An intelligence analysis intern deployed to Afghanistan for 90 days working as a geospatial metadata analyst at Bagram Airfield.

The Joint Warfare Analysis Center, subordinate to the Joint Forces Command, provides analytical solutions, technical analysis, and precision targeting. It maintains extensive libraries of airborne imagery.

The CIA has three main directorates: the Directorate of Intelligence, the Directorate of Operations, and the Directorate of Science & Technology. These subsections overlap with work that the NSA/SID does while differing in some key respects, leading both to productive collaborations and "turf wars."

The author summarizes Vice Adm. Jake Jacoby's plan for changes coming to the Defense Intelligence Agency. To address specific concerns, the plan groups intelligence efforts in three categories: master, measure, and monitor. The DIA is beginning with a "thorough review of the IC's collective knowledge on North Korean nuclear development."

SID leadership met to create a new strategic plan for governance of the SIGINT system.

In a David Letterman-style Top 10 list, the U.S. Coast Guard's signals intelligence mission requirements are counted down.

The Customer Relationships Directorate announced its new mission and vision statements at a town meeting.

(Repost) Raul describes, for the benefit of Digital Network Intelligence analysts who run into weird jumbles of characters such as "D", how HTML special characters work.

The SID Reporting Board is an advocate for best practices in the process of SIGINT reporting and issues that affect reporters, including the transition from manual to computerized reporting tools.

The National Virtual Translation Center, created in 2003, is a clearinghouse for intelligence community interagency use of translators from government, military, academia, and the private sector. SID has a policy on how it will interact with the center.

The mission of Bad Aibling Station in Bavaria ended in April 2004, and there will be no trace left of NSA there by the end of September. In memory of the station, the author writes a list, with explanations, that that veterans of the station will understand. It’s titled "You know you are a BA veteran if..."

A senior leader in Data Acquisition describes the highlights of his 32-year NSA career. The biggest change has been the current diversity of the workforce; the most memorable event was the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Announcement of a seminar about the status and potential future capabilities of China's missile force.

The technical support system for "SKYWRITER/HIGHTIDE and SIGINT On Demand" just went through an organizational change. The author explains how the change has affected users and gives tips for getting questions answered quicker.

A SID intern on assignment to the FBI explains how education and infrastructure challenges affect collaboration between NSA and FBI.

NSA employees have donated $1 million to the Combined Federal Campaign, the federal government's workplace charity campaign, but NSA's goal is $1.6 million.

Raul describes to Digital Network Intelligence analysts how to deal with damaged data. First, he recommends trying to understand how the intercepted data was damaged and fix the problem so it doesn't happen in the future. ("Remember, damage doesn't just happen, something causes it and it is definitely much better to prevent it than to try and fix it.") Then he goes through various techniques to discover where problems in damaged files are and how to attempt to repair them.

SID staffers are encouraged to contribute to charity via the Combined Federal Campaign.

A seminar will address several key issues facing Saudi Arabia: potential instability in the royal family, internal security threats, and domestic policy questions.

This is a letter from a reader, who is a liaison working in the London office, providing feedback about the previous "SIGINT via Tablet PC" article. He's excited about being able to present SIGINT on tablet PCs because "we will be able to better represent NSA as a technologically advanced Agency."

The monthly column on writing and editing attacks unnecessary adverbs and adjectives. Also, there is a SIGINT Journalism Workshop offered at NSA.

(Repost) The Reagan White House likely leaked a SIGINT report to the Washington Post about the Sandinistas purchasing a helicopter in an effort to convince Congress to fund the Contras, according to an NSA senior intelligence authority.

Plans for the Denver Security Operations Center are solidifying with the transfer of four SIGINT missions to Denver and the appointment of a director. Plans are still underway for the center's infrastructure and the development of its workforce.

Announcing a top-secret presentation by a speaker from the Network Analysis Center. Analysts at the Advanced Network Development and Analysis Division within the center were "working to develop quicker and more efficient ways of 'hunting versus fishing' through network metadata," and this presentation "will provide an overview of the vision and philosophy behind the working prototype as well as a live demo."

The Customer Relations Directorate and the Customer Gateway hosted a Second Party Customer Relations Conference, where the Five Eyes partners worked on collaboration, information exchange, networking, and future planning.

An introduction to information sharing: "the need to get every type of valuable information -- from whatever source -- to those who can use it."

Previously, SIGINT-On-Demand was the name of both a tool used to produce reports and the reports themselves. Now, the Reporting Board has changed the tool's name to the Content Preparation Environment.

The director of the National Virtual Translation Center describes the work of the new agency and opportunities for retired and current NSA linguists to make some extra money there, virtually. The FBI is the center's executive agent and conducts background investigations of the employees.

Training for Adversarial Denial and Deception Awareness is mandatory. There is an upcoming session.

The National Tactical Integration Office has begun experimenting with an airship for potential use in SIGINT collection.