Bad Aibling Station

The Bad Aibling Station (abbreviated BAS, which had an official designation as the 18th United States Army Security Agency Field Station, or as the pseudonym used by BND: Hortensie III) was until 2004 a large monitoring base of the US intelligence organization NSA in Bad Aibling, Bavaria.

History

After the Second World War, troops of the United States Army seized a military airport ("Fliegerhorst" and flight training base) that had been built in 1936 by the German National Socialist government on the grounds of a sport airfield in Bad Aibling-Mietraching [ [http://mietraching.de/_geschichte/fliegerhorst.html History of the "Fliegerhorst" Mietraching at www.mietraching.de (in German)] ] . Initially, it was used by the occupying Americans as a camp for prisoners of war, a displaced persons camp, and as an orphanage under supervision of the UNRRA. Günter Grass and Joseph Ratzinger are alleged to have met there as prisonors [ [http://amywelborn.typepad.com/openbook/2006/08/ratzinger_and_g.html open book: Ratzinger and Grass] ] .

In 1952, the area was taken over by the US Army. During the Cold War it was converted by the United States Army Security Agency ("ASA") to a communications monitoring station for American intelligence.

In 1971 the National Security Agency (NSA) and the United States Department of Defense took over command from the U.S. Army. Simultaneously, the Army Security Agency transferred most of its activities in West Germany from its field stations located at Rothwesten, Bad Aibling and Herzogenaurach to Augsburg.

In 1994, the NSA transferred command of its Bad Aibling base to INSCOM, one of the Central Security Services of USA [ [http://hp.kairaven.de/miniwahr/badaibling.html#a3 RAVEN: INSCOM in Bad Aibling (in German)] ] .

After the end of the Cold War, on several occasions including investigations of the European Parliament that censured industrial espionage by american secret services, the Americans intended to close the Bad Aibling Station [ [http://cndyorks.gn.apc.org/yspace/articles/badaiblingtoclose.htm Yorkshire CND: Bad Aibling Station to close] ] . The September 11, 2001 attacks delayed these plans. Rather, dramatic amplification of security measures, including the erection of dragon's teeth implies the usage of the installations for counter-terrorism.

The restructuring of the American intelligence community after the September 11, 2001 attacks and the disappointment in the failure to anticipate those attacks finally caused the closure of Bad Aibling Station on September 30, 2004. The base was returned to the Federal Republic of Germany. As far as known the units were redeployed to Menwith Hill in Great Britain, Griesheim and Turkey. A new monitoring base with five radomes hase been erected on the area of the former August-Euler-airport in Griesheim near Darmstadt in spring 2004.

Simultaneously, in direct vicinity in Bad Aibling a base of the Bundesnachrichtendienst has been erected on the area of former barracks of the Bundeswehr.

Institutions (as known)

*Different divisions of NSA (details not known)
*HOC 718th Military Intelligence Brigade (also referred to as "operations company")
*C COMPANY 66th Military Intelligence Group
*Air Force-402ND Intelligence Squadron
*108th Military Intelligence Group (former designation: 718th MI Group)
*Navy-NSGA (Naval Security Group Activity, "Lightning Fast Chicken Pluckers")
*18th USASAFS Field Station
*312th ASA Battalion
*320th ASA Battalion
**Headquarters Company
**180th ASA Company
**181st ASA Company
**186st ASA Company
*British Royal Signals Detachment (UK)

Significance for secret services

The Bad Aibling Station was an important monitoring station of the Echelon System (RSOC, Regional SIGINT Operation Center) that employed up to 1000 staff members [ [http://www.economy-point.org/b/bath-aibling-station.html Economy-point.org: Bad Aibling Station] ] . Its task was acquisition of information for American authorities and other closely allied intelligence services, e. g. from the United Kingdom. The López affair that was cleared up by telephone surveillance in the BAS gained worldwide audience.

According to official statements, the function of BAS was "Rapid Radio Relay and Secure Common, Support to DoD and Unified Commands, Medium and Longhand Common HF & Satellite, Communication Physics Research, Test and Evaluate Common Equipment" [ [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+REPORT+A5-2001-0264+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN Official report on the existence of a global system for the interception of private and commercial communications (ECHELON interception system) for the European Parliament] ]

References

* [http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent/1,12044,FL_spystation_060201,00.html Message at military.com]
* [http://www.usafsa.org/Units/ASABadAibling.htm Information by US Army Security Agency Field Station Augsburg]
* [http://damianlittle.smugmug.com/gallery/1178244_iBZQY#55073147_6GscY Damian Little Photos: The End of Bad Aibling Station]

Detailled references