Shipmates,
This morning I addressed the students at the National Defense Intelligence College (NDIC). For those of you who are not aware of this program, it is located with the Defense Intelligence Agency at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington. We have been sending students to NDIC since 1984. There are 220 students representing all services and other government agencies. The number of Coast Guard students has grown from 2 to 16 and now represents the largest Masters Program in the Coast Guard. The program is open to both officers and enlisted personnel and also offers a Bachelors Degree as well.
Some interesting facts about our intelligence program that you may not know.
Before William and Elizabeth Friedman - the godparents of cryptological analysis in the U.S. government - helped found the NSA, they helped the Coast Guard interdict rum-runners in the 1920's. Using wireless telegraphy and intercept technology, they helped the resource strapped Coast Guard cover vast coastlines.
It was on September 11th, 1941 when Coast Guard Unit 387 - our embedded cryptological unit - was transferred along with the rest of the Coast Guard to the Department of the Navy. Throughout World War II, CG signals intelligence personnel worked to intercept over 10,000 encrypted enemy communications and played a key role in cracking the Green Enigma code of Nazi Germany.
We disestablished our program after World War II, but we became active again over the last 30 years working with the Department of Defense and other federal agencies to counter transnational threats such as drug smuggling and illegal migration, in addition to traditional national security threats. As a result, the Coast Guard formally joined the Intelligence Community (IC) in 2002.
Today we have our own Service Cryptographic Group located at Fort Meade and are in the process of standing up our Coast Guard Cyber Command.
Last January ADM Gary Roughead (CNO) and I cut the ribbon on the National Maritime Intelligence Center which is collocated at Suitland, MD with our Intelligence Coordination Center. Tomorrow we will hold Navy-Coast Guard staff talks there.
Today we also honored the retiring NDIC President Denis Clift with the Coast Guard's Distinguished Public Service Award. He has been instrumental in the growth of our student numbers and their significant achievements.
Our Intelligence Program is one of the fastest growing programs in our Service and it was a pleasure to meet with our students and hear about their studies.
ADM A
