abstract:Combat support agency (CSA) is a designation by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) of those defense agencies that provide department-level and tactical support to the U.S.
The National Security Agency has always had two sides to its personality: a national enterprise that meets the needs of policymakers across the U.S. government and one that serves as a combatsupportagency for the Department of Defense of which it remains a part.
Even with a substantially increased budget, after more than a decade of combat, it should be clear that the battlefield support side of the agency's personality has become increasingly dominant.