Station HYPO

By: Robert W. (Bob) Mitchell, CTT2 3/67-9/68 Galeta Island, CZ — 9/68-8/69 Rota, Spain

For more than three decades, Galeta Island stood watch for potential enemy approaches to the Panama Canal. Hidden among tropical forests on Panama’s northern coast, the massive AN/FRD-10 Circularly Disposed Antenna Array (CDAA)—better known to generations of Cryptologic Technicians as the “Wullenweber” or simply the “Elephant Cage”—was one of the most recognizable and important collection sites operated by the U.S. Naval Security Group.

Matt Zullo is a retired United States Navy Master Chief Cryptologic Technician and the author of the acclaimed On-the-Roof Gang book series, the definitive history of the U.S. Navy’s cryptologic pioneers during the Second World War. Drawing upon more than twenty years of naval cryptologic service, extensive archival research, and decades of engagement with the cryptologic community, Matt has become widely recognized as the world’s foremost authority on the legendary On-the-Roof Gang.

I joined the Navy via the CASH (delayed entry) program on December 12, 1974 at MEPS in Little Rock, Arkansas.  I then headed to basic training at RTC San Diego on December 27, 1974.  My recruiter was a CTRC.  I was guaranteed CTR school but I was under the misconception that I was going to be a Radioman. This was based on the CTRC telling me that I was going to be working with radios.  It wasn’t until I was going through classification in bootcamp that I realized I was going to Pensacola while another recruit in my company was staying in San Diego for RM A school.

On June 8, 1967, during the Six-Day War, the U.S. Navy intelligence ship USS Liberty (AGTR-5) was attacked by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats while operating in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. The attack killed 34 American servicemen and wounded 171 others, making it one of the deadliest attacks on a U.S. naval vessel during peacetime.