In 1969, my wife and I traveled to West Germany courtesy of the U.S. Air Force, where I served as a military operative for the National Security Agency. Rising to a non-commissioned officer rank, I worked as a cryptologist, signal intelligence analyst, and computer programmer. My wife worked for the Stars and Stripes newspaper in its Darmstadt headquarters. When not at work, we traveled extensively in Europe, with Darmstadt’s central location as our base. As a Staff Sergeant, my responsibilities included the tasking and supervision of a 7X24 surveillance and warning operation utilizing on-line, real-time computers to gather signal intelligence. This was the dawn of cyber warfare, and my team was in the thick of it.

On completion of my tour of duty, my experience in the Air Force led to my civilian career as a computer system architect, where I designed and led the development of systems for medical, publishing, banking, and marketing database platforms. At night, I went to school on the GI Bill and a New York State Regent’s Scholarship to earn my Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management and Communication from Adelphi University. I still regard my work for the NSA as the hardest and most exciting job in my long career.