The most secret war :Army signals intelligence in Vietnam /James L. Gilbert.

2003·12.3 MB·English

by  Fort Belvoir, Va. :Military History Office, US Army Intelligence and Security Command

The Most War
Secret
.
field commanders in Vietnam, continue to say that this
. .
[signals intelligence] is the backbone oftheir intelligence
effort. They can’t live or fight without it. I want to stress to
everyone in this roomjust how important this effort is . .
I can’t think ofanything more important because they are
just blind over there without this effort...”
GEN Bruce Palmer, Vice Chief of Staff, US Army
The Most War
Secret
i$ir?
The Most War
Secret
Army Signals Intelligence in Vietnam
James L. Gilbert
Military History Office
US Army Intelligence and Secnrity Command
Fort Belvoir, Virginia
In a ceremony held in May 1969atArlington HallStation, Virginia,
the noncommissionedofficers ofthe USArmy SecurityAgency dedicated
a memorialin memory oftheirfallen comradesfrom threeconflicts:
Korea, Vietnam, andDominican Republic. Thestatue is carvedfrom
whiteItalian marbleanddepicts asoldierinfullbattledress withfield
radio. Today, theASA Memorialstands atHeadquarters, USArmy
IntelligenceandSecurity Command, FortBelvoir, Virginia.
TO THOSE WHO SERVED...

FOREWORD
The firstunit to be deployed to SouthVietnam belonged to the United StatesArmySecurityAgency (ASA) as did
the first to be decorated. The firstacknowledged casualty ofthe warwas an ASAsoldier. All ofthese milestones
are reminders thatfrom the beginningVietnam wasvery much an intelligencewar. The challenge for USadvisors
and later commanders in the fieldwas to locate an elusive enemy in a hostile environment. Communications
intelligence quickly emerged as the ground forces’ primarysource oftargeting the enemyand for planning oper-
ations; it also aided in obtaining othervaluable sources ofinformation, such as captured documents and interro-
—
gated prisoners ofwar all by-products ofsuccessful combat operations. Because Vietnam was the first air-mobile
war, timeliness ofinformation became as critical as accuracy, where minutes spelled the difference between suc-
cess and failure. Here again, ASAdirectsupport elements served as invaluable conduits through which communi-
cations intelligence flowed to the combat commanders on a real-time basis.
The motto ofthe Military Intelligence Corps is “Always Out Front.” Itwas preciselybecause ASAwas out front
thatsignals intelligence enjoyed the success it did inVietnam. Army SecurityAgency personnel deployed to
Vietnam fouryears in advance ofmajor ground combat elements. This allowed ASA the time to develop a new
technique (airborne radio direction-finding) to pinpointa concealed enemy, to assemble the necessaryback-
ground data, and to gain the experience required to support US forces in the field. Ifthere is an over-archingles-
son learned through the years, itis that military intelligence needs to be continuallyengaged in order to be suc-
cessful. One only has to contrast the absence ofintelligence in the early phase ofthe Korean Warwith the con-
stant flowofinformation awaiting combatelements upon theirarrival in Vietnam.
Although security restrictions prohibit the telling ofthe intelligence story in full, hopefully, the picture history
formatwill provide awindowinto an important aspectoftheVietnam War that here-to-fore has not been publi-
cized. Its purpose is to outline the scope and type ofsupport furnished by theArmySecurityAgencyand to pro
vide testimonial evidence ofASA’s overall success aswell as to note various shortcomings. The history is also the
story ofindividual sacrifice and professionalism on the part ofASAsoldiers thatwill continue to foster esprit de
corpsamongfuture generations ofmilitaryintelligence specialists.
KEITH B. ALEXANDER
MajorGeneral, USA
CommandingUSArmy IntelligenceandSecurityAgency
FortBelvoir, Virginia
23January 2003