Navy Information Warfare Then and Now: From the Civil War to Midway to 21st Century Great Power Competition

U.S. Fleet Cyber Command / U.S. 10^th Fleet Public Affairs

With the United States and its adversaries returning to an era of Great Power Competition, in which new domains of cyber and space are rife with attacks below the level of open conflict, information warfare has never been so important to the security of the United States and its allies.  The upcoming release of the new film “Midway” reminds us all how Navy cryptologists, linguists, and intelligence personnel, the forerunners of modern information warriors, literally helped save the world 77 years ago.  Maintaining an edge over our adversaries in information warfare is just as critical and potentially game-changing today as it was on the eve of the battle that marked the turning point in the Pacific theater of World War II. 

Naval information warfare traces its history to the
Civil War, when specially trained personnel intercepted and deciphered enemy
signals and formulated ways to protect their own communications. The first
radio transmission from a U.S. Navy ship in 1899 led to the assignment of radio
intelligence and communications security duties to Sailors and Marines.

During World War I, the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) in cooperation with MI-8, the cryptanalytic office in the Army’s Military Intelligence Division, solved a Japanese diplomatic code before the end of the war. Due to a lack of traffic and a lack of linguists, the office was quickly downsized at the end of the war.

Throughout the 1920s, Capt. Laurance F. Safford, regarded by many as the “father” of Navy cryptology, advocated more effort for Communications Intelligence (COMINT). Safford recruited promising cryptanalysts by putting puzzles in the Navy’s monthly Communications Bulletin, beginning in mid-1924. Over the years, he recruited many who sent in successful solutions.

The first pupil to come to Safford for training, in
1924, was Ensign Joseph N. Wenger. A more formal class in all aspects of COMINT
and communications security began the following year. Among the students in
that group was LT Joseph J. Rochefort. Both Wenger and Rochefort went on to
make significant contributions to American cryptology.

In October 1928, the Navy and Marine Corps’ first
training class of radio intercept operators convened. The school’s original
location was in a blockhouse on the roof of the old Navy Department
building.  Graduates were nicknamed the
“On-the-Roof Gang.”

From 1928 to 1941, the school graduated 176 Sailors
and Marines who were the first enlisted radio operators and formed the vanguard
of naval cryptology.

In a letter, dated May 13, 1929, recognizing the need
for radio intelligence, the Chief of Naval Operations indicated his intention
to establish a radio intelligence office with the Asiatic Fleet and to organize
cryptanalytic units afloat. Cryptologic units in Washington and Hawaii as well
as the establishment of a special cryptographic system strictly for COMINT were
then included in Navy war plans.

The increased emphasis on COMINT operations paid off
early. Larger numbers of intercept operators enabled the U.S. fleet to copy a
considerable volume of radio traffic from the Japanese fleet’s 1930 Grand Maneuvers.
These messages revealed Japan’s battle plan against the United States, Japanese
fleet mobilization procedures, and Japanese plans for defense of the western
Pacific. To the surprise of the Americans, the Japanese had an excellent grasp
of American war plans for the Pacific.

The evolution of naval cryptology, from 1924 to 1935,
gave rise to the Communications Security Group, which was established on March
11, 1935. This date is considered the birthday of Navy cryptology.

Following the outbreak of the Pacific War, December 7,
1941, when the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl
Harbor, Japanese armed forces conducted military operations throughout the
Pacific and Southeast Asia. The first phase of these operations, which was the
seizure of various island groups in the central and western Pacific, was
virtually complete by March 1942.

Progress against the Japanese Navy’s operational code,
JN-25, was a challenge. Prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, only 10 to 15
percent of the code was being read.

By late spring of 1942, Cmdr. Joseph J. Rochefort, officer in charge of COMINT processing at Station Hypo, the Navy’s codebreaking organization located at Pearl Harbor, and Lt. Cmdr. Edwin T. Layton, the Pacific Fleet staff intelligence officer, were able to make educated guesses regarding the Japanese Navy’s movement.

On May 19, Rochefort and his team identified Midway and Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians as specific Japanese objectives. On May 22, following a radio deception operation, Fleet Radio Unit Melbourne, a U.S. fleet radio-intercept unit located in Melbourne, Australia, confirmed Midway as a target. Station Hypo then discovered the date cipher used in Japanese message traffic. Analysts could then determine exactly when the attack would take place. After examining previously intercepted messages, Hypo predicted an attack on Midway on June 4. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, commander in chief, Pacific Fleet, used this estimate to plan American countermeasures that included reinforcement of the forces already on Midway.

During the height of WWII, the Navy’s communication
program comprised more than 22,000 officers and 225,000 Sailors.  Throughout the Korean, Vietnam and Cold War, information
warfare was vital to protecting the U.S. 
During that time, information warriors have played a direct role in
every U.S. conflict and have evolved to meet the dynamic challenges of modern
cyber warfare.

Part of that evolution included the establishment, on Feb. 6, 2004, of the Navy Cryptologic Technician (Networks) rating. It was designed to further develop a skilled work force to meet fleet requirements in computer network defense and other computer network operations.  The next year, the Navy renamed cryptologic officers “information warfare officers” to reflect the expanded competencies of information operations and cyber warfare.

The White House Cyberspace Policy Review of May 2009
stated that “America’s failure to protect cyberspace is one of the most urgent
national security problems facing the new administration.”

Two months later, Secretary of Defense Gates unveiled
his plan for military cyberspace operations. In a memo to the Secretaries of
the Armed Forces, he wrote, “Our increasing dependency on cyberspace, alongside
a growing array of cyber threats and vulnerabilities, adds a new element of
risk to our national security.

To address this risk effectively and to secure freedom
of action in cyberspace, the Department of Defense requires a command that
possesses the required technical capability and remains focused on the
integration of cyberspace operations. Further, this command must be capable of
synchronizing war-fighting effects across the global security environment as
well as providing support to civil authorities and international partners.”

In response, the Information Dominance Corps was
established, Oct. 1, 2009. The corps consists of four separate communities:
Information Warfare/Cryptologic Technicians; Intelligence/Intelligence
Specialists; Information Professionals and Technicians; and
Oceanographers/Aerographers.

On Jan. 29, 2010, U.S. 10th Fleet was recommissioned
and Fleet Cyber Command was established. The dual-hatted command assumed the
Navy’s cryptologic, information operations, network operations, cyber,
electronic warfare and space missions.

Vice Adm. Timothy “TJ” White, the Navy’s community
leader for Cryptology and Cyber Warfare, released on Feb. 8, 2019 a new vision
titled, “Navy Cryptologic & Cyber Warfare Community Vision” which serves as
an aligning narrative for the community. According to the vision, the Navy’s
Cryptologic and Cyber Warfare Community is responsible for delivering
competitive outcomes in all domains of warfare through the application of
Cyberspace Operations, Signals Intelligence, and Electronic Warfare.

The Navy views the electromagnetic spectrum-cyber environment as a primary warfighting domain. Information warfare officers and cryptologic technicians are the principal warfighters. Information warfare specialists are directly involved in every aspect of naval operations, deploying globally to support Navy and joint military requirements. Mirroring the impact that the forerunners of modern information specialists made during conflicts such as the Battle of Midway, they deliver vital information to decision makers by attacking, defending and exploiting networks to capitalize on vulnerabilities in the information environment and continue to defend the nation.  

NOTE: This blog is one of a four-part series to honor the Navy victory at the Battle of Midway and to highlight current Navy capabilities against modern and future U.S. adversaries.