Board Of Directors

I was born and raised in northeastern Montana. My current home, for the past forty-three years, is in Northern Virginia where I live with my wife of forty-six years.  Robyn is a retired surgical nurse.  I am a retired public school teacher.  I beat the draft, back in 1967, by enlisting in the Army Security Agency. My six-year hitch with ASA included the following assignments:

"I've never had friends as good as the friends I had in Vietnam."

• basic training at Fort Ord, CA, 1967;
• ditty school and training as a Special Identifications Techniques operator (radio direction finder), Fort Devens, MA, 1967-1968;
• beautiful Southeast Asia, 372nd RRC and 175th RRFS, 1968-1969;
• 370th ASA Operations Company (A), Fort Bragg, NC, and VHFS, 1969-1971;
• Handorf Detachment, FS Augsburg, 1971-1973.

I have been involved with the National Army Security Agency Association since its inception. Early in 2001 I accepted an appointment to the NASAA Board of Directors to complete the term of a board member who resigned. In November 2001 and of 2003 I was re-elected to the board. I am very pleased that I was allowed to contribute to the revitalization of the National Army Security Agency Association, these past many months, and am committed to continuing that effort.

Lieutenant Colonel, U. S. Army, Retired
Born 1943, Danville, Virginia
Wife: Ruth   Sons: Tom and Kyle
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Military Career:
• Enlisted in U. S. Army: 10 January 1966 in the U. S. Army Security Agency
• Retired 30 August 1986
• Source of Commission: Infantry OCS
• Commissioned into Military Intelligence, Army Security Agency (ASA), 2 May 1967
• Regular Army Appointment: 16 September 1977

Military Education:
• Enlisted ASA ELINT Interceptor Course (August 1966)
• ASA Basic Officer's Course (September 1967)
• Basic Airborne Training (VN) (January 1969)
• MI Officer's Advance Course (March 1971)
• ASA Advance Officer's Course (May 1971)
• USAFE Human Relations Course (Nov 1974)
• U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (June 1980)
• U.S. Army Materiel Acquisition Management Course (September 1984)
• Civilian Education: - B.A., Political Science, Mount Saint Mary's College (May 1972)
• Master of Military Arts and Science, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (June 1980)

Post Service:
• After retiring from the Army out of Fort Huchuca in 1986, I went to work for a defense contractor, GTE, Government Systems Corp.
• Worked as business development and program management. They were subsequently bought by General Dynamics, from which I retired in 2003, moving to the Winchester, VA area - retired, retired.
• Served (past and current) on various committees at the Macedonia United Methodist Church - currently a member of the Board of Trustees and the church maintenance committee.
• Member of the local Ruritan Club - serving as secretary for the past 10 years.
• Member of the Antique Auto Club and the Subaru SVX club.
• Worked with the local Habitat for Humanity on committees, Board of Directors, then President of the Board of Directors, and helped start up the Habitat ReStore - last year, the revenue was $1.4M, fully supporting the local affiliate.

Probably much more that you wanted to know.  :-)
Currently working on my autobiography.

I was born and have lived my entire life (other than my military years) in northern California. I started my Army life in February 1974 after three of my buddies and I went to razz the various services' recruiters. The last we visited happened to be the Army recruiter and as he chatted with each of us to find out our interests, he handed us a brochure and moved on to the next guy. It went on this way until he had piqued each of our interests and the next thing we knew, all four of us were signed up on the six-month delayed-entry program. This guy was the best salesman I have ever encountered! I was promised German language training and a position in 'intelligence'.  And ultimately, that's what I got:

• Basic training at Fort Ord, CA - 1974
• German language training at the Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey - 1974
• Cryptologic Traffic Analyst (98C) school at Fort Devens, MA - 1974-1975
• USASAFS Augsburg, Germany - 1975-1978
• Met and married my wife, an 05H, in Augsburg in 1977 (Bonus)

In the last year of my time in Augsburg, a new computerized collection, analysis and reporting system was implemented, and I was selected from my section to learn it and train the rest of the section. It was a truly revolutionary system and opened my eyes to what automation could do. The time from recognition of important information to having it sent back to the powers that be in the states went from around an hour to a matter of five minutes or less. I was hooked.

Upon ETS, I sought a position with various intelligence contractors, but learned that the first ten or so years of my civilian career would be spent n the greater Washington DC area. I had little desire for that, so I threw myself into college studying computer science. I got a job as a programmer/analyst and spent the next 45 years in various positions in Information Technology, retiring in 2022.

I found out about the Northern California ASA Veterans Group and attended a lunch with them. I met Bill Luker, and he told me about NASAA and explained that their Webmaster had unfortunately passed away. He asked if, because of my background, I could help with bringing their website up to date. I have taken on that role. If you see anything in the site that needs attention or correction, let me know.
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ebgibson55@gmail.com
209-747-2275

When I left the Army in 1968, I had no intentions of looking back. College and getting a job was first and foremost in my life. Fast forward 30 years and I began to wonder where all those friends of old were. Over the next 10 to 15 years, I had searched for and successfully found over 50 that I had served with. I even put together an album and started a mail chain that went from one friend to another and asked for their contributions. During that time, I went to Oregon to see my best military friend, then down to the California Bay Area, with him, to reunite with another. A few years after that I went to Michigan to go on a weeks' trip with Hal Smith as we visited several others in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Approaching 6 years ago, my daughter invited my wife and I to go on a trip to Virginia Beach, and for me to run a race with her. I finished 3rd among the old guys. That completed, we ventured further into DC, where we spent about 3 days, taking in the Museums and on our final day we went to Arlington National Cemetery. This part of the trip game me additional time to reflect upon my military service, and why did we had to lose so many lives in so many wars to preserve our freedom? As I was exiting ANC, I glanced over and saw the 101st Airborne Division Monument. We were all tired, so I told my wife and daughter to go ahead and I would catch up after viewing. I consumed their heroic history, and loss of lives, and was personally moved by it. I made a quarter of a right turn, and my mind said to me: Damn, in Vietnam, had it not been for the ASA, your total lives lost would have been much higher. I felt God laid it up my shoulders to try to do something to get recognition for the ASA Veterans, and ANC seemed to be the best place for recognition and maximum exposure. Of all those who ever served in the ASA, this small town boy, SP4, was the least likely to venture on such an undertaking. It is a big task, and without YOUR help the Unsung Heroes of the Unknown Army Unit, will forever be locked behind the Green Door. Get involved and do not settle for anything short of: ALL THE WAY! What say YOU?

I served a year in Vietnam, doing short-range radio direction finding, locating enemy units' radio transmitters. Later I was assigned to a mountaintop Air Force Station in Taiwan, where the services worked at electronic snooping more distant targets.

In late February 1968, days after the Naval spy ship, the Pueblo, was captured, volunteers were sought to go to Korea on temporary duty. I went that March.

Years ago, I created a website and database for former ASA members, now at more than 50,000 records, with members posting their name/numbers and then contacting each other for personal and unit reunions.

​www.asalives.org
heyvern.asalives@gmail.com

I first put on the uniform in Aug 66 when I joined the 406th Ordnance Battalion, US Army Reserve, Ann Arbor, MI. In Jun 67 I went RA all the way and "ASA All The Way" too. I aspired to be an "05H" by surviving basic at Ft Lost in the Woods, Misery and then enjoyed vacationing through AIT at Ft. Devens, MA and watching the "love-ins" at the Boston Commons. Then it was off to the 7th RRFS in Thailand for the most memorable 2-½ years of my life.

While at the 7th, I edited the post rag called the Ramasan Relay. After working mids, it gave me something to do...everyone knows normal folks don't sleep during the day. Then it was off to Vint Hill Farms and an ETS in Mar 71.

Times were tough...long gas lines...etc., so I tried a year in a Nasty Guard Signal Bn. I was one of two vets among a gaggle of draft dodgers/U of M students, etc., in Ann Arbor. I didn't like it so waited until I had the time to join a Special Forces unit with the reserves. Strange though it may seem, I graduated from jump school with the 10th SF Group at Devens...10 years to the month after coming to Devens for AIT. Made it through the SF qualification course, graduating as a SF Radio Operator (you think code was a problem?). I served the remainder of my enlisted time as the Battalion Commo Chief and loved it. In Dec 82 I was given a direct commission to the rank of CPT and became the Sig Det Commander and Battalion CE Officer.

Concurrently, with joining the reserves, I made the decision to work full-time for the Army in logistics. Somewhere in the process (e.g., 89-91) your taxpayer dollars sent me back to work in Thailand. The food is still good and the people are still nice. Singha Beer tastes as good as I remembered. My last civil service assignment was to work hard to put out fires at the US Army Reserve Command, Atlanta, GA, where I served the G-4 as a Logistics Management Specialist with responsibility for all reserve Commo and Signals Intel equipment assets. This was a critical period of service as 911 happened as did deployment of the reserves for Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. Soldiers going into harms way needed lots of commo equipment. I retired from civil service in Jan 2004 with 35 years service and the civil service equivalent of the Legion of Merit. While in Atlanta, I maintained my reserve affiliation as LTC Luker, G-4 (acting), 335th Theater Signal Command. On retirement, my family and I returned to California.

As luck would have it, life is hills and valleys. I stayed in the Army Reserve, serving with a Civil Affairs Command. Within months of returning to California I was mobilized in support of Operation Enduring Freedom for 1 year and then was deployed for a year to Iraq, returning in Jun 06. My Officer Evaluation Report (OER) deteriorated, showing "Uses poor judgement" probably for having not retired from the reserve at the same time I retired from civil service. I could have avoided the mobilization and deployment. Seriously though, I'm honored to have served! Though you would never know it from reading the news, great things are and have been accomplished in Iraq. We need to stay the course!

Finally, I served as your Vice-Chairman in 2001 and have served as your Chairman from 2002 - 2006. It has been a team effort and we are making lots of progress. There is no "I" in "TEAM".

What we did in ASA when we were younger was important. We, your Board of Directors, are going to make sure someone remembers.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

My military career was entirely in the US Army Reserves with the 138th Aviation Company. I graduated 05H school in May 1986, Graduated the Defense Language Institute in 1990, and graduated Goodfellow AFB as a 98C in 1991.
My deployments (Annual Training) were DIRNSA directed missions out of NAS Key West, Homestead AFB, Camp Williams, Utah and the Yama Sakura CPX our of Chitose, Hokkaido Japan. Also attended training at the RITC/ARISC at St Paul, Mn, Ft Sheridan Chicago, and Ft Gillem Atlanta
Currently President of the 138th Aviation Company Memorial restoring the last remaining Cefirm Leader RU-21A Aircraft for permanent display. (See the 'Links to other ASA related sites and resources' in the Library)