[47], One particular local activist, Lindis Percy, was prosecuted, over a protracted period, under a number of different laws. Where can I find an application for housing? Many of the actions still continue today. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? The listening base plays a role in US and UK intelligence-gathering. The first service on site included a high frequency monitoring system, dealing with intercepting the signals throughout the Soviet Union. RAF Menwith Hill Stavanger 423d ABG Helpful Agencies 501st CSW Wing Staff Agency The 501st CSW WSA are comprised of 17 different agencies, located at RAF Alconbury and Croughton, that provide a wide range of mission support from finance to chapel services which facilitate operations and assist Airmen and their families across the wing. The suggestion that national and international communications were monitored was denied. Royal Air Force Menwith Hill is a Royal Air Force station near Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, which provides communications and intelligence support services to the United Kingdom and the United States. [48][49][50][51][52], In April 2012 activists affiliated with the global Occupy Movement held a four-day campsite at Menwith Hill. Any reference to satellites being operated or any connection to intelligence gathering is strictly prohibited.. What housing allowances am I eligible for? [1] It has been described as the largest electronic monitoring station in the world. [11] The first two radomes, designed to protect satellite receiver and transmission dishes (colloquially known as 'golf balls' and now synonymous with the station) were installed in 1974, at which point around 800 personnel were believed to work there. Store Email: RAFMenwithHill.commissary@deca.mil. The first is called FORNSAT, which uses powerful antennae contained within the golf ball-like domes to eavesdrop on communications as they are being beamed between foreign satellites. Alongside NSA employees within the complex, the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office also has a major presence at the site, running its own ground station from which it controls a number of spy satellites. RAF Menwith Hill is a co-base run by the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Though small in size, the Army/Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) exchange has a fair selection of goods, ranging from clothing to audio visual equipment. Hatton Cross Underground Station to RAF Menwith Hill - Rome2rio Hamilton, who represents the Labour Party, has doggedly attempted to find out basic information about the base, asking the government at least 40 parliamentary questions since 2010 about its activities. This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army. Menwith Hill See Stores Near You. [Menwith Hill] still supplies about 99% of the FORNSAT data used in GHOSTHUNTER geolocations, noted a January 2008 document about the program. [11][12] The NSA expanded the station during the 1970s and 1980s, with the operations centre extended and new buildings erected. PDF WELCOME ABOARD! - Headquarters Marine Corps I dont buy this idea that you say the word security and nobody can know anything. [18], In 1995, the US Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) became the executive agent for Menwith Hill on behalf of the National Security Agency. But the prediction proved to be wrong. There were only eight such dishes in the world at those times. We dont have ads, so we depend on our members 35,000 and counting to help us hold the powerful to account. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Once known only by the code name Field Station 8613, the secret base now called Menwith Hill Station is located about nine miles west of the small town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire. For other than authorized activities such as military exchanges and Services/Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) sites, the Unites States Air Force does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [35], In 1988, investigative journalist Duncan Campbell revealed, in an article entitled "Somebody's listening" and published in New Statesman, the existence of the ECHELON surveillance program, an extension of the UKUSA Agreement on global signals intelligence Sigint. The base is in an area of outstanding natural beauty (but officially left out in the early 1990s despite some of us trying to include it! [9], Menwith Hill came to public attention in 1980 when British magazine the New Statesman published an article which suggested that the station was the world's largest phone tapping facility and highlighted the secrecy afforded to it by the British and US governments. Most visible from the outside are a cluster of about 30 of the giant white domes. The location of the target who was known by several names, including Abu Sumayah was traced to within a few hundred meters based on intercepts of his communications. A few days later, a special operations unit named Task Force-16 stormed two properties, where they detained Sayf, his father, two brothers, and five associates. Where will my children go to school at my new location? The whole system started working after 1958 only. Harrogate Borough Council found more radomes "would not materially affect the wider landscapeas the overall impact would remain akin to the present situation". In particular, there has been an attempt to establish whether the U.K. has aided U.S. drone bombings outside of declared war zones in countries including Yemen, Pakistan, and Somalia which have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and are in some cases considered by United Nations officials to possibly constitute war crimes and violations of international law. Consider what the world of media would look like without The Intercept. For years, Reprieve and others have sought clarification from the British government about the role of U.K. bases in the U.S. covert drone program, which has killed large numbers of civilians in countries where we are not at war, she told The Intercept. The 100th Force Support Squadron (100 FSS) is responsible for providing the best quality of life programs for the military personnel and their family members assigned to RAF Mildenhall. [43], Objections to the Strategic Defense Initiative have led to demonstrators storming the perimeter fence,[44][45] and to demands in 2007 from Labour MPs for a full debate about missile defence and Menwith Hill. The Intercept is an independent nonprofit news outlet. The revelations are yet another example of the unacceptable level of secrecy that surrounds U.K. involvement in the U.S. targeted killing program, Kat Craig, legal director of London-based human rights group Reprieve, told The Intercept. Hours of Operation: Monday - Thursday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Closed U.S. and U.K. holidays, Family Days and Goal Days. Most notably, they show that there has been significant investment in introducing new and more sophisticated mass surveillance systems at Menwith Hill in recent years. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The site is a field station of the US National Security Agency (NSA), with personnel from other parts of the DOD also present. AHRN.com Currently Deployed Installations. He has sought clarification on a variety of issues, such as how many U.S. personnel are stationed at the site, whether it is involved in conducting drone strikes, and whether members of a British parliamentary oversight committee have been given full access to review its operations. If you are a military member or family looking for housing by Hill AFB, located in Hill AFB , UT, you've come to the right place! [17], The US Air Force's 6951st Electronic Security Squadron was formed at Menwith HIll on 1 May 1991. Snowden Documents Reveal NSA's Quiet Presence at Base in England Joining is simple and doesnt need to cost a lot: You can become a sustaining member for as little as $3 or $5 a month.