.· 

,., ~----~--~~RB-E--+B. . MEMO R ING SLiP I NE1o~%&i/::c:%.!'6:~:~· 

' llAJI& Gil "Un.a . lttmALS 

ORGANIZATION AND LOCATION DATll COORDINATION 

2 

3 

4 

REMARKS 

Tit,$ 

C0'4. 'f-a1MttJ 

I nWtl.S ol 

' .. -f-e.,.4.s f 

FROM NAME OR Tln.E 

FILE 

INFORMATION 

HECESSARY ACTION 

IKTl'E AND RETIJRN 

SEE ME 

SIGNATURE 

r•frtsew.fs a.II r"4w.aA~les-

'" AJs19 "'Y~·'J }.,.,,/ 011 

(HJ 't"+.c..,/4 r t:' OM 1Nr/ &ON 1'6C 

~ ,,,,,,~, '' Not/. ·..s-.3 

ORGANIZATION AND LOCATION TaEPHONE 

Replaces DA AGO Form895, I Apr 48,and .4.FRQ Form 12, 10 Nov 4.7. wluch ml\J' tio usod. 

on 05-14-2014 ursuant t 
FOR NSA INTERNAL USE ONLY MAR 12 3 37 PH '5~ 

COMINl' production affected by expanded use of VBF b~"------------' 

Continued expansion o'f the use of very high frequency (VHF} and ot near-

• 

VBF (27-29 mes • ) communications by 1 .... __________ .... ! wiJ.l "materialJ.y affect 

COMINT production, with the intercept facilities now available •11 

The use of VHF by other th~._ ____________ ___, ........ ____.Jwas 

f'irst detected last April. Since that elate 1 VHF commun.ications have been 

observed inl 

Eo 3.3(h)(2) 

Pt86-36/50 USC 3605 

EO 3.3(h)(2) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

Note: The comments on Viet Minh 

which appeared in the DaiJ.y Br;l.ef of 8 March were 

furth~r developed infL. ____ __.... of' 9 March (Item #=5} under the 

title New major cryptographic systems reflects increased security in 

Viet Minh communications • 

U.S. OFFICIALS ONLY 

T()P SECRET FROTII 

NSA Form 781-Cl3S 
... .. ,. 

FOR NBA INTERNAL USE ONLY 

V_i_e_t-:Miri=" :h:r:ep::=o:rt:ed=l~~~====:::::::------11. [U .s. OF.FICIAI.s ONLY] 

.reports that cod.es now useQ. by Viet Minh ...._ ____________________________________ ..... 

general staf':f" headquarters and between di vision headquarters are 

H.e states that the I ....__ .... !have .been working on these codes for 

the past two months without success and. are. beginning to believe that they 

may be unbreakable. 

According to which iii the "---------;::::::::=============--..... 

past provided the basis of' estimates O~ f o the Viet 

Minh, have substantially dried up over the past f'our months. Their in:f'ormation on this aid is now derived 

Thie· •• info'l'll'IB-tion dqes not permit 

accurate estimates of' monthly tonnages or justify/statements indicating 

substantial increases. 7

E03.3(h)(2) 

PL 86:"36/50 USC 3605 

Comment: Analysis of Viet Minh radio communications thrgugh 28 February, the date of' la.test available in:f'ormation, provides no evidence of 

a significant change in ceyptographic procedures. In addition, 

indicate 

accurate and timely exploitation of' messages from.Viet Minh headquarters 

to the divisions and between the divisions as late as 19 February. 

The resemblance between the ciphersyste"IDS enq>loyed by Viet Minh 

headquarters and thel tha.s been noted since 1951 but it 

is too general to permit definite conclusions. • The high.er degree of' security evidenced in some of the systems used by enem.y head.quarters since 

J. December may be the result of increased experience. 

The official! I indicate a steady increase 

.--------------------.....!:::::================::::::;:------_..... 11 .... _____________ ....,.... _________ ....,...__,. ____________ f during the past two years • There 

is no evidence to suggest that this trend has changed significantly. 

U.S. OFFICHU P P"'I Y Fvo~ IJ Slf. 

"J)4,l-:S -s .... Jlrl,.._ 

'i' M.1-'. .$"'{ 

':fOP SECRE':f FRO'fH 

NSA Form 781-C13S 
[ 

TOj' SE~-.:i~ "".a."" .A.J ... EimiTH: .L .&. ~ 

U.S. OFFICIALS ONLY 

FOR NSA INl'ERNAL USE Ol!RX Fm 5 3 38 PH '54 

CFUrther to Daily Brief Of' 3 February 1954) 

These deve1opments 

a.re believed to be a continuation of' the major changes introduced on these 

nets on 14 December wen reporting procedures and f'ormats es well as caJ.J.-

signs aDd. frequencies were aJ.tered. !11he over-a.J.i pattern of these changes 

rei'lect~ .... _______ ..... lprogress in comm.unica.tions security. 'l'b.ey 

wi.ll. also restrict, tem_poraril:y at least 1 a valuable scnn:ce of air 

:lntel.ligence • EO 3.3(h)(2) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

French military effort in :Indochina. criticized: T:TaSa EPP!0B:EB 6Hfl! 

The U.S. a.l"ley" attache :ln Saigon reports his a.pinion that staff' aJld 

procedures at French headquarters are of the 11 l935-l939 vintage" and 

that General. Navarl'e 's strategy and tactics approximate those of his 

defense-minded predecessor 1 General Sa.la.n. Moreover, the attache is 

convinced that Navarre has been directed by Paris to conduct a. "minimumcasualty holding action11 with a view to eventual. negotiaticm,s. He cites 

as examples of this the French commander's fa.il.ure to neutralize the outnumbered enemy in central Laos, his mistake in permitting the Viet M1nb. 

to tie up troaps and su;pply facilities at Dien Bien Phu, and the absence 

of aggressive French patrolling. 

A~cording to the atta.che, the consensus of U.S. military op1Dio.n 

-' 

in Indochina. is that the factors militating against French success are 

the l.ack of su;pport from. Paris, inadequate training, and a def'eneive 

psychoJ.ogy. He observes that "the addition of unlimited supplies of the 

latest U .s. equipment will not correct these deficiencies •11 

UBARMA, Vietnam, 3 Febr1.1B:ey- J.954. 

Comment: over the past few weeks# the attac:he has been highl.y 

Cl'itical. of French military strategy in Indochina. 

U.S. OFFICIALS ONL'f ~:;,;:. 1b, 1-:i ~~t • 

TOP SECRET FRSTII 6 Feb's-"' 

NSA Form 781-C 135 
3 5' PH '5~ 

_______ \will probably result 1n the enforcement of security measures recommended by intelligence headqual'ters e.t Rano11 according to 

a report prepared by G-2.1 SRB, or/ ______________ _ af JJ. mJd l2 January. Al.though there hes been a genereJ. tigb.tem..ttg Qf 

s~curity throughout theJ I these mess~es furtb.el" 

recommend the restriction or documents em. inf'ormat1on~tJ.ect:tng COMIN.I? 

sources to high levels of thej._ _____ ...... ~· 

\ ~I 

EO 3.3(h)(2) 

PL.86-36/50 USC 3605 

\. 

;1-..... ~ 

T()P SECRET FROTII 

NSA Form 781-ClJS 
TOP.SEC~-~@/ II 

U.S. OFFICIALS Oi·~LY 

the entrucking point south of the demil1t 

they will. be rocessed1 clothed ed,, and then sent to Inch.on f'or 

e to Formosa.. n 

ervices Communication City-1 near Tae~ong 

be n Seoul and Inchon. EO 3.3(h)(2) 

P~ ~~-36tso u~c 360/ 

As a result, a tightening of Viet Minh communications s.ecurity 

was anticipated which might produce 11extremely grave" repercussions. 

Comment: [u.s. OFFICIALS ONLY] A rece:nt report from Indochine. 

stated that the 

e.dqpted by Viet Minh un1ts 1n north Viet Nam end central. Laos at the 

end at November. [U .s • OFFICIALS ONLY] 

The l83rd batta.J.1on was last reported to have been operating in 

north Viet Nsm 1n the area. south of Lao Kay. 

U.S. OFFICIALS ONLY 

Al s /q 'D1111/ :1 'B.., rl 

19 .dar.11. 'S-1/ 

1 OP SECRET FROTiI 
.. 

NSA Form 781-C13S 

FOR NSA INrERNAL USE ONLY 

:"1"J\ -

Comment: Responsible NSA officials do not as 

above reported flights as indicative of the 

This change occurred one month prior to the date of a 

predicted probable change. The significance of' this c1Iange is that 

Fa-uthus iJ:J.Ct'~euseul?'>the security 

------------ E0:3.3(h)(2) 

ot' this cipher system. PL 86:::36/50 USC 3605 

the possibility exists that they will resume the ~&:i''4iet:t,m ,h.,...,. -• .... 1""1. 

schedule as the change va.s started 31 January 1953. The period 

of reduced readibility does, however, continue a trend which has 

EO 3.3(h)(2) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

}4:5/11 "J>a,J ~ °"Bh I.{ 

L( 'd" 4 "" , $/./ 

TOP SECREJ1 FROTII 
3.3(h)(2) 

i----r==i .... ~~~~~~..;....= ~f60!!~ ... ~~~'l l1 I 1· : 

-U.S. OFF\C~f\LS ONLY86-36/50 USC 3605 

FOR NSA INJ!ERNAL USE ONLY 3 0 J:>e~ 1

5"3 

soldiers with commando training are scheduJ.ed to J.a.unch a series of re.ids, 

to begin this weekend, against Jordan frontier villages. The commandos 

will be organized in teams of 4 to 81 a:cd will. not carry any identifying 

markings. 

Both sources bellev4 ___________________ _ 

on 21 December were the precursors to these raids. 

_______ I 28 Dec 53 

NSA Form 781-Cl3S 

EO 3.3(h)(2) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

N5 19 ])4,)':l 0~,1f 

°3• 'l>ec. 'S'~ 

lJ.S. (iFFICl!l.LS ONL¥-

TSP SECRET FR8TII 
,. 

NSA Form 781-C 135 

T() 

EO 3.3(h)(2) 

PL 86-36/50 USC 3605 

Al 619 1)4 ,/ 'j iJ .,.., ., J 

;l -J ]) ~ e . -::S-'3 

TOP SECRET FROTH