Naval Security Group Activity Skaggs Island US Navy Patch

Skaggs Island was drained tideland on the north shore of San Pablo Bay, and for half a century the Navy ran one of its quietest intelligence stations there. The Navy bought the land in 1941 and operated it as an electronic communications station from 1942 until 1993. As Naval Security Group Activity Skaggs Island it did cryptologic work under the Naval Security Group, out of sight of most of the fleet. Sailors who stood watch there knew not to talk about it. Locals driving Route 37 between Novato and Vallejo saw only the antenna fields.

NSGA Skaggs Island carried out its cryptologic mission under guidance from the CNO, CINCPACFLT, DIRNSA and Commander Naval Security Group. It hosted the school for the BULLSEYE Net Control System and was a node in TACINTEL, the system that moved special intelligence traffic by satellite. The base on the northern sixty acres was self-contained, with over 100,000 square feet of office and classroom space, 80 duplex family units, a barracks and its own galley. The station closed in 1993. The Naval Security Group itself was disestablished on 30 September 2005, its mission carried forward by Navy information operations commands.

This is a 4 by 4 inch round patch with a cut edge and an embroidered tan rope running around the outside. A gold ring inside the rope reads UNITED STATES NAVAL SECURITY GROUP ACTIVITY across the top and SKAGGS ISLAND across the bottom, with two red stars on each side. The center is a white globe turned to show the Pacific, with green continents, gray grid lines, and red lightning lines crossing western North America. At the heart of the globe is a light-blue disc with an eagle, a striped shield, gold crossed anchors and white lightning bolts. The back is iron-on and the patch can also be sewn on.

The Pacific on that globe is the ocean Skaggs Island watched. Much of what was done there is still not public, and the people who did it have kept it that way. What is known is that the station ran for more than fifty years through World War II and the Cold War. Since 2011 the island has been part of the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and the antennas and buildings were gone by 2013. For the sailors and families who lived there, this patch is one of the few things left with the name on it.

Put it in a shadow box with a crow and a photo of the antenna field, or sew it to a jacket for the next NSG reunion. It also makes a good gift for a shipmate who spent his tour in the duplexes on the island. At 4 inches across it reads clearly from across a room. A small station with a big job, and a name worth keeping.