The Misawa Security Operations Center (MSOC), nicknamed Security Hill, is a U.S. military and National Security Agency (NSA) signals intelligence facility located on Misawa Air Base in Misawa, Aomori, Japan.[1][2][3] The center's history began in 1953, when the U.S. Air Force 1st Radio Squadron Mobile established a facility at the site. The center expanded in the 1970s, and by the 1980s it employed around 2000 people.[3] As of March 2009,[update] the center monitored “over 8000 signals on 16 targeted satellites”, according to the NSA.[2] As of 2003,[update] the center employed around 900 people.[3]
