COURSE REPORT, OFC NO. 21

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-04311A000100140004-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 8, 2000
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: May 8, 1961
• Content Type: MEMO

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Director of la
TRW : Chief of Station,-
Chief Instructor, Operations
Familiarization Ceurse
Course Report OPC No 21
P78-04311A000100140004-4
DENTAL
25X1A6b
1961
1. Synopsis. Operations Familiarisation Course
No. 21 ran from 13 ?larch through 21 April 1961. Of
the 24 students originally enrolled, 23 completed the
course. The 24th student departed two weeks early for
an overseas assignment. The average age of the class
was 32, and the average grade was GS-9. A detailed
breakdown of the student body is attached as Annex A.
The great majority of the students came from the DD/r,
one from the DD/I? one from the Office of the Director,
and five from the DD/S, including four JOTts. This
course started simultaneously with the running of OC
So. 11, as did OPC No. 20 with the start of OC Mb. 10.
The students of both OM Mo. 21 and OC lb. 11 worked
together as one clams during the first three days of
their respective courses. During this period, they
were given a Clandestine Services orientation.
There were fewer students with little or no
Agency experience in OFC No. 21 as compared to OFC
No. 20 where the number of new employees reached two-
thirds of the total class. The increased composite
experience of this group made the problem of orienta-
tion and Instruction considerably less difficult than
with the previous class. The class, as a whole, had
enough experience to appreciate what was being pre-
sented to them and, in addition, had the background to
formmlate intelligent comments or questions.
2. Student Performance. OPC No. 21 was the smallest
class to la77-1161767-5F;Vraus classes have had as few
as 25 students. This group kept its mind on the problems
of the course and an doing, collectively, a good job.
The class did not experienoe deleterious effects of
student absences, personal emergencies illnesses or
withdrawals, which items were at a minimum among these
students. OPC No. 21 compares very favorably to previout
classes in relation to their level of attainment. From
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OFC No.
844311A000100140004-4
IAL
the start, the group seemed to be 5.ntpz'ei$.d with the
25X1A6b
impo tame of learning all they could during time
A unique spir devel
available to them
oped within this group, a spirit which seemed to lead
toward high performance and extended study periods in
this classrooms. In the early weeks of the coarse, the
student* seemed to identify themselves with student
No. 206 who was singularly dedioated, interested, and
competent. Taken an a whole, the students of OFC No. 21
performed at a high level. Their performance is con.
sidered to have been *lose to the top of their abilities.
Thera has not been in any recent OFC so muoh ooncentrated
student effort put upon the preparation of reading 'Resign
manta and written exereises in the elassrooms at night,
During OFC No. 21 for the first time, OFC students were
permitted to work in the elsseroome past midnight. Their
preparation of written assignments woks, on the whole,
quite satisfaetory. A faster in this was their intense
interest in doing a oompetent piece of work.
All of the students performed satisfactorily
or above, and some showed a high degree of aptitude for
advanced work in the area or operations.
The written evaluations of OFC No. 21 did ot
rate the students on an adjootival basis. Narrative
paragraphs were used for the purpose of identifying, to
both the eupervisor and the students those areas in whi h
the OF0 staff observed them to have a partioular pti.
tufa* or a need for additional training
3, Alg41TLgnmmsnI. The student crit4quee wer
in most oasei, iicstive of general class preferenc s
and dislikes as mirrored by the individual student*.
The students did not feel the necessity for writing
critiques, and those 20 who submitted eritiques did so
more as a matter of completing another assignment.
There is a notioeable improvement in the student respect
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SUBJECT: Course Report, OPC No. 21
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for instructor capability shown throughout the CYC
No. 21 critiques. There is a consistent request through-
out the critiques for additional inetruction in all
phases of covert motion. Several students felt the need
for more information on the Russian intelligenee Service,
defeotore, and TSD. Several student* Ouggested a unified
oourae problem involving one project in whieh the student
would be introduced to all of the facets of operational
and support experience that are now dealt with in the
25X1A2d1 multi.project situation. This suggestion,
which wail made by several or the better students, has
real merit in that in the short space of time available
to the students they Gould handle one projeet encompassing
the meny aspects of field station experience without the
burdensome necessity of mastering great amounts of paper
on numerous individual agents and projects.
o,
objectives more cos previous
running because of numerous cbanges that w.ze made in
the course content as a result o d experienoe
on the part or the staff and attention student
critiques. The msJor element* of Wiling* in OK No. 21
were the introduction of some eighteen hours of Clen-
destine Servioes orientation which resulted in the
dropping from the schedule of eighteen hours of scheduled
study time. The majority of the olandestine field aptly.
Mee lectures were reduced from three or two hours to
one hour, saving six hours or leeture time. This change
was partly in consideration or the over-all proportion
of time granted to the various training components end,
also, in deference to the student critiques. The course
critigges of 070 No. 20 tadicated a reaaonsble request
on the p rt of the students for additional prectical
exercises in which they could apply the techniques
offered through leotures re. This was met
during the (sours 1
exercise on the
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Meant Coi.
s Report SO. 21
thu sisal
be a
gation
&Iced in
O satisfy
students,
requests
a.
zeeeived by the group and is
conelusion to the debriefing
r the instruction. A lecture
ass on the Ritenika Intelligenee
crtooming that had been notieed
Thip subjeet was eagerl attended
Lor a fuller coverage of this
will oabinu. to m*k suokz addi
to o of th as it deems n.o.ssaryar
adtaabJe az., in dotng this, wil take into cogniSance
the atdontt critiques however, not feeling bound by
these passing comments.
The sterf has b?ou pleased to learn s nee the
ing of the Course R.pwt on 070 No. 20 that OM No 21
at to be the final running of the Operations Palmill Pi-
ton Course but that, instead, it will continue with
YO No, 22, beginning 11 September 1961
In closing, special note should be token of the
exIIent job turned in by the staff in making this,
perhaps the finest running or an OFC to date. It is
a yeomants task to run an OC conourrentIy with the
first six weeks of an 00 . and their performance is oven
more exceptional when it is realized that the eteff was
far ander strength.
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