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(U//FOUO) The European Security Center to Become the 'ESOC'
FROM:
A&P's Director, Enterprise Management (S2)
Run Date: 09/11/2006
(S//SI) NSA to help build up capabilities of the intelligence center in Darmstadt, Germany...
(S//SI) Good as it is, the ESC is about to get better. On 5 July 2006, the Director, NSA
approved the "ESOC Concept" which transforms the European Security Center (ESC) into the
European Security Operations Center (ESOC). With this move, NSA will help build up the
Center's capabilities to allow it to assume even greater responsibilities within the worldwide
SIGINT Enterprise. What will change, specifically?
(U) More Missions
(S//SI) Beginning in FY07 through FY13, the ESOC will evolve by expanding or adding more
missions that will support national, theater and regional intelligence needs. ESOC's new or
expanded missions include:
additional select Counterterrorism targets,
the African Union,
Nigerian Energy Security,
targets in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya, and
complementary capabilities in SIGINT Development, Geospatial Analysis and Technical
SIGINT.
(U) Changes in Manning
(S//SI) ...But that's not the only change. To ensure manning stability and to foster true
national/tactical integration, a core of NSA civilians and multi-service Service Cryptologic
Element military personnel* will work side-by-side with the (primarily) Army tactical SIGINT
personnel who have manned the ESOC since its start-up.
(S) ESOC personnel at work
(U) Background: The ESC
(TS//SI) The European Security Center, primarily a theater SIGINT Center manned by Army
Tactical SIGINT personnel from the 105th Military Intelligence Battalion in Darmstadt, Germany,
was created over two years ago. It was the first center to use tactical resources -- augmented
by a few NSA civilians -- to work both theater information needs as well as national missions.
(TS//SI) Today, the ESC is highly successful in producing intelligence for both national
customers and the European Command. Its national mission focuses on select Counterterrorism
targets, select Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa target sets, SIGINT Development and
Geospatial Analysis missions. Its theater missions include Force Protection, Global War on
Terrorism support, Pan Sahel**, and targets in West Africa.
(TS//SI) The ESC's most recent SIGINT accomplishments include providing the majority of
reporting and target tracking on the April 2006 coup attempt in Chad; providing linguistic and
analytic support during the on-going Israeli-Lebanon crisis; and providing analytic and linguistic
support which facilitated the arrests of terrorist facilitators operating in Italy.
(S//SI) The "ESOC Concept"
(S//SI) The decision to move forward with the creation of the ESOC was founded on the site's
ability to...
contribute to the national mission,
plug into Theater all-source elements,
optimize support to Theater operations,
provide tactical over-watch (intelligence support to deployed troops), and
maximize Second and Third party partnerships.
Under DIRNSA guidance, the US Army will retain its role as Executive Agent and Cryptologic
Host for the new ESOC.
(S//SI) When fully realized, the "ESOC Concept" will be a model for future national/tactical
integration, by providing an in-theater capability to produce high-impact analysis in support of
all levels of national, tactical and Theater information needs.
(U//FOUO) POCs:
(U//FOUO) The ESOC
(U) Notes:
*(U//FOUO) The multi-service SCE military personnel are part of the Consolidated Cryptologic
Program (CPE, also known as "P3"). Army tactical SIGINT personnel are known as "P2."
**(U) The Pan Sahel Initiative (PSI) is a State Department-led effort to assist Mali, Niger, Chad,
and Mauritania in detecting and responding to suspicious movement of people and goods across
and within their borders.
"(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