16 October 2008 

The Shadow Factory: 
The Ultra-Secret NSA fro 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America, James Bamford, 2008. p. 1: 

In northern Georgia near the South Carolina border, a few miles from Leburda's Grits N' Gravy and the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, one of the most secret facilities in the world is undergoing a major expansion. When completed, it will likely be the largest eavesdropping facility every created, employing more than four thousand civilian and military "voice interceptors" and other specialists. Run by the ultra-secret National Security Agency, it is where the agency eavesdrops on the Middle East and Northern Africa, thousands of miles away. Inside, behind barbed-wire fences, heavily armed guards, and cipher-locked doors, earphone-clad men and women secretly listen in as al-Qaeda members chat on cell phones along the Afghan border, and to insurgents planning attacks in Iraq. The also target and record American citizens in that region, including businesspeople, journalists, and Red Cross workers, as they engage in intimate conversations with their spouses back home and discuss confidential matters and business deals. "A lot of the time you could tell they were calling their families," said one of the NSA intercept operators who listened in on Americans, "incredibly initimate, personal conversations . . . Basically all rules were thrown out the window, and they would use any excuse to justify a waiver to spy on Americans." 

Related Links:

Inside Operation Highlander: the NSA's Wiretapping of Americans Abroad

By Kim Zetter, October 10, 2008
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/10/kinne.html

Out of thin air: Huge new NSA facility suddenly appears on Fort Gordon’s radar

By Corey Pein, December 14, 2006 
http://augustans.blogspot.com/2006/12/out-of-thin-air.html

From: Corey Pein <cpein[at]wweek.com>
Subject: Re: Fort Gordon NSA
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:02:11 -0700
To: John Young <jya[at]pipeline.com> 

I think the leakers are telling the truth, but no one was listening until now. Jibes with the word  around Fort Gordon. As for the location of the new facility, I just spent 15 minutes on Google  Maps, trying to retrace the steps I took getting to the public "groundbreaking." 

In any event, I believe there are roads on base that are not visible on the map. You might have  someone skilled at such things analyze whether the satellite shots of the woods around here  have been manipulated. 

http://maps.google.com/maps

On Oct 10, 2008, at 2:05 PM, John Young wrote: 

What is your take on Bamford's account of the two NSA leakers at Fort Gordon? Did you  get any feelers from such folks? As you probably read the NY Times reports today that one  of them has been telling her story for a while. 

I cannot locate the site of the new NSA facility on aerial photos which should show either  construction or the finished structure. Do you know where it is located? 

Some say it is underground like that at Kunia, HI. If so, then the rendering you published  might have been disinfo.

Sunday, October 21, 2007 

At the corner of 16th Street and Lane Avenue on Fort Gordon, workers are ready to construct a gigantic intelligence-gathering center for the National Security Agency. At $340 million, the National Security Agency/Central Security Service Georgia facility is surpassed in scope and cost by only one other federal project - the $5 billion mixed oxide fuel project under construction at Savannah River Site where plutonium from nuclear warheads will become fuel for power generation. 

Outside of a few public announcements and a groundbreaking ceremony, the NSA building - where civilian and military personnel will monitor communications in Europe and the Middle East - could be considered as much a secret as the missions that will be conducted inside it. "It's been a very low-key announcement, simply because it is a NSA facility," said Walter Sprouse, the executive director for the Development Authority of Richmond County. 

What isn't secret is the role the new jobs will play in improving the economy. The Department of Defense speculated in construction documents that there could be as many as 3,000 military personnel assigned to the 500,000-square-foot building, commonly referred to as "NSA Georgia" or "NSAG," by 2010. The government will phase it into use over two years. In 2012, there are expected to be 4,000 people working there, said Thom Tuckey, the executive director of the CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon. There are about 2,400 people there now, up from 1,200 in 1992. 

"Specific numbers of people to occupy the new NSAG facility have not yet been finalized," spokeswoman Marti Mercer said. "Some employees will be transferred to NSAG from various locations throughout the NSA enterprise, while other personnel will be hired in Georgia or specifically for jobs in Georgia." With the ripple effect of those jobs, 4,000 employees at NSA Georgia will support the existence of 14,000 other jobs in the region. A lot of those jobs already exist in banks, restaurants, stores and municipal services. Mr. Sprouse is using a 3.5-to-1 jobs ratio, down from the rule of thumb of 5-to-1, because these are government jobs on government land, which come with a level of self-sufficiency not in the private sector. "Sometimes a lot of people don't understand that multiplier effect because you don't see it," he said. 

That's because the jobs add up here and there. "What you'll probably see is some small business growth because of the activity there," said Zack Daffin, the executive director of the Development Authority of Columbia County. "Clearly we will see more cash into the economic system." With Grovetown and Harlem being so close to the base, it is only natural to assume that the newcomers will affect the residential market, Mr. Daffin said. 

Mr. Tuckey said analysts are relocating now to Augusta from Washington, D.C., getting much more house for their money. "They're hiring a hundred civilians a year for the next five years. That's the number I've been given," Mr. Tuckey said. "They're primarily seeking people with strong math and analytical backgrounds. They're hiring them to be intelligence analysts ... people who can turn raw data into intelligence." The mix would be three military members to one civilian. 

The focus of NSA Georgia will be Europe and the Middle East. Mr. Tuckey said other NSA facilities also are being built. One in San Antonio will focus on Central and South America, and the one in Hawaii is for Asia, if cost overruns don't kill the project, he said. 

For the time being, the national security operations at Fort Gordon will continue to be done in five buildings spread throughout the grounds - an arrangement that's prompting the need for a new facility. NSA Georgia occupies 220,000 square feet, which is inadequate, according to Defense Department documents. Mr. Tuckey said modular trailers also are being used so the existing intelligence force can expand while waiting for the new building. 

Chantilly, Va.-based Hensel Phelps Construction Co. won the contract to build the center, and it has already held meetings to get local subcontractors. Construction is supposed to be finished by August 2010. The primary facility is expected to cost $243 million. Supporting facilities will cost $64 million. The rest of the project cost is in modular facilities and moving the Battle Lab. What isn't in the Department of Defense documents is the equipment. Mr. Tuckey said the cost of NSA Georgia could be closer to $1 billion once it is fully outfitted. 

The new $5.7 million headquarters for the Battle Command Battle Lab is done, according to Fort Gordon officials, allowing for the demolition of the old battle lab since it sits on the NSA Georgia construction site. Fort Gordon officials aren't talking about the construction progress or the number of construction jobs that are being created there for the next three years. The Army Corps of Engineers' contract requires that the project is hush-hush. It isn't even referred to as NSA Georgia in plans. It is called Sweet Tea. Even though it is an empty field right now, Mr. Tuckey said, gawkers will quickly be introduced to the fort's security forces. A tour by the governor's military liaisons last week got their attention. 

Reach Tim Rausch at (706) 823-3352 or timothy.rausch[at]augustachronicle.com. 

NSA GEORGIA

Also known as: Sweet Tea 
Total project request: $340.8 million 
Estimated finished cost: Could be closer to $1 billion when considering the equipment. 
Size: 501,699 square feet, replacing 220,602 square feet spread out over five buildings 
Sources: Department of Defense; CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon

W912HN-06-R-0024 

Notice Type: 

Presolicitation 

Synopsis: 

Added: January 31, 2006 

Contractual questions: Amy Aqueche, 912-652-5705. Technical questions: Charles Grainger, 912-652-5642. This solicitation is being issued on an unrestricted basis pursuant to the Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988 (Public Law 100- 656) under NAICS 236220. The size standard for this NAICS is $ 31.0 Million. Any prospective Offeror interested in proposing for this solicitation may view and/or download this solicitation and all amendments from the internet site http://ebs.sas.usace.a rmy.mil/ after solicitation issuance. This solicitation is for the design and construction of a Regional Security Operations Facility for the National Security Agency at Fort Gordon, Georgia. The project will require approximately 500,000 square foot of open office space which includes approx imately 400,000 SF of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), an additional 50,000 square feet of supporting facilities, and utility infrastructure and site development. This facility has a requirement of achieving a SPIRIT Gold level of sust ainable design features. The Government offers to pay a stipend of $150,000 to unsuccessful Phase Two Offerors in consideration for preparation of a Phase Two technical design proposal, that otherwise meets the minimum requirements described in the solicitation and in consideratio n for the unsuccessful Offeror granting the Government the unlimited rights to use the technical design proposal. Acceptance of a stipend is voluntary. An otherwise eligible, unsuccessful Phase Two Offeror may decline acceptance of a stipend. In that eve nt, the Offeror will retain full rights to its Phase Two proposal and the Governments rights are inapplicable to that proposal. PRICE is equal in importance to ALL TECHNICAL FACTORS when combined. TECHNICAL FACTORS for PHASE ONE: FACTOR 1-1: CORPORATE RELEVANT SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE. FACTOR 1-2: OFFEROR PAST PERFORMANCE. FACTOR 1-3: TECHNICAL APPROACH NARRATIVE. Based upon t he evaluation of PHASE ONE FACTORS no more than three Offerors will be invited to participate in PHASE TWO. PHASE TWO FACTORS: FACTOR 2-1: BUILDING FUNCTION AND AESTHETICS. FACTOR 2-2: BUILDING SYSTEMS. FACTOR 2-3: SITE DESIGN. FACTOR 2-4: SUSTAIN ABLE DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS. FACTOR 2-5: MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS. The project will be solicited and procured using a Two Phase Design-Build Request for Proposals (RFP) in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 36.32. The Government anticipates Phase One documents will be issued on or about 15 February 2006 and that Phase Two documents will be issued on or about 17 May 2006. Proposals shall include sufficient detailed information to allow complete evaluation. Options may be included. The estimated magnitude of this project is $250,000,000.00 to $500, 000,000.00. Network Analysis will be required. 

Contracting Office Address: 

US Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, P.O. Box 889, Savannah, GA 31402-0889 

Point of Contact(s): 

Elaine Radcliffe, (912) 652-5416

NSA/NRO Aerospace Data Facility, Aurora (Denver), CO
...

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?

Bamford writes in The Shadow Factory that NSA has four main security operations centers in Georgia (above), Texas (Medina RSOC), Colorado (below) and Hawaii (Kunia RSOC). Those in Georgia, Texas and Hawaii process direct interceptions; the Colorado facility downloads satellite data for distribution to NSA Ft Meade Headquarters for processing. 

http://cndyorks.gn.apc.org/yspace/articles/nsa_in_denver.htm

In the past year, the NSA decided to move roughly 300 staff members to a satellite operation at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora known as the Aerospace Data Facility, said James Bamford, author of two books on the NSA, “The Puzzle Palace” and “Body of Secrets.”