense of the actual flight path, sometimes in reverse direction. This video is of an in-flight demonstration flown by the Russian's 30MK fighter aircraft. You will not believe what you are about to see. The fighter can stall from high speed, stopping forward motion in seconds. (full stall). Then it demonstrates an ability to descend tail first without causing a compressor stall. It can also recover from a flat spin in less than a minute. These maneuver capabilities don't exist in any other aircraft in the world today. Take a look at the video with the sound up. This aircraft is of concern to U.S and NATO planners. We don't know which nations will soon be flying the SU-30MK; hopefully China isn't one of them.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Note: Friends worked with advanced aircraft flight control systems and concepts for many years as an extension of stability control and means of control. Canards and vectored thrust were among many concepts examined to extend our fighter aircraft performance. Neither our current or next generation aircraft now poised for funding & production can in any way match the performance of this Russian aircraft NOW FLYING in any near combat situation. Somehow the bankrupt Russian aircraft industry has out produced our complex politically tainted aerospace industry with this technology marvel. Scratch any ideas of close in air-to-air combat with this aircraft in the future.”
Ron Blake (Bad Aibling 63-67) thinks that there might be an interest out there to hold a reunion at the B&O in Bad Aibling, some time in the future. Kind of expensive to get there but, should there be some interest, I will be glad to forward them to Ron.
Prudential Insurance Screws up the Morse Code. I don‟t know if you saw this on your local telley channels, but the good people at Prudential recently launched a TV advertising campaign based on the Morse Code “SOS”. Unfortunately, for them, the cadence was all wrong and instead of SOS it was heard as VMS. All the dots and dashes were there but the timing was off. They must have caught a bunch of crap from ex-ditty boppers because they pulled the ad before your Editor had a chance to add his two cents worth.
Prudential put on a replacement ad that had the Morse more like background noise but with the correct cadence. Most recently they have brought back the original ad with the correct dots and dashes but still not up to par. For you ditty boppers out there it now sounds like dididit (ho-hum) dahdahdah (yawn) dididit. Obviously the new generation of ad makers are too busy texting to know anything about Morse.
The Movie “Up In The Air”: George Clooney‟s shortly to be released movie “Up In The Air” may bring a bit of nostalgia to those of you that attended our last reunion. The Cheshire Inn, our Headquarters Hotel, was featured in this movie but as part of the scene featuring the snow covered Swiss chalet in Wisconsin. And those of you that flew in may recognize Lambert Field as also part of the movie.
It pays to advertise: My car has an ASA license plate frame on the back. A couple of weeks ago I was parked at a local Home Depot and when I got back to the car there was a guy named Mike Dinan putting a note on it. It seems he was ex-ASA (68-72) having been stationed in Devens, Taiwan and VHFS.
There are some pretty neat ASA items out there. One that you all might be interested in is an ASA ball cap for European veterans. You can see the cap and order it by e-mail from this web site: http://www.hmchonors.com. When you get there look for the search box near the top and enter 771604. Either of the two results will get you to a picture of the cap. Or you can enter ASA and see all other caps such as Nam, Korea, Pacific, etc.
Steve Engelhardt (Rothwesten 66-67) is trying to locate fellow Rothwesteners Richard Wortman and Captain Catron. If you have contact information or other information, let me know and I will pass it along.
NEW CONTACTS
John A. Wiehl (Scheyern 54-55 Frankfurt 55-56)
Eugene Williams (Mt. Meissner 72-74 Augsburg 74-75)
Bob Trabbold (Bad Aibling 57-59)
Steve Engelhardt (Rothwesten 66-67)
LOST CONTACTS
Douglas A. Nemier (Giessen 53-54) jdnemier(at)dejazzd.com
TAPS
Wayne R. Lutz (Mannheim/Giessen 52-54) passed away on October 25, 2009, at home with family and friends at his side, after a long battle with cancer, as reported by his wife Faye. Wayne lived in Pasadena, MD.
Robert T. Baclasky passed away on November 25, 2009, as reported by Tom Murphy (Baumholder 54-56). Baclasky‟s obituary says that he served with the ASA in Germany and was later with the NSA. Any additional information on where and when he served would be appreciated.
MEMORIES OF CHRISTMAS PAST: Working Midnight shift in Operations – Comm. Center door open – teletype dinging out the cadence of Jingle Bells
WISHING ALL OF YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR