REMARKS OF LT. GENERAL CHARLES P. CABEL, USAF

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-03090A000100010007-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 9, 2001
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: June 4, 1953
• Content Type: BULL

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C
TED
Security/ I ormation
OFFICE OF TRAINING
TRAINING BULLETIN
une
SUBJECT: Remarks of Lt. General Charles P. Cabell, USAF
1. General Charles P. Cabell, at the Tenth Agency Orientation
Course, on 5 May 1953, spoke to Agency personnel for the first time
as the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence.
2. It is believed that General Cabell's remarks will be of
general interest throughout the Agency and are attached hereto for
the information and guidance of all concerned.
3. It is requested that this document be given as wide circu-
lation among Agency personnel as is consistent with its classification.
A-
of Training
25X1A
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REMARKS \OF
LT. GENERAL CHARLES P. CABELL, USAF
AT THE
TENTH AGENCY ORIENTATION COURSE
5 May 1953
Col. Baird and fellow members of CIA: You know that "fellow members
of CIA" business sounds pretty good to me, a little strange, but still pret-
ty good. This is my first speech since assuming the Office of Deputy Direc-
tor of Central Intelligence, and I am pleased that the occasion is a training
program of our own. The strength of the Central Intelligence Agency, or any
organization for that matter, depends to a large degree upon the brand and
amount of training given to the men and women doing the various tasks. Maybe
you notice my using the words "our own," which I have done with deliberate
pride, because this is one method of driving home to myself the fact that I
am now part of that Agency with which I've worked for a good number of years.
I have always acknowledged this Agency as possessing a unique responsibility
in the field of intelligence. Not only is the Director of Central Intelli-
gence the leader in coordinating all efforts to produce the best national
intelligence, but the whole Agency shares that leadership responsibility,
Now, I find myself with you, as an integral part of this leadership function,
and in the position of having to "put up or shut up." My intention is to
"put up."
Many of you know that I have spent considerable time during the past few
months going from office to office in the Agency, to be thoroughly briefed on
organization and functions and current problems. I assure you that I could
have spent much more time to very good advantage on these subjects that were
covered with a degree of thoroughness which I appreciate. Since I have heard
and read so much about our Agency, perhaps you would be interested in some of
my impressions.
First, it is generally easy for any of us to distinguish between a "staged
event" put on to impress, and the telling of a genuine story. I think that I
heard genuine stories. Thus, as the personnel of the various offices explained
their responsibilities and described their functions, I acquired a conviction
of competence and dedication to their work. In every segment of the Agency I
found men and women who did not appear to have attributes of "clock watchers,"
merely filling-in their time. Rather, they appeared to have a profound appre-
ciation of why they were performing certain duties in this complex pattern of
national intelligence. They seemed to know full well that in this intelligence
business, there is no limit to the amount of time one can devote to it. An
intelligence worker can always "dig a little deeper."
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? When I considered that little over a decade ago no such structure as
this existed, I was given a sense of confidence by the thoroughness of the
continuing development of the Agency. I met collectors, linguists, couriers,
coordinators, producers of estimates, administrative officials, clerical and
secretarial personnel, lawyers, training officers, scientists, economists,
operators, area specialists, machine experts, librarians, and a host of other
categories that comprise the units of teamwork we call the CIA. It is obvi-
ous that one coach, whether he be Director or Deputy Director, cannot call
all the signals to make the moves of national intelligence click with effici-
ency, which they must do in the vital interest of the security of our nation.
Hence, my feeling of confidence was indeed great when I noted the assumption
of individual responsibility by each one in the several offices of the organi-
zation. Working in this fashion, under the policies and regulations promul-
gated throughout the Agency, brings assurance of success in attaining our
goals.
Besides the attitude of sincerity toward one's task, whatever it might
be, I was also impressed by the efficiency of the product. Systems have been
designed on the job, and adopted, to sift through the multitude and variety
of material collected by the Departments and by CIA. Production machinery now
works well to render support to the estimating function, both in CIA and the
Departments. These are but two examples of worthwhile performances.
As I went through these pleasant experiences, I could not but feel that
attitudes were outstandingly good, efficiency was of high calibre, and that
all shared a conviction that our work here is of vital importance.
I noticed some other things too:
First, the Agency has had its share of organizational changes in the
past few years. Having known the Agency for quite a long time with a certain
degree of intimacy, I feel that the pattern of changes was needed to bring
that strength of operation which now exists in our several functions. How-
ever, regardless ofthe benefits achieved by the alteration and modification
of functions, I am very conscious of the human element which might be lost
and receive no sympathetic consideration or explanation in the flux of change.
From my observation, I believe that most of you must have had knowledge of
the weaknesses, and a clear conviction of the reasons for adopting the new
methods and procedures, because you now speak and act with assurances of
strength.
A second thing I noticed was that the Agency has achieved stature, and
you carry on with a unity of purpose even though you are scattered all over
town and in a variety of buildings. Many of these buildings are hardly sound-
proof enough to shelter a noisy argument. Though my old Alma Mater, the
Pentagon, has been the butt of many jokes--some good--I must admit that the
massive structure, by providing space for most military intelligence activi-
ties, does ease many problems which unfortunately we must continue to live
with-at least for the time being-in CIA.. The time consumed between
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'buildings, the difficulties of sScurity which increase in direct proportion
to the number of locations, the human lethargy generated by distance which
discourages persons getting together on items that could benefit by the "per-
sonal" touch, all these and many more problems will continue as long as we
are housed in the bit and piece fashion.
Now that I've told you how I feel about you, you'll have to figure out
for yourselves what to expect from me. Here are some indicators. Basically,
you should know that I consider this a most important assignment, and that
I come into it with enthusiasm. Having spent my entire adult life in the
military service, I might be expected to consider this as merely another
change of duty for me. Such is not the case. Let me assure you that. I
burned many bridges in the Air Force and, with a freedom of decision, cast
my lot with you. I did so because I consider these functions, of producing
national intelligence estimates and of coordinating the total intelligence
effort of our Federal Government, of essential and prime importance if our
policies are to possess the strength and accuracy to save civilization.
Furthermore, instead of hastening into the job.. I was doubly pleased to
wait and to study the Agency, until the legislation covering my position
was fully clarified, because I hope to be here a good long time.
Many persons too often jump to the conclusion that the arrival of a
new official means inevitable drastic change in organization. Rest assured,
however, that I, for one, come with no bias for alteration, and my words of
sincere congratulations to you should assure you that what I saw and heard
gave me confidence in present procedures. However, while I do not favor
radical, revolutionary changes in the activities of any agency, I am a firm
believer in evolutionary modifications which are made with temperate and
thoughtful steps.
Therefore, I hope that we will never just tread water to keep ourselves
abreast of events, but will always be alert to the necessity for developing
and improving our methods. Without this approach, we could easily stagnate
in mediocrity.
CIA is a tremendous challenge to all of us as individuals--and to all
of us as members of a collective team.
All tasks to a degree are challenges, of course. Let me explain why I
feel that this, as I see it, is something of a unique challenge.
CIA is engaged in a variety of intelligence activities and special opera-
tions, which have been housed in a single agency. The very job of conducting
our work without disclosing our hand presents a tremendous obstacle.
Our intelligence work is carried on at a time when we are in greater need
of good intelligence than at any time in the history of this nation. Sound
National Policy and the success of our Armed Forces may be determined to a
large extent, as well as those of the service intelligence agencies, by the
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'success or failure of CIA effort. With this tremendous responsibility rest-
ing on our shoulders, we naturally would expect to look to the "old hands"--
to the veterans of CBS and CIA. When we do this, we find that our Agency is
so new that few men have more than six years of service--only rarely do we
find one with ten years of service. There are few "old timers." The mantle
of our great responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of the very fine
group of competent young men and women who now occupy the key positions in
CIA. I might add that I served in England for a time in World War II and was
in close touch with British Intelligence. That service has been in existence
for generations. Yet today, as America assumes its heavy if not fundamental
responsibilities in world affairs, we have little tradition in strategic in-
telligence. And so the very newness of our service, when related to the
scope of its task, presents one of our great challenges.
We work, as I am sure you have already noticed, in a highly specialized
atmosphere. It is certainly not an atmosphere for the faint of heart and
those who are discouraged easily. To the conscientious and able, I believe
it offers a wonderful opportunity.
Each day brings new tasks to CIA, which in some respects are unique.
It is challenging to play a part in helping to solve these problems.
As we progress or as we encounter obstacles in our work, I believe we
might profitably read again the history of the United States to refresh our-
selves on the tremendous obstacles that our Forebears overcame. For, in the
final analysis, the development of this Agency is a part of the growing ma-
turity of America as a nation. While we do not travel as rough a road as
the pioneers, there will be times when it appears as rough. It certainly is
not always smooth. I am proud to have a part in this development, just as
I know you are. One of the reasons that our intelligence service is so new
is that we were reluctant for years to admit that participation in intelli-
gence was a nationally permissible activity. Even today, as a nation, we
tend to be very conservative regarding our political and psychological roles.
As for this Agency, it is important for us to understand that in many
respects we are here to provide certain intelligence to the military services,
It is likewise important that the military services understand our general
objectives and capabilities. Effectiveness cannot be achieved unless the ef-
forts of CIA and the efforts of the Department of Defense are brought into
complete harmony. There is nothing more useless than highly organized mili-
tary force lacking in intelligence. Perhaps one thing is more useless--a
carefully documented intelligence report which is confined in its distribu-
tion and not made available to the military commanders. The two--intelli-
gence and military power--are completely interdependent. To help bring
them into correct relationship and to keep them there, is one of our con-
stant challenges.
Because of my experience with Air Intelligence and with the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, I hope to be helpful in continuing the marked improvement in mutual
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understanding between CIA and the Department, which has taken place during
the past two years. Along this line, I like to insist on the thought that
"Departments" and "Agencies" as such do not exist, for these are just gen-
eral words covering a lot of people. Hence, the lessening and elimination
of problems can be done by bringing persons together. This personal ap-
proach begets confidence and efficient results.
With the growth in size of organization and the development of complexi-
ties, we are compelled to allot functions and to divide tasks because of the
pressure of time and the need for expert advice. This trend toward categories
of "experts" creates the real but inevitable danger of putting blinkers over
our vision of the total task to be done. The overemphasis of the segmentdis-
torts the whole product. This very human trait is augmented by the physical
arrangement of our offices where distance might easily lend a false independ-
ence to what is being performed. Accordingly, I would like to remind you
that while we must ever strive to get the best information on any pertinent
subject and be able to refine and distill the products in minute fashion, we
must never lose our focus on the total job to be done. In most positive man-
ner, each person must do his or her task with the ever present recognition
that said task is a piece of a jigsaw, which will have usefulness only when
properly aligned with many other pieces to form a picture.
I shall conclude my remarks with a reminder that the most important fac-
tor for our success is the proper handling of people, at all levels through-
out the Agency. This job cannot be left to chance. It must ever be done with
education which comes from full knowledge and appreciation of duties. Our
strength of the present and our advance for the future depends wholly on get-
ting the best candidates, and on preparing them to assume their duties with
zeal and competency. Experience has shown that we cannot go to the outside
and get from academic institutions or from industry persons who can immedi-
ately be classed as "intelligence officers." Therefore, I am glad that we
have developed under General Smith and our new Director, Mr. Dulles, the
framework of a competent career system. This career service program and the
various mechanisms which are to make it work comprise the very backbone for
strength in the long-term approach of all our tasks. Its aim is to assure
that we always get the best equipped person in the most appropriate spot, so
that he can turn out the best product. That is the best way I know of for
assuring good morale.
This reminds us that when individuals are selected to come into such a
system, they should never overlook the fundamental point that throughout their
career in intelligence the selectivity factor is recurring constantly as per-
sons are being considered for certain jobs. Thus competency is continually
being evaluated. This is where the ever-present task of training is conspicu-
ous, to equip our people with the needed skills.
Throughout my remarks this morning I stressed the importance of the per-
sonal element in all we do. Therefore, I hope that I can live up to my own
resolution to visit with you often and keep close to what you are doing.
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