NEWS AND EVENTS
David Kahn to speak at the Smithsonian (posted 8/30/10)
David Kahn the historian and journalist and author of the seminal work on cryptology, The Codebreakers, will offer a lecture at the Smithsonian's Ripley Center on Tuesday, 21 September, 6:45 to 8:45p,m., entitled "Spying For Hitler: German Military Intelligence in World War II". Dr. Kahn will examine the reasons for the colossal failure of German intelligence at key points during the war.
For details about tickets contact the Smithsonian at 202-633-3030 or see the article in the September issue of Smithsonian Associate.
AFIO Call for Papers (posted 8/29/10)
AFIO has issued a Call for Papers which is published in the AFIO Intelligencer: Journal of U.S. Intelligence Studies, spring/summer issue for 2010. The Call for Papers is part of the AFIO National Leadership Forum on Global Challenges Annual [William]Colby-[Robert] Guth Award for 2010-2011. The essay contest gives an award ($1,000) as a way of enhancing the sophistication of the American public on global challenges to national interests. The deadline for essays is June 30, 2011.
The essay topics may cover China or India and Pakistan. The 5000-word essays will be reviewed by a panel of senior intelligence and foreign policy experts. The copyright remains with the author. More than one essay may be submitted by an author.
George R. Cotter Scholarship Awarded (posted 6/15/10)
George Cotter is shown below presenting the first George R. Cotter Scholarship Award for $10,000 to Joshua Isaacson, a graduating senior at Howard High School in Ellicott City, Maryland. This scholarship supports a student who will major in Computer Engineering and Josh will enter Liberty College with this field as his major. He was in the top of his class, active in sports and many social activities, is a member of the National Honor Society and Co-President of the National Technical Honor Society. The scholarship was established by the Central Maryland Chapter of AFCEA to honor the many contributions of Mr. Cotter in the fields of computer and communications technology and computer security.
George served many years in the Central MD Chapter, AFCEA and at the AFCEA International Board level. He had a long and distinguished career in NSA, retiring last year. In 2007, he was elected into the National Academy of Engineering in, a unique recognition for an agency employee. His citation read: For leadership in the research and development of high-end computing and communications for national security.
Bletchley Park Archives to be put on-line (posted 6/9/10)
On 05 June 2010 the Bletchley Park [BP] Trust, housed in the mansion pictured below, announced that, thanks to help from electronics giant Hewlett-Packard [HP], literally millions of documents that comprise that famous codebreaking center’s World War Two archives will be put online for unlimited access by historians, researchers, and, in fact, anyone with a computer. Currently, while the material comprising the archives is in theory available by special arrangement, individual items are difficult to find among the many hundreds of storage boxes. The material is poorly indexed and simply stored in a secure vault where it has lain since the end of the conflict and the dispersal of the thousands of staff who occupied the BP site at the war’s end.
This massive project, which is expected to take several years to complete, has been enabled by the donation of a number of specialized digital scanners by HP – the estimated value of which is in excess of ten thousand pounds [US$17,000]. The equipment will be operated by a veritable army of volunteers who will receive specialized training, at no charge, in the use of the state-of-the-art equipment by specialists from HP.
The information that is expected to be digitized and made available online will include communication transcripts like the Enigma message pictured below, memoranda, photographs, maps and the broad spectrum of the intelligence miscellany that one might expect to have been culled in what came to be, at the time, the greatest and most significant gathering of SIGINT since such eavesdropping began.
Raw, undecripted Enigma Message
A few skeletons may be rattled by the research to be enabled by this work: how truly neutral were such countries as Switzerland and Sweden: what kind of dealings went on between Spain and the Axis countries? The archived material will show just how much insight and advance warning of enemy operations was culled from the electronic bonanza. The current Director of the BP Trust, Simon Greenish, is quoted as saying, “…[we] almost knew what the Germans were having for breakfast”. Further insight is also expected into the operations of such famous ‘double agents’ as Garbo and Zigzag.
Press announcements were widespread in the UK and include the following URLs, which are recommended for further viewing.
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article7144376.ece
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/10239623.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/feedarticle/9112720
http://www.independent.co.uk/video/show/?play=/News/Secret_code_archives_go_online
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/uk-ireland/bletchley-park-files-to-go-online-14831287.html
Summary report by NCMF-UK liaison – David H. Hamer
Milt Zaslow Award for Cryptology
The National Cryptologic Museum Foundation has established the Milt Zaslow Award for Cryptology for Maryland History Day with the Maryland Humanities Council (MDHC), sponsor of Maryland History Day. This is an annual statewide contest which involves over 450 students, 85 judges plus parents and teachers. The winners go on to represent Maryland at the National History Day contest in June.
The MDHC is a private, educational, nonprofit organization organized to stimulate and promote informed dialogue and civic engagement on issues critical to Marylanders. There are categories for Junior and Senior school participants. Judges have guidelines for a variety of subjects, and the Milt Zaslow Award for Cryptology will, of course, focus on cryptologic topics.
In 2008, student winners for cryptology shared the $500 award for projects on the Navajo Codetalkers in the Junior category and on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in the Senior category. During Milt's tenure as the Recognitions Chairman, he took great
interest in the program and on several occasions served as a contest judge for cryptology.
The ten-year grant was made possible by the generosity of the Foundation's general membership and the family of Mr. Zaslow who contributed to the Foundation's In Memoriam Program to commemorate Mr. Zaslow's many contributions to the field of cryptology. The Foundation decided that the most fitting memorial of all would be to establish a monetary award, the Milt Zaslow Award, to be presented to the winners in each of the junior and senior divisions of the Maryland History Day competition for the best submissions related to cryptology.
This year on April 24th the Maryland History Day Award Ceremony was held at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retriever Activities Center where over 500 guests, including students, parents and teachers, filled the auditorium to capacity. The Maryland Humanities Council (MHC) sponsors the event, and featured speakers included Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, Senator Mike Miller and Dr. Nancy Grosmick, Maryland State Superintendent of Schools & Senator Nathaniel McFadden.
Gene Becker and John Garcia Foundation President and Chair of the Public Relations Committee respectively, presented the Milt Zaslow Award to the winners who were:
Junior Division: Vishnu Rachakonda from Kenmoor Middle School, Price Georges County
Senior Division: Jordan Shusterman and Rollin Tschirgi from School Of Tomorrow, Montgomery County
We wish to acknowledge Ms. Barbara Hill, Chairwoman of the Maryland Humanities Council Board and Ms. Judy Dobbs Program Manager of the Maryland Humanities Council, for their dedication to education in general in the State of Maryland and for facilitating the Foundation’s participation in Maryland History Day in particular.
Foundation member Tom Collins Honored
Foundation member Tom Collins, who served during WW2 with the US Army’s 6813th SSD at Bletchley Park (BP) has been awarded the newly announced BP Commemorative Medal issued by the UK government (pictured below). Tom is retired and lives in East Hampton, NY.
The BP commemorative medals pay tribute to the work done by the WWII codebeakers at Bletchley Park who cracked the Enigma code used by Naxi Germany's military. A total of 1,000 medals have been sent to remaining veterans out of the 10,000-strong team that helped crack the codes used by the German, Japanese and Italian military. The WWII Codebreakers are heroes of the British people that helped bring to an end a terrible war and a National Memorial in their honor will be established in the future.
NSA – NCMF MOU
An MOU was signed by the Deputy Director NSA and the NCMF Chairman of the Board which reaffirms the longstanding commitment of both NSA/CSS and the NCMF to work in partnership toward achieving a highly successful Museum. The purpose of the MOU is to strengthen this relationship as well as to clarify the responsibilities, expectations, and obligations assumed by both parties in their support of the Museum.
The full text of the MOU is only available to Members of the NCMF. To access the document, log into Members Only, click on Member News and scroll down to the News Archives where you will find the MOU entry. An alternative is to log into Members Only, click on Member News, scroll down to the Archives and enter MOU in the search box.
Members Only News
The NCMF members news is only available to Members of the NCMF. Currently available are excerpts from past Board of Directors and Executive Committee meetings as well as the full text of the recently signed MOU between NSA and the NCMF and the call for nominees for the 2010 Hall of Honor.
To access current and historical news, log into Members Only, click on Member News and scroll down to the News Archives where you will see all news items that are available. An alternative is to log into Members Only, scroll down to the Archives and do a search on the subject you are interested in.
