Cryptologic Quarterly, #38

Cryptologic Quarterly #38, 2019-1
Images used for educational purposes only.

Cover: ““Father of American cryptology” William Friedman’s retirement ceremony in the Arlington Hall Post Theater, Arlington, VA, 1955. Lieutenant General Ralph Canine is at left, Solomon Kullback is seated left, Friedman is second from right, and Director of Central Intelligence Allen Dulles is at far right. National Security Agency Archives”

History and Transparency: Two Years at a Glance!
… by John A. Tokar
Family Album – Vint Hill Farms Station
… by Betsy Rohaly Smoot
The Evolution of Signals Security as a Counterintelligence Discipline
… by David G. Boak
The STONEHOUSE of East Africa
… by Mark Nixon
A Layman’s Guide to the Mysteries of Linguistics
… by Jack Gurin
A Space Worthy of its Namesakes: The Friedman Conference Center
… by Sarah Parsons

History and Transparency: Two Years at a Glance!
Covering the CCH’s highlights for the previous two years, including:
. 2019 Symposium on Cryptologic History
. Schorreck Lectures
. Collaboration with the National Cryptological Museum
. Sharing Subject Matter Expertise with the NSA/CSS (National Security Agency Central Security Service)
. Adding people to the Cryptologic Hall of Honor
. Memorialization of Ann Caracristi and Colonel Herrelko
. And the publication of various articles and magazines

Family Album – Vint Hill Farms Station
Giving the history of the Vint Hill intercept station, initiated in WW II, and used until 1997, when it was shut down by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Includes lots of photos.

(Farm overview. The barn is at the top left.)

(More recent intercept operations)

The Evolution of Signals Security as a Counterintelligence Discipline
Reprint of an article from Spring/Summer 2006 Cryptologic Quarterly. Boak starts by providing examples of deception, camouflage and concealment in nature, then goes on to write about similar techniques in communications intelligence and security, from prehistory to the modern age. It’s kind of a stretch as a puff piece, but does have some nice photos, especially of the Hebern machine.

(Hebern)

The STONEHOUSE of East Africa
This is the story of a small Italian radio relay station in Ethiopia (“Radio Marina”) that was captured during WW II, and used by the US Army (as Kagnew Station) and the ASA/NSA for the STONEHOUSE facility. As Stonehouse, it was an intercept station during the Cold War, as well as a limited tracking station for U.S. space launches. It was ideally located at 7,600 feet above the Red Sea, but not necessarily easy to get to, or build on. It was also kind of conspicuous… Stonehouse was shut down in 1975.

(Antennas)

A Layman’s Guide to the Mysteries of Linguistics
Reprint of an article written by Jack Gurin in 1978. Just looks at various English quirks and the difficulties of teaching linguistics for various other languages.

A Space Worthy of its Namesakes: The Friedman Conference Center
Looking at the history of the building complex that would become known as The Friedman Conference Center. Initially, presentation facilities just consisted of an auditorium/theater in Arlington Hall in the 40’s. Then, when NSA was to relocate to Fort Meade in 1952, then-Director Lieutenant General Ralph J. Canine demanded the design of a facility that would “be modern for 50 years.” Shortly after William Friedman died in 1969, there was a suggestion that the auditorium be named in his honor. This was actually a radical idea at the time, since it wasn’t common for civilians in NSA to receive this kind of honor. Eventually, the pressure won over, and “[t]he dedication ceremony occurred on May 21, 1975, on what would have been William and Elizebeth Friedman’s 58th wedding anniversary.”

Elizebeth died in 1980, and by the 90’s the NSA community was realizing her contributions to the field. “NSA renamed the auditorium and the entire OPS1 building for both Friedmans [as “the Friedman Conference Center”]. The OPS1 building dedication ceremony was held in 2002. The Friedmans’ son, John, who had attended the 1975 dedication, returned to deliver a moving tribute to his parents’ unwavering commitment to their family, their profession, and their country.”