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(C) 'Fun Travel' to a Top Secret Awards Ceremony
FROM:
Treasurer of the Crypto-Linguistic Association and S2C53 Analyst
Run Date: 12/01/2005
(U//FOUO) As noted in yesterday's article , NSAers were fêted for their successes in countering
denial and deception. Here's one award winner's experience...
(U//FOUO) You may have wondered what that large group of jovial, well-heeled, freshly
groomed, NSA'ers in suits were doing by the flagpole on Wednesday, 26 October. About 44 of us
were boarding a bus headed for the George Bush Center for Intelligence, otherwise known as
CIA headquarters at Langley, for the Intelligence Community awards ceremony for countering
denial and deception.
(C) Actually, we parked at a church two miles from CIA, to have our identities checked and to
board canine-unit-cleared buses with cover names such as "Capitol Tours" and "Fun Travel" for
the final stretch. Family and friends were not welcome, and the ceremony itself was classified
Top Secret. The ceremony, which lasted an hour, was followed by an elaborate reception with
hot hors d'oeuvres and a huge cake in the CIA Awards and Events Suite.
(U//FOUO) All intelligence community agencies and units were represented, and a significant
number of the teams and individuals who received recognition were from NSA, although now it's
hard to give precise numbers, since we had to drop the programs in burn bags on the way out.
Many of the projects were among the most sensitive in the Intelligence Community, dealing with
and overcoming challenging access and collection issues. The sheer ingenuity and boldness of
many of the projects was impressive, to say the least (which is the most I can say, sorry, or I'd
have to kill you).
(U//FOUO) The awardees each received a certificate as well as a golden challenge coin, which
has "Foreign Denial and Deception Committee (FDDC)" on one side, and "Intelligence
Community, Director of Central Intelligence (DCI)" on the other. Given that the DCI has now
been superseded by the new Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), perhaps this
was an example of denial and deception, lest the coins fall into the wrong hands. Alternatively,
the coins might be leftovers from last year. Many of us noted with irony that that they were
probably made in China. But we're proud to have them, and to have been part of the effort to
keep this country safe and secure.
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108