While I appreciate those offering to mentor this outstanding young officer, mentorship from a LCDR, CDR, or CAPT who has not served at sea as a division officer in years is not what is needed right now. What this officer—and every officer—needs is meaningful, relevant training. Not death by PowerPoint, and not an eight-hour STALLION lab they completed years before ever stepping onboard their first ship.
Continue reading “Afloat Cryptology in Crisis:”On 1 April 2001, a U.S. Navy EP-3 signals intelligence aircraft collided in mid-air with a Chinese Navy J-8II interceptor fighter jet. The collision occurred over the South China Sea approximately 70 miles from the Chinese island province of Hainan. Aboard the EP-3 were 24 crewmembers from two separate commands – Naval Security Group Activity (NSGA) Misawa and Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron ONE (VQ-1).
Continue reading “April Fools – Not! The Hainan Incident”I sincerely hope the IWRON initiative addresses the ongoing cryptologic afloat issues, because what I recently heard is deeply concerning. I had a very serious 90-minute conversation with an 1810 currently serving on a DDG, and the situation described was unacceptable. While I won’t go into full detail, this officer—and the entire division—has been marginalized by the ship’s leadership. Even more troubling, there are eight other officers across the waterfront experiencing the same treatment, and all eight are planning to separate at their first opportunity.
Continue reading “Afloat Cryptology in Crisis”LCDR Stephen R. Harris USN (Ret.)
March 31, 1938 – May 18, 2020
LCDR Stephen R. Harris, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Officer in Charge of the USS Pueblo’s communications intelligence passed away peacefully at the Edith Rogers Memorial Veterans’ Hospital in Bedford on Monday, May 18, 2020, at age 82.
The Naval Security Group first represented in Naples Italy 1952 as Communication Security Unit 601. Six years later, in 1958, the Unit 601 was changed to U.S. Naval Security Group Det. On October 1, 1979, NSGD was administratively disestablished, and U.S. Naval Security Group Activity (NSGA) was established. Two years later in 1981, STREAMLINER and TACINTEL were installed.
Continue reading “OTD: NSGA Naples Decommissioned”