This year, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) celebrates the 50th anniversary of its establishment. For five decades, DIA has provided timely and objective military intelligence to warfighters, defense planners, and policymakers. From the Cold War to the Gulf War, from the conflict in Vietnam to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, from confronting communism to battling terrorism, the talented and dedicated professionals of DIA have repeatedly demonstrated their commitment to excellence in defense of the nation. Anniversaries are a time for reflection. As we remember the way things used to be, we think about how and why things have changed. The Defense Intelligence Agency has undergone immense change and growth over the course of its first fifty years. DIA started with 20 people in borrowed space in the Pentagon; it now has approximately 16,500 individuals deployed all over the world. This volume tells the story of how the agency grew in missions, abilities, size, and credibility, while overcoming early struggles and reorganizations, responding to Cold War threats, countering terrorism, and learning to handle the challenge of asymmetric warfare. These experiences have transformed DIA into what it has become today-the nation's preeminent defense intelligence organization.--from the foreword.