Naval Spooks - CT Sand Crabs
The history of the Naval Security Group was copied from, and with the permission of the Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM (I.O.D.)).
U.S. NAVSECGRU HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Commander Naval Security Group History
While the Navy has used codes and ciphers since its earliest days, not until the advent of radio communications did they become essential to successful operations. Thus, it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that the Navy began systematic efforts to secure our own communications and exploit those of our adversaries.
In July 1922, the Navy formally established a cryptologic element, known as OP-20-G, which recognized that the future of cryptology lay in machine cipher systems, rather than in the manually operated strip ciphers that remained significantly unchanged since the 15th century. Coupled with these efforts was the emergence of linguist specialists who translated the Japanese Navy Code.
During the period between the world wars, a handful of Navy and Marine Corps service members trained themselves in cryptologic proceedures. The enlisted intercept specialists who trained on the roof of the old Navy Department building in Washington, D.C., became known as the "On the Roof Gang" and were the core of the vastly expanded effort during World War II.
During the war, Navy cryptologists were successful in breaking the Japanese Naval Code JN-15b, in time for the Battle of Midway, and were instrumental in providing information for the Fleet Commander to defeat the Japanese fleet. They also broke the Japanese merchant shipping code, giving American submarines the locations of Japanese ships. By war's end, five-sixths of the Japanese merchant fleet were sunk, and their home islands were in danger of starvation.
In the Atlantic theater, Navy personnel operated the machines dedicated to deciphering the German Enigma-generated message traffic. By late 1943, most German radio communications were an open book to the Allies and the German submarine offensive had been defeated.
The war demonstrated the need for centralized management of signals intelligence while the trend toward increasingly complex technology and more sophisticated equipment continued. This culminated in the establishment of the Naval Security Group in 1950 and the National Security Agency in 1952.
Since the end of the war, the Naval Security Group has continued to support the signals intelligence effort in war, operations other than war, and during dangerous periods of peacetime. The FY-96 move of Headquarters to Fort George G. Meade brings even closer the relationship between the Group and the Agency. While the end of the Soviet Empire has changed the world, it still remains a dangerous place. The need for signals intelligence to support the fleet and the nation continued, and Commander, Naval Security Group, remains dedicated to that effort.
END
The recent disestablishment of the NAVSECGRU Command marks the end of a proud era and tradition. On March 11, 1935, OP-20-G became the Communication Security Group. That date marked the first use of the word "Group" in the title of the Naval cryptologic service and is considered the birth of the Naval Security Group. The record will show that the NAVSECGRU was on watch from March 1935 until September 2005. On 1 October, 2005, I.O.D. will begin coordination of the operations and signals intelligence missions within NETWARCOM.
These are brief descriptions of the work performed by the personnel of the former Naval Security Group (NAVSECGRU)
They were CTs (called Communications Technicians until later when the name was changed to Cryptologic Technicians) that worked on and with some of the most intricate and advanced systems that the Navy had in its posession. The operations personnel held some of the most varied, interesting, and complex job assignments the Navy had to offer. The technical ratings in the Cold War years that the personnel held were CT(A), CT(I), CT(M), CT(O), CT(R), and CT(T).
CT(A) - Administrative- These personnel carried out namy varied administrative duties including but not limited to clerical duties, security duties, classified and unclassified inventories, manpower analysis, etc.
CT(I) - Interpretive- These personnel provided the crypto-linguistic expertise to the Naval Security Group and to the organizations to which it reported. They could be found in the air, on the water, under the water, and on land.
CT(M) - Maintenance- These personnel installed, tested, and repaired the highly complex electronic systems and units that were used for data and signal collection. They could be found in the air, on the water, under the water, and on land.
CT(O) - Operative- These personnel had many duties that involved the operation of telecommunications systems. These systems included virtually every mode of communications.
CT(R) - Radiomen- These personnel collected and analyzed communications signals using all of the latest collection and analysis equipment available. The CT(R) collected data from numerous sources from manual Morse code to the latest cryptologic systems and satellite communications. They could be found in the air, on the water, under the water, and on land.
CT(T) - Technical- These personnel operated the latest ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) receivers, direction finding, digital / magnetic recording devices etc. to provide the fleet with the latest electronic analysis and technical support. They could be found in the air, on the water, under the water, and on land.