Laurence Hugh Frost (July 22, 1902 – May 23, 1977) was a

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

who served as Director of

Naval Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

and Director of the

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

Naval career

Frost graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

in 1926, and served on various ships and shore stations throughout the 1920s and 1930s. He was the commanding officer of when that destroyer was attacked by a German U-boat on 4 September 1941. This was the first attack by Germany on a United States warship during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and occurred while the United States was officially neutral, some three months before America entered the war. After decorated service in World War II, Frost was assigned to

and later saw combat as commander of the cruiser in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. He was chief of staff to Commander

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

in 1952. He commanded Destroyer Flotilla Four,

United States Atlantic Fleet United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

in 1955–1956 and was Director of Naval Intelligence from 1956 until 1960. As head of Naval Intelligence he tried to change the United States policy on the rebellion in Indonesia. Frost became director of the

(NSA) in November 1960 with the rank of vice admiral. He held this post until 1962. Holding these posts during the beginning of the

space race The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the tw ...

, Frost was involved in early decisions to promote surveillance satellites such as the navy's

ELINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...

program. In an effort to reduce tensions, soon after his arrival at NSA, Frost appointed Robert F. Rinehart as chairman of the National Security Agency Scientific Advisory Board specifically because he was the newest member of the board with only a few months' experience and so had fewer "pre-acquired biases" in Rinehart's words. According to the NSA, "In 1962, when Vice Admiral Laurence Frost was unexpectedly transferred from his position"

Gordon Blake Gordon Aylesworth Blake (July 22, 1910 – September 1, 1997) was a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force who served as director of the National Security Agency from 1962 to 1965. Early life and training Gordon Aylesworth Blake w ...

was his replacement. After a final tour of duty at the

Potomac River Naval Command Potomac () may refer to: Places in the United States Washington, D.C. area: *The Potomac River, which flows through West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. **The Potomac Highlands, a region of the Potomac River's watershed in West ...

, Frost retired in 1964. His papers are preserved at the Operational Archives Branch of the

Naval Historical Center The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He is listed as a

by the

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–1963), the 35th president of the United States (1961–1963). It is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighbor ...

, which holds an 11-page transcription of an oral interview he gave in 1970. portions of it remain "closed". During his career, Frost was awarded the

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritoriou ...

, the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

with one gold award star, and the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

with one gold award star and a

Combat "V" Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frost, Laurence Hugh 1902 births 1977 deaths Directors of the National Security Agency United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Directors of the Office of Naval Intelligence