The Misawa Security Operations Center (MSOC), nicknamed Security Hill, is a

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

and National Security Agency (NSA)

signals intelligence 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 ( ...

facility located on Misawa Air Base in Misawa, Aomori, Japan. The center's history began in 1953, when the U.S. Air Force

1st Radio Squadron Mobile The United States Air Force's 301st Intelligence Squadron is an intelligence unit located at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The squadron's first predecessor was organized in 1942 as the 138th Signal Radio Intelligence Company, a sign ...

established a facility at the site. The center expanded in the 1970s, and by the 1980s it employed around 2000 people. the center monitored “over 8000 signals on 16 targeted satellites”, according to the NSA. the center employed around 900 people.

References

National Security Agency facilities Earth stations in the United States Buildings and structures in Aomori Prefecture 1953 establishments in Japan {{US-mil-stub