USASA Field Station Augsburg
Encyclopedia
United States Army Security Agency
The United States Army Security Agency was the United States Army's signal intelligence branch. Its motto was "Vigilant Always." The Agency existed between 1945 and 1976 and was the successor to Army signal intelligence operations dating back to World War I...
Field Station Augsburg was the site of a Wullenweber
Wullenweber
The Wullenweber is a type of Circularly Disposed Antenna Array sometimes referred to as a Circularly Disposed Dipole Array . It is a large circular antenna array used for radio direction finding...
AN/FLR-9 radio direction finder, established during the Cold War. Field Station Augsburg was located on Gablingen Kaserne, near the village of Gablingen just north of Augsburg in Bavaria, West Germany. It was one of the nearly 20 Field Stations positioned strategically around the world by U.S. Armed Forces during the Cold War. Field Station Augsburg opened in 1971 and closed in 1993. It was owned and managed by the National Security Agency and manned by ASA/INSCOM, in conjunction with other branches of the U.S. Military and various Allied Forces. Field Station Augsburg veterans were composed of highly motivated, highly intelligent individuals who were top achievers on Army intelligence tests, and then proved themselves through rigorous academic and “hands on” training. They worked around the clock at Field Station Augsburg to ensure the safety and security of the U.S. Their task was to monitor and interpret military communications of Cold War enemy nations, their allies, and client states around the world. The information gathered was time-sensitive and based on its importance and classification, that information was collected, analyzed and passed through intelligence channels within minutes to hours of intercept.
Veterans of the 1st OPS, 2nd OPS, 3rd OPS (Operations Battalions) and their successor MI units at Field Station Augsburg served as Morse Code (05H), Teletype (05K), Voice (98G) Intercept and Radio Direction Finding Operators (05D) as well as Traffic Analysts (98C) and Cryptanalysis/Cryptanalytic Technician (98B). Many of these veterans had long careers and they were also stationed at other locations around the globe, prior to or after their service at Field Station Augsburg.
There are several FACEBOOK groups devoted to different OPS battalions as well as Yahoo webgroups. The Yahoo webgroups "Augsburg2ndOPS" and "FSA76" were started as a way to share stories, photos, keep in touch, and find old friends. These groups are for those veterans who were stationed with the 2ND OPNS BN in the mid-70's thru early 80's and 3RD OPNS BN from 1975-1977. The sites include pictures of or links to over 7000 photos of people, Augsburg bases, Bavaria, Europe, and other ASA and NSA stations. Over 66,000 messages have been exchanged between the 1000+ veterans who have reconnected since the groups were started in February 2005. Both groups hold annual reunions.