DYNAMIC PAGE -- HIGHEST POSSIBLE CLASSIFICATION IS
TOP SECRET // SI / TK // REL TO USA AUS CAN GBR NZL
(C) Letter to the Editor : Impressed by Resourcefulness of German
Collectors
FROM: the editor
Unknown
Run Date: 03/09/2006
(S//SI) Here's a reader's comment on the recent article "The End of Germany's Prime SatelliteTelemetry Collection Site" :
Comment:
(U//FOUO) "Their dedication to mission and hard work ..."
(S//SI) ... and remarkable resourcefulness! I visited PACKHOUSE in the early '90s with fellow
W&S [Weapons and Space] colleagues to examine their operations and to see what we could do
to help achieve our common goals. As the W&S team's electronic engineer, I spent most of my
time with other BND engineers and technicians discussing system architecture, components,
operations, and maintenance. Their equipment was ancient, even by early '90s standards, and
they were having trouble just keeping everything running -- but they did. They even used
modern (at the time) programmable parts to emulate old small-scale integrated circuits and
then designed special daughterboards so they could install them in the original equipment.
(C) They had a great attitude about their work, which they took very seriously. I did get them to
laugh when they asked me if I could help them fix a piece of equipment that they pointed to. I
knew it was an outdated printer (huge, console-like, and at one time high-performance), but I
kept a straight face and told them that I didn't know anything about automatic dishwashers.
After a brief pause and a flurry of German between them, they broke out in laughter and invited
some of their BND colleagues over to see if they could help fix their "automatic dishwasher."
(C) Without my help, they eventually were able to restore their "high-performance" printing
services.
--
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
DYNAMIC PAGE -- HIGHEST POSSIBLE CLASSIFICATION IS
TOP SECRET // SI / TK // REL TO USA AUS CAN GBR NZL
DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108