The Security Agencies of the United States by Tom Streissguth

Author:Tom Streissguth [Streissguth, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4645-1077-9
Publisher: Enslow Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2013-03-11T04:00:00+00:00

On the NSA Campus

The NSA headquarters at Fort Meade is a city in itself—“Crypto City,” as employees call it. There are 50 buildings in Crypto City, 325 acres of land, and 17,000 parking spaces. About forty thousand people work there—more than all the employees of the CIA and FBI combined.

All of the NSA’s operations are top secret and off-limits to the public. The NSA protects its campus with barbed-wire fences, guardhouses, a large police force, and bomb-sniffing dogs. There is only one road leading to NSA headquarters. It is carefully guarded against any trespass by outsiders.

Within Crypto City, employees have manyconveniences available to them. There are grocerystores, drugstores, fitness centers, day-care centers,softball fields, and movie theaters. There are hundreds of social clubs for those interested in music,theater, video games, yachting, travel, or Bible study.3

To prevent anyone from spying on the NSA, the buildings are protected with layers of copper sheets. The copper prevents electronic signals from escaping the buildings where computers and communications equipment are working.

Each employee wears a plastic badge around his or her neck. The badge must be on display at all times. The badge carries a photograph of the employee. The color, design, and letters on the badge show the employee’s security clearance.

Armed guards check the badges of everyone as they pass through security checkpoints. Visitors wear a badge with a large black “V” and must always walk with someone with an “E”—meaning “escort”—badge.

A blue badge means the employee has won top secret clearance. He or she can read very sensitive reports and deal with top secret intercept systems. But to win a blue badge, an NSA employee must pass a series of tough examinations. There is a background check, a polygraph (lie-detector) test, and a detailed briefing. At any time, the privilege of wearing a blue badge can be taken away.

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