As a signals intelligence analyst, Caleb Yankee is a digital detective who analyzes the data trails that foreign adversaries leave behind through their phones, photos, social media, and other communications channels. After 4 years in the United States Army, he joined the NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) as a SkillBridge Fellow, unlocking a newfound interest in tracking threats through geospatial clues. Today, he’s parlaying that curiosity into a career by returning to school and earning a specialized degree.
Yankee enlisted after high school and chose the Army because he wanted the flexibly to select his own occupational specialty. His father—an Army veteran—recommended joining the intelligence community, which merges problem solving with high-stakes national security missions.
“The breadth of the intelligence community really appealed to me,” Yankee said. “There are so many different specialties to explore, and there’s always room for you to grow and evolve in your career.”
After completing basic training, Yankee attended technical courses at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, which he described as “a crash course in everything from device identifiers to radio signals.” Seven months later, he was assigned to his duty station at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.
As a signals intelligence (or SIGINT) analyst, he examined technology-related emissions—ranging from IP addresses to image timestamps and other types of metadata. He used this information to track bad actors, pinpoint their operational patterns, map their nefarious networks, and root out foreign influence. He then relayed this critical information to military leaders by producing strategic and tactical reports. To gather data, he would place, camouflage, and recover surveillance equipment.
At the same time, Yankee also earned an Associate of Applied Science degree in information technology from Cochise College. “The college credited my time at the Army schoolhouse toward my degree, so I only had to take a few additional courses,” he explained. “It’s a great pipeline that gives members of the intelligence community additional educational opportunities.”
As Yankee neared the end of his service term, an Army career counselor recommended that he consider the Skillbridge Program. Run by the Department of War, SkillBridge offers military members hands-on industry training during their last 180 days of service. Yankee had heard positive reviews of the program from his peers, so he was excited when he came across NASA’s online SkillBridge Fellow application.
“I wanted to explore different aspects of the intel world besides SIGINT,” Yankee said, “so I was excited when the OIG reached out to interview me for a fellowship working with open-source intelligence analysts.”
Open-source intelligence, or OSINT, leverages publicly available information from websites, social media, public records, geolocation data, and more to identify threats. During his 4 months at NASA OIG, Yankee focused on several projects within the Office of Investigations. He felt like an internet sleuth, following leads and pulling at threads until the mystery unraveled and he was able to crack the case.
In their free time, Yankee and his OSINT colleagues would challenge each other to solve geolocation puzzles. One investigator would share a photo, and the others would compete to determine the exact coordinates where the image was taken using only publicly available information.
“Those brain teasers, combined with what I learned through my NASA OIG projects, really fueled my interest in geospatial intelligence,” Yankee said. “I want to be like a Swiss Army knife: highly adaptable and well-versed in multiple facets of intelligence analysis.”
Next, Yankee is off to the University of Montana. He’s earning a bachelor’s degree in geosciences with a certificate in geographic information system technology, so he can pursue a career in geospatial intelligence.
“My advice to prospective SkillBridge Fellows is: Don’t sell yourself short,” he said. “I thought working at NASA OIG was just a pipe dream, but I’m so glad I filled out the application. Doors will open when you take chances and try new things.”
