A hero has passed from our presence and words struggle to express the profound loss. Thad loved his country and his family dearly.

Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4) Thaddeus C. Czuprynski, throughout his illustrious career, set the standard as a Russian voice-interceptor; an electronic countermeasures operator; a signals intelligence analyst; an interrogator; a strategic debriefer; and an Area-Intelligence officer. His unparalleled skills and intuitive reasoning prompted peers, subordinates, and superiors alike to seek him out for advice and assessments on all matters of intelligence concerns.

After completing the Russian Basic Course at Defense Language Institute (DLI); the Voice Intercept Course at Goodfellow AFB, and tactical survival school at Fort Devens, CW4 Czuprynski began his career in the Army Security Agency (ASA) assigned to the 202nd ASA Company, Ansbach, Germany, from 1976 to 1979. During this assignment, then Specialist Four Czuprynski spent more time on the East German and Czech borders than in garrison. On numerous occasions, his actions led to the successful recovery of East German, Czech, and Russian defectors and deserters, as well as the rescue of a Special Forces Team returning from inside a denied area.

During his tenure as a Russian Transcription Quality Controller, Field Station Augsburg, from 1981 to 1984, then Staff Sergeant (SSG) Czuprynski oversaw the intercept and transcription of thousands of hours of Russian military and civilian voice traffic. Of note during this assignment, SSG Czuprynski intercepted and transcribed the majority of the voice traffic coming from a Whiskey-class Soviet submarine, grounded in Swedish waters, in 1981. He was also one of two transcribers to provide the final draft of Russian voice traffic between the Soviet ground controller and pilot of the interceptor that shot down KAL flight 007 in 1983.

As Team Chief of an Interrogation Team, Alpha Company, 519th Military Intelligence (MI) Battalion, from 1986 to 1988, Mister Czuprynski lead his team on numerous training and real-world missions supporting the JFK Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) School, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta.

During Operation DESERT STORM, once again Mister Czuprynski's efforts were unequaled. As the Operations Officer of a Tactical Exploitation Battalion in 1991, Mister Czuprynski's guidance was crucial to the successful employment of his unit's intelligence assets in combat. Through his deft coordination and management, collection assets processed over 16,000 enemy prisoners of war and disseminated over 1,000 intelligence reports, answering questions critical to the success of VII Corps on the battlefield.

As officer-in-charge of an echelon-above-corps interrogation platoon from 1992 to 1996, CW4 Czuprynski directed 30-35 Army interrogators in conducting extensive overt Human Intelligence collection operations responding to theater and national-level collection requirements. His management and guidance resulted in the successful and highly-productive debriefings of hundreds of defectors and refugees from the former Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact countries, as well as Bosnia. The information contained in the over 900 Intelligence Information Reports published under CW4 Czuprynski 's oversight was crucial to the worldwide collection effort and received multiple "Major Significance" evaluations from analysts at the Defense Intelligence Agency as well as from Allied consumers.

From 1996 to 1998, he was instrumental in ensuring that the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty and the Dayton Accords were strictly enforced in his area of responsibility and that timelines for reductions in forces and equipment were met. His many insightful and detailed briefings and debriefings related to the CFE and Dayton Accords prompted recognition from several Senior Intelligence Service Officers at national-level agencies. Due to his unequaled performance, the Department of Defense selected him to serve as a US CFE/Dayton Accords inspector in all areas west of the Urals including the Balkans.

As Executive Officer of a one-of-a-kind, forward-deployed, Department of Defense, intelligence collection platform, Mister Czuprynski carried out and supported overt and clandestine operations in a semi-permissive environment for over 11 months. One highlight of this tour was when Mister Czuprynski took part in the acquisition of an M87 ORKAN rocket for material exploitation. Prior to this time, this 263mm rocket was highly sought after due to its extended range and lethal potential. Because of this accomplishment, U.S. equipment experts were able to develop counter-battery artillery capabilities to defeat this weapon system on the battlefield.

During his tenure as a Strategic Debriefer, Field Operating Base EUCOM, Defense Intelligence Agency, he debriefed hundreds of sources, authoring over 250 Intelligence Information Reports. These insightful reports contained vital information that contributed profoundly to the worldwide intelligence collection effort and appreciably improved the capabilities of national-level decision-makers. The predictive intelligence assessments of potential enemy actions contained in at least a dozen of Mister Czuprynski's reports caused changes in national policy.

From March 2000 to June 2001 CW4 Czuprynski deftly managed the REDTRAIN and language programs for the XVIII Airborne Corps. He was responsible for training resources valued in excess of $2.5 million that directly impacted over 2,500 MI soldiers, NCOs, and officers assigned to four divisions, one armored cavalry regiment, and 13 separate brigades, located in five different states. CW4 Czuprynski's critical oversight ensured that MI personnel and linguists were ready to accomplish contingency mission taskings, directed by the National Command Authority, anywhere in the world.

Throughout his 26-year career, Mister Czuprynski had an overwhelming influence on Army interrogation, strategic debriefing, and area intelligence functions. He was a pivotal factor in improving Army human intelligence (HUMINT) operations. CW4 Thaddeus Czuprynski is an outstanding soldier, model interrogator, and quintessential warrant officer and American.

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