Silent Warriors: The Naval Security Group Reserve, 1945-2005

“Silent Warriors: The Naval Security Group Reserve, 1945-2005, recounts a unique and untold story, that of Naval Reserve (NR) cryptologists — the professional term for codebreakers and codemakers. This has always been a small and select community, one little known to outsiders, and even less understood. Cryptologists have long constituted the most secretive fraternity in America’s armed forces, and Naval Reservists permitted to enter the cryptologic ranks set sail on a journey that placed them apart from the rest of the Naval Reserve, and far apart from their civilian lives. For six decades, through the Cold War and into the age of terrorism, Naval Reserve cryptologists have stood the watch for the Navy and the nation. Yet the highly secretive nature of their work has rendered their service in defense of freedom almost unknown to the public. This volume aims to fill this knowledge gap by telling their story. The Naval Security Group Reserve is an exclusive club with tight lips, and few of its exploits are discussed openly. This work cannot tell the full story — that will have to wait decades until archives are opened and top secret operations are declassified — yet it strives to illuminate what it can, and render an account of Naval Reserve cryptology and its sailors that will be accurate and accessible to all who served in silence. A great many Naval Reserve shipmates helped with the production of this work, and without the contributions of Naval Security Group Reserve personnel, past and present, this volume would not have been possible.