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by Lori S. Stewart, USAICoE Command Historian
On July 27, 1976, Col. Richard Bucks Mosser retired after two years as the commandant of the U.S. Army Security Agency Training Center and School (ASATC&S) at Fort Devens, Massachusetts. Over his 34-year military career, and most particularly at the ASATC&S, he set his goal “to see, be seen, and listen” and, in the process, developed a reputation for putting people first.
Dick Mosser was born in 1922 in Reading, Pennsylvania. In 1942, shortly after graduating high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. When the recruiter asked if he liked crossword puzzles, Mosser’s affirmative answer landed him in the Morse code course at Fort Monmouth. During World War II, he served at ASA’s two major intercept sites: Vint Hill Farms Station, Virginia, and Two Rock Ranch Station, California. He then attended Officer Candidate School, became an instructor at the ASA school and, later, chief of the school’s Morse Branch. Through the 1950s and early 1960s, he had tours in Austria, Germany, and Vietnam but regularly returned for assignments at the school. From July 1969 to June 1970, Mosser served as the commander of Kagnew Field Station near Asmara, the capital of Eritrea.
In 1972, Colonel Mosser arrived back at the ASATC&S as deputy commander under Col. Robert W. Lewis. Two years later, on July 30, 1974, Colonel Mosser took command of the school. During his two-year tenure as commander, ASATC&S reoriented signals intelligence training to a more tactical focus, improved field training for all courses, developed self-paced institutional and exportable instructional materials, pushed for the school’s accreditation as a post-secondary career institution from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and graduated more than 10,000 students. Colonel Mosser also prepared ASATC&S for its absorption into the Army’s new Training and Doctrine Command in June 1976 and a new command relationship with the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and School at Fort Huachuca, effective October 1, 1976.
The 6-foot 2-inch Mosser was known for his “folksy, thoughtful way of doing business” and his “cool, unhurried” and cheerful demeaner. He certainly fulfilled the “to see and be seen” part of his goal by participating in more than 580 engagements in two years. This included welcoming every basic and advanced officer and noncommissioned officer course and then presiding over their later graduations; visiting with every Basic Morse course; addressing every bimonthly permanent party and monthly wives’ orientation; participating in instructor graduations and awards ceremonies; and presenting more than 300 military and 100 civilian awards.
Colonel Mosser also focused on improving communications among his staff, faculty, and students. He engineered the installation of a color television studio and became the studio’s best customer, taping thirty-three appearances that were piped to all staff and faculty offices and classrooms. These presentations reinforced themes from his monthly “Bird’s Eye View” columns in the school’s unofficial newspaper, The Fountainhead. Sometimes his columns were poetic and sometimes humorous, but they were always candid and meaningful, addressing current topics of interest to all personnel, from the senior civilian to the lowest ranking student. They covered such topics as professionalism, energy conservation, safe driving, drug and alcohol abuse, race relations, and marriage in the service. His efforts contributed to a dramatic decrease in congressional inquiries and inspector general complaints against the command.
Colonel Mosser was revered among his staff and students, who dedicated an entire special issue of The Fountainhead to farewell their beloved commander. Even the ASA commander, Brig. Gen. William Rolya, noted, “[Y]ou have distinguished yourself as a leader sensitive to the needs of the men and women under your command.” Perhaps the best summation of Colonel Mosser’s people-first leadership style came from one of his staff, Lt. Col. Warren H. Ellis, who wrote, “his example has been personal, positive, professional, and profound. We are better people, more able soldiers, more competent members of the MI family, because of the leadership of the ‘old man.’”
| Date Taken: | 07.25.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.25.2022 12:04 |
| Story ID: | 425712 |
| Location: | FORT HUACHUCA, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 161 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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