HAROLD LOBAUGH

The US Army Security Agency (ASA) was established in 1945 as the Army’s primary signals intelligence and electronic warfare organization, inheriting its mission from the World War II-era Signal Intelligence Service. Throughout the Cold War, the ASA played a crucial role in intercepting and analyzing enemy communications, particularly against the Soviet Union and its allies. ASA personnel served worldwide, including significant deployments during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, often operating in highly secretive and hazardous conditions. In 1977, the ASA was disbanded and its functions were merged into the newly formed US Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM), marking the end of the agency as a separate entity.