Click here for the document
(Acrobat format | 155 pages | 8.8 megs)

Due to the size of this file, it is highly recommended that you first save it to your hard drive, then open it from there.
Right-click to save the file to your hard drive
Mac users: Control-click to save

>>> The Acrobat file above is the first public presentation of "The Origins of the National Security Agency, 1940-1952" by Thomas L. Burns.

Published in-house by the NSA's Center for Cryptologic History in 1990, it was originally classified as Top Secret. On 08 Sept 2004, it was declassified - minus certain passages - thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request.

From the foreword:

It is a masterfully researched and documented account of the evolution of a national SIGINT [signal intelligence] effort following World War II, beginning with the fragile trends toward unification of the military services as they sought to cope with a greatly changed environment following the war, and continuing through the unsatisfactory experience under the Armed Forces Security Agency. ...

Mr. Burns has identified most of the major themes which have contributed to the development of the institutions which characterize our profession: the struggle between centralized and decentralized control of SIGINT, interservice and interagency rivalries, budget problems, tactical versus national strategic requirements, the difficulties of mechanization of processes, and the rise of a strong bureaucracy. These factors, which we recognize as still powerful and in large measure still shaping operational and institutional development, are the same ones that brought about the birth of the NSA.

From the introduction:

This study traces the evolution of the military structures from the early 1930s to the establishment of a unique agency to deal with COMINT [communications intelligence] - the National Security Agency - in 1952.

Technical Notes: The cover of the report notes that it was released on 8 Sept 2004 due to FOIA request #3060. A paper copy was supplied to The Memory Hole by the NSA on 8 Sept 2004 under FOIA request #44315, filed by Russ Kick. (You can use this information to file a request for a paper copy directly from the NSA.)

front page | index + search
about | contact | blog | donate