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Briefing Sheet tor the Cha1l'm.an1 Joint Chieta or Sta.ff. 

Joint Chiefa of' Staff Meeting ---------· 

Agenda Item lo. __ _ JCS 2010L1 __ _ 

SUBJECT 1 Report b,T Al SAC to the JCS on the Di viii ion of Responsibility for C1"7ptologic 

Operations. 

l. Divergenciea havin~ arisen between AYSA and the three Services aa to the 

eigniricance ot portions of JCS 2010 and JCS 2010/61 dealinl with the eatabliahJ!lent 

and o~ganisation of the Armed Forces Security Agenc7, I endeavored to reconcile the 

d.11'terencea, with the aid and advice or Af 5.A.C, the result being to bring only the 

lav7 over to AFSA'• point or view, but not the Air Force nor the Army. Thus AFSAC 

is foraed to submit a epl1t :report on the situation, for reaolution b;y the JCS. The 

report sets forth divergencies in interpretation or the two rerer~nced documents. The 

enclosure to the report set.• tol'th chan~e• that are recom:1 ended by AFSA and the Ba.vy, 

on one hand, and by tho Air Force and the A.rrllr1 on the other hend. The purpose or the 

recommended changes is to cla.rif7 theae document• eo a• to make their baeio intent Qore 

obvious. 

2 a. The basic intent in the formation of AtSA waa to eetablieh a single Armed 

rorcea cryptologic center which, b;r eonsolidl'ltion of rac111tieo and personnel undor 

a •ingle heiid, wou.ld not onJ.r be conducive to maximum e.fficiency and econom,y in 

COUIBl' activities or the Armed Forces, but would also avoid tho pitfalls or divided 

reaponaibilit7, thus conforming to one of the principal recom~endations of the Joint 

Congressional Committee on the Investi~ation oC the Attack on Po~rl Harbor. Evidence 

that t~i• .II.I the intent is found in the fact that the complete COllI:NT proceaaing 

planta, racilitiee, and personnel or the Ar.sy at Arlin:ton Hall Station and of the lavy 

at the laTal ComDlunicationa Station were turned over to AF"SA for unified operation un~er S¥ direction. 

b. The foregoing un1tic9tion waa th• reault or the adoption b.T the Secretar.r 

ot Detense or the proposal made by the Arr17 in the Report of the Co~mittee on the 

Creation of a Unified Armed Force& Security Agency. The principal ariiumenta advanced 

by the Art117 were summarized in the funda~ental conclusion reached by the Army aa set 

forth in Par. II ot ita proposal, ae !ollow•a 

•the Department of Army members held that the moat efficient direction and 

aaxilllum exploitation require that the reaponaib111ty for all coamunicat1ona 

intelligence taska other than the pertormance or intercept and decentralized 

tield proceaaing be fixed within a •i:ogle organization.• 

3. Adoption or the Ai'SA-IA'IY recomrnendationa will consolidate and un1f'7 under 

one or1&n1zation, viz., A.FSA all COMINT proc•eeing, except intercept and decentralize~, 

aobile, field processing. Adoption ot the AIR fORCE-AfiMY recom endations will perait 

each of the le:rvicea to establish large COMI?lr proceaeing centera not onl.T within 

the U.S. but alao in theater• of operations. 

4. It the current)3-h•ld vi••• or the Air Force and the Army are round b7 

the Joint Chief• ot Staff to be ot eutticient merit to warrant the adoption ot the 

change• in JCS 2010 and JCS 2010/6 recommended b7 those two Services, the consequences 

are cleara the •ituo.tion will inevitab~ ten1inate in the u. s. having four competin& 

c1'7Ptolo11c oraanizationa none or which will be completely effective. That is tho 

very 1ituation which it wss intended to avoid b;r creating .A.FSA, and which, a• 

demonstrated by a parallel one 1n the former ~erman Government, will be an iaport~nt 

!actor in determin1118 whether in a .t'uture war the U. s. will be viotorioua or go 

down in defeat. Rather than accept •uoh a r1Bk it would appear better to dissolve 

AfSA and return to the original eituation Ln which there were three Service CJ'1Ptolog1c 

or&&nizationa, with aome mechanie• tor thetr coordination. The original •s'f'1' proposal, 

•• contained in the Report rererred to ln Par. 2b above and which advocated the 

retention of the then current arran&•ment with a •tronzer coordinatini mechaniara, 

would be a tar batter solution of the prohlem. 

5. RJ'.COifNEHDA'l'IOJh 

Approval ot AFSA•NAVI v1ewa as outlined in AFSAC n.port JCS 2010/7. 

Declassified and approved for release by NSA on 01-03-2014 pursuantto E.O. 1352a 

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