Wayne Madsen (born April 28, 1954) is an American journalist and conspiracy theorist who writes the blog Wayne Madsen Report. Background and early life Madsen was born on April 28, 1954 in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, to an American mother and a Danish mariner. His grandmother, who emigrated to the U.S. with his father after World War II, was Victoria Madsen, a Danish communist party official. In the 1950s, Victoria was deported from the United States. Madsen attended the University of Mississippi, where he joined the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps. Career U.S. Navy Upon graduation from University of Mississippi, he joined the U.S. Navy. He was commissioned an ensign. In early 1982 he was stationed at the classified Naval Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) station at Coos Head, which had an allowance of twelve officers, ninety-five enlisted and 15 civilians. He was later given a bad fitness report by his executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Marney Finch who transferred him to Washington D.C. later that year. In 1984, Madsen reports that he was loaned to the National Security Agency by the Navy. He resigned from the Navy in 1985 as a lieutenant, having been passed over for promotion. Post-Navy Between 1985 and 1989 Madsen held a series of jobs, first working for RCA as a government consultant on contracts for the National Security Agency (NSA). Later he worked for the Navy's Naval Data Automation Command as a civilian employee. After this Madsen briefly established his own consulting firm, then worked for the National Bureau of Standards, and later for the State Department. In 1990 Madsen joined Computer Sciences Corporation, working there from 1990 until 1997, when he joined the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) as a senior fellow. In 1998, while at EPIC, Madsen was described by journalist Jason Vest in The Village Voice as one of the world's leading SIGINT and computer security experts. In late-January 2005, Madsen left EPIC. While at EPIC he appeared as a guest on 60 Minutes, ABC Nightline, Voice of America, and National Public Radio. Blogging and other writing He has been described as an "odd individual" devoted to writing in an area that "teeters on a slippery slope, at the foot of which is the whole repository of Internet-perpetuated conspiracy theories" which leads to much of his writing being treated with skepticism. He produces a blog called the Wayne Madsen Report. His articles have appeared