CONFERENCE ON COVERT ACTION TRAINING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-05795A000200020008-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 8, 2000
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: March 6, 1967
• Content Type: MFR

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SUBJECT: Conference on Covert Action Training
1. The meeting to discuss covert action training,
particularly the covert action operations course, called
by DC/CA for 1500 hours, 6 February 1967, was attended by
the following: DC/CA, who chaired the meeting; Messrs.
STATINTL
EUR was not represented.
2. Summary of conclusions: From a wealth of different
viewpoints and lengthy discussions, the following themes
emerged from the meeting:
it. Crucial to the success of CA opcratlouH Is
developing a basic attitude toward CA in the context
of integrated operations. A joint FI/CI/CA approach
should be taught, possibly at a middle or senior level
seminar after suitable coordination and clearance at
the DDP level.
b. While the training for CT's should be improved,
the middle level officer should be given intensive
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seminar-type exposure to special areas of skills
available and to major areas of techniques needed in
CA operations. A seminar outline for this purpose
is to be developed.
c. An inventory or catalogue of Headquarters and
field personnel and information in a number of special-
ized fields required in CA operations should be developed
and drawn on in the seminar cited above.
3. DC/CA opened the meeting by commenting that the
cancellation of the CA operations course indicated that it
was not fulfilling current needs; the purpose of the preseb..t
meeting is to discuss these needs. of OTR noted
the cancellation of the last two scheduled CAO courses and
referred to the outline of the past course and present
revision. The purpose of the course is to provide middle-
level (not junior) officers a problem solving approach to
covert action operations, even though these people may have
had only limited or even no previous CA experience. The
discussion developed a number of problems regarding this
course which had reduced interest in it. For a Division
like AF with small stations it is difficult to fit such a
long course into the pre-departure schedule of the COS or
STATINTL
DCOS. A shorter course or a required course is given priority.
This was amplified by the experience in NE Division which
has problems in making people available for courses in an
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the field or participant in the mid-career course cannot
be spared for more training. It is difficult to spare even
CT's who have just come from the CT course. A short course
with specific skills might be valuable, but in choosing
between CI and CA in defining areas in which to add needed
skills, the former would be given priority. From an FE
Division point of view, it was felt that the course may try
to tackle too many problems at one time and thus becomes
too long even for case officers who are able to specialize
in CA but who would prefer to spend a concentrated time
with a CA Staff branch in discussions. This process of -
searching out individual officers to consult, it was noted,
left a great deal to chance.
STATINTL 4. outlined the nature of CA training in the
CT program as consisting of familiarization in the OFC and
a problem in the OC which is to be revised to sharpen the
CA concepts along with lectures and presentations from CA
Staff and Division representatives and a panel. There
followed a lengthy discussion with many exchanges of views
on the weaknesses in the current training concepts. The
courses as now taught, it was noted, are one-sided and tend
to give an FI/CI slant which shapes the attitudes of the
CT in the direction of compartmentation instead of promoting
the concept of integrated operations which is necessary for
higher-level but also for junior officers. Though the needs
vary at different levels, the concept must stress integrated
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 operations requiring imagination in situations which tent
the participant's ability to dual with situations on the
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Job.
Individual country presentations do not help much
in this process. Courses on a single phase of operations,
as t CAO, attract only those officers who can be spared at
the. 'noment. It was noted that since we cannot afford the
luxuIry of specialization of CA, we need a course for
inte rated operations for grades 11 through 13. It was
also'noted that CT's are not being given training on how
to uele the information available to a policy-maker or
political action operator, so that when they become senior
officers, they find that they would profit from training in
this tacit ul' operations. Another aspect of this is the
a bi 1 ill'ty to be our own consumer of information for even
short-+term operational purposes. The OTR operations school
is exaJ ining the problem of the dichotomy between the
length, book training given to CT's and the experience
collecyed by officers in grades 11 through 15 without
book V wining. Even a senior operations course or seminar,
which vrouId be useful, may not solve all the CA training
needs.
5.~ This discussion raised thec}pestion of whether
was criticized as being too strongly oriented toward manage-
ment and required too much briefing in on the given situation
1.11 preparation. Ar uments r gni i
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no sen iment for straight lectures. The game approach
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presented, but n 1'to terms Worn