ABSTRACT
It was around three o’clock in the afternoon in the hot Texas summer of 1975 that Bill sat at a desk on Medina AFB lling out the paperwork that would complete his out-processing from the Army Security Agency (ASA), military branch of the National Security Agency (NSA) (ASA was later rolled into the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command [INSCOM]). Bill had signed up for 4 years of military service during the Vietnam War period in 1972, but in late 1974 the Army had given him and others in his unit the opportunity to take a year drop, which he took advantage of, allowing him to serve only 3 years instead of 4. George, the senior NSA representative out of Fort Meade in Maryland, came strolling down the hallway. “Hey Bill, I hear you’re leaving the ASA for college. Is that right?” Bill told him that this was indeed the case. “Would you mind putting your paperwork aside for the time being and follow me? I’d like to have a word with you.” When a senior NSA staer asks to have a few words with you, it isn’t really a request-it’s just a polite way of saying, “Come with me.” So Bill handed the incomplete paperwork back to the secretary who took care of such things and told her he would be back to nish it a little bit later. She smiled and led it away. Bill followed George into a conference room and was somewhat surprised to see three other gentlemen already seated in the room. ey rose and introduced themselves. John introduced himself as being from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Paul from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Ringo from Army Intel. is was Bill’s rst clue
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that George’s real name was most likely not George. e conference room door was closed, and Bill was apprised of the classication level of this meeting. He was then asked again if he planned to leave the military at this time and take up college life. He said that was the case and that today was indeed his last day as an Army soldier in the ASA. e four of them spoke in whispers for a minute and then asked if he would mind reviewing for them his rst assignment in China (Shenyang Military Region). is request came as quite a surprise since this was a highly classied and relatively unknown escapade, but considering his audience, he answered in the armative and began recounting his rst military venture working for the intelligence community (IC) during the Vietnam War.
