1.   But in reality, the reconnaissance office has been its own fief for more than three decades, critics like Pike say.

2.   However, this was far from the first controversy over the reconnaissance office and its secrecy.

3.   In a closed Washington ceremony last fall, Mark received a government medal for his work with the reconnaissance office, which works closely with the Central Intelligence Agency.

4.   In the last few weeks, Deutch appointed a new chief financial officer for the reconnaissance office and ordered the agency to document its practices for handling money.

5.   Keith Hall, a senior intelligence official who has managed satellite programs for the Pentagon, was named Monday as deputy director and acting director of the reconnaissance office.

6.   The reconnaissance office has gotten high marks for the performance of its satellites, but Congress has been complaining about its secretive ways for years.

7.   The reconnaissance office still operates in the deepest secrecy of any government agency.

8.   This apparently was the case with the reconnaissance office.