Earl E. Stone

Earl Everett Stone (December 2, 1895 – September 24, 1989) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. He is most noted for being the first director of the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency.

Early career

Earl Everett Stone was born on December 2, 1895, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Thomas Hector and Catherine Agnes Stone. He graduated from high school and received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, in July 1914. While at the Academy, Stone was nicknamed "Stoney" and was active in the crew. As midshipman, he also participated in the voyage aboard the battleship through the recently opened Panama Canal in July 1915.

Postwar service Armed Forces Defense Agency Following his return to the United States, Stone was appointed Director of Naval Communications and promoted to rear admiral on January 8, 1946. While in this capacity, he was appointed the chairman of a Department of Defense committee known as "Stone Board", which was appointed to make recommendations for reforming and reorganizing cryptological activities. The Army supported consolidation, but the Navy and Air Force opposed unification. In December 1948, the Stone Board issued a report that recommended maintaining the status quo. A few months later, with the advent of a new Secretary of Defense, Louis A. Johnson, and a change of position by the Air Force, the Navy grudgingly went along with the unification concept.