WATCHFUL AND WISE

NSA Inspector General Robert “Rob” Storch noticed it immediately when he entered his NSA office for the first time in early 2018:  there were two almost identical wall displays, the only difference being that the one for the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) had the OIG’s name circling the American eagle on the Agency’s official emblem.  

A few months later, the OIG’s new logo featured the image of an owl – associated for centuries with watchfulness and wisdom, key traits for an OIG – as well as the office’s core values: oversight, integrity, independence, and transparency. The owl holds in its talons a lightning key, representing the Agency’s combined signals intelligence and cybersecurity missions. 

“Symbols matter. They convey meaning,” IG Storch said. And as the Agency’s first Presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed Inspector General, Storch wants to clearly communicate the OIG’s role in advancing the Agency’s mission through independent oversight.