Sputnik Essay

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Recommended: Effects of the launching of sputnik included

THREAT AND INTELLIGENCE PREPARATION 2
On October 4, 1957 Russia launched a rocket named Sputnik ( faculty etsu, 2001). The United States (U.S) was caught off guard. Sputnik had the ability to orbit the Earth in just 96 minutes and transmit a frequency easily heard with an amateur radio (Figure 1). If the Russian could launch a satellite under our noses without our knowledge and have the ability to send a signal into our homes in 1957 it was clear that the U.S. was unprepared and had under estimated the ability of their adversaries. We clearly needed a new way of doing business, a new way of defending our country and our families. President Dwight D. Eisenhower had now received a wakeup call, it was time to act. Our enemy could now be thousands of miles away, and still able to get into our homes. The enemy could get to our families without even stepping foot into our homes. The world as we knew it would never be the same.
With the launch of Sputnik in 1957 the U.S. became aware of the growing threat to National Security and Intelligence. In February 1958, by order of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA), a division of the Department of Defense (DoD) was established. Then on February 7, 1958 DoD Directive 5105.15 was signed (Darpa web site, 2014). Its primary purpose was to maintain U.S technological superiority over potential adversaries and to develop new technology for the United States military (Mallia, 2013). With ARPAs increased responsibilities and fast pace environment the agency need a better way to stay connected and share “packets” of information. The agency started to experiment with inter-office connections. In late 1969 those efforts paid off and the first “Advanced Research Projects ...

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...e than just a photo of a loved one, these photos could reveal photos of classified locations that could be detrimental to mission success (Pentagon, 2012 ).
OPSEC should be at the forefront of everything we do and should not be limited to just our Soldiers. We as leaders have the responsibilities to educate our families as well. OPSEC has developed a process located in AR 530-1 Appendix B, B-1 (AR-530-1, 2007) (Appendix A) that could and should be applied to any situation that you may encounter in your personal or professional life. If your Unit has or is thinking about starting a Social Medial page review AR 530-1, ensure all Unit personnel are up to date on OPSEC Training requirements and the potential risk associated with divulging restricted information (Table 1). It is up to us as leaders to ensure the next attack or unseen event doesn’t take place on our watch.

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