American Cryptology during the Cold War - The Black Vault

chaos. There were 1,100 trainees jammed into the same spaces, still with a staff of 6.
Canine was aware of the problem, and AFSA went to work to improve the situation. In
April of1951 the school was moved to larger quarters at 1436 U Street, N.W., designated
Tempo R. In June 1954 the school moved to another World War II building - Tempo X­
located on the north side of East Capitol Street, in the area that is now part of the RFK
Stadium parking lot. When, in the mid-1950s, NSA moved to Fort Meade, the training
school moved to a former hospital a couple ofmiles from the main NSA complex.
Canine later separated training from the Office of Personnel and elevated it to the
level of Office of Training. Its chief was named commandant of the NSA School. Canine
was also a proponent ofmanagement training, which was begun in 1952, and he placed the
first NSA students inservice war colleges in 1953.
AFSA also began paying more attention to formal classroom instruction. Instead of
the "sit in the corner and read a book" approach, it began offering a selection of classroom
traffic analysis, cryptanalysis, mathematics, language, and technical training. By 1952
the school was offering training (at some level, at least) in eighteen different languages.
Secretaries got instruction in clerical and stenographic skills, and there was a four-week
teletype operators course for those assigned to communications. There was also a oneweek
indoctrination course for all new hires, with follow-on instruction for certain
specialties. 27 By mid-1952 AFSA was also offering three levels of management trainingjunior
(presupervisory), supervisor, and executive. Classes were very small, but at least a
rudimentary program existed.
NSA also began using education as inducement. Begun under AFSA, the College
Contract Program began with a contract with George Washington University and
amounted to NSA payment of tuition to qualifiers. Classes were held at Arlington Hall,
Nebraska Avenue in the District, and at Thomas Jefferson Junior High School in Virginia.
There was also a program for graduate students and, for a select few, a fellowship program
which offered full-time study away from NSA.
NSA's role in broader cryptologic training within the services was less certain. Both
AFSA and NSA enjoyed a theoretical technical control of cryptologic standards, which
included training, but AFSA never exercised its review function. An early AFSA proposal
to create a consolidated cryptologic training school was scuttled by Brigadier General Roy
Lynn, an AFSA deputy director, who was concerned about retaining USAF Security
Service independence.
After 1952, things began to change as NSA became active in reviewing SCA
cryptologic courses. The Agency was especially active in providing technical assistance for
language training and at one time took responsibility for all language training beyond the
basic level. It did not, however, try to take on COMSEC training, preferring to leave that to
theSCAs.
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