A REVIEW OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT ASPECTS OF THE JOT PROGRAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-06365A000200030002-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 34
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 11, 2002
• Sequence Number: 2
• Content Type: STUDY

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PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT ASPECTS
of the
CT PROGRAM
GENERAL
ORIGIN AND PURPOSE OPT TOT PROGRAM
in October 1950 Gen. Walter B. Smith, then DCI, conceived and
launched a Junior Officer Training Program in CIA. He had as his aim
the development of a -w~~ell-ordered system for bringing into the Agency
and also for choosing from among its employees each year a small
number of highly qualified and carefully selected young men and women
and then preparing them, through a special pr ram of training and job
rotation, for executive responsibility.
Some have characterized Gene Smith's purpose as the creation of
an "elite corps" within C.M. Perhaps this was so. Certainly it was
promising
his intent to "seed" the Agency with a small number of highly
executive trainees.
To the newly appointed Director of Training (whose position was,
also established in October 1950) Gen. Smith gave responsibility for
managing the JOT Program. Verry high standards of mental ability,
physical fitness, security, and other personal characteristics were
prescribed for DOT's, They were also required to affirm their readiness
to serve wherever needed. But even more distinctive. and important in
the new program was the provision for a two-year period of carefully
monitored apprenticeship consisting of balanced periods of formal
instruction and on-the--job training throughout which the JOT would be
observed, tested" and counseled, and at the end of which he would
be placed in an assignment calculated to afford maximum opportunity
for the particular officer ' s professional g- owth and development
The pro ram was i.nt .ended to provide executive trainees for all
components of the :Agency. However, from the very beginning, for
perfectly understandable reasons, it has tilted quite strongly toward
the DD/P and will probably continue to be weighted heavily in that
direction even when specific component quotas are applied in assign-
ing "graduates."
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Since 1951 the JOT Program has undergone several important
changes, developments and shifts in emphasis:
1. Zhe number of trainee has Done up--from a yearly
intake averaging just under during the first 5 years of
the program to an average of slightly overElfor the past 4
years. In 1960 the figure is supposed to jump high enough
to yield I I graduates." Still greater increases can be
anticipated in future years, especially if the recommenda-
tions discussed on page 8 are accepted and JOT training
is made available to a wider range of the junior professionals
being brought into the Agency.
2. New , O s now come on duty in croups and are
formed into special all-JOT classes for training purposes.
This simplifies many management responsibilities of OTR
and also enables trainees to develop a stronger "class
spirit" and group identification. In the early days of the
program JOT's came aboard whenever their processing was
completed and they were available, thus requiring an
Individual training plan for each new JOT.
3. The ount of formal trainin4 has increased and
has been standardized. Before 1958 JOT's got their formal
training by enrolling with other Agency personnel in regular
OTR courses which they took on an intermittent basis
spliced between on-the-job assignments. The nature,
order and amounts of such training were not uniform among
members of the same JOT "class. " In 1958 this practice
changed. An integrated training program specifically
designed for all-JOT classes was established. It in-
cludes a 10-week block of common instruction, followed
by separate blocks of skills training for each of the three
career groups (i.e., DD/P, DD/I and DD/S) . The inte-
grated program is designed to give each new officer the
broad foundation and essential basic training he or she
needs to launch a successful professional career in the
Agency. It increases, intensifies and standardizes the
formal training that JOT's receive. Development of this
program was a great step forward in the plan for their
professional preparation.
4. jy anaoemant of U le program has been strengthened.
Members of the JOT Staff have steadily increased their
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knowledge of Agency operations and consequently their
ability to select, counsel and assign trainees. Working
relations between the JOT Staff and other components
throughout the Agency with which JOT ' s train on-the-job
are on firm footing and are being improved consistently.
As the size of the JOT Staff has grown, its internal
procedures have also been strengthened and better
systematized.
5. The philosophy and p s of the program have
undergone chan a--and this process is currently being
accelerated. From its original concept as a very small
and highly selective "executive trainee" program, the JOT
Program has grown in size and scope to a point where one
can foresee the likelihood that it will become almost the
only, if not the sole, avenue by which junior professional
employees enter CIA. Such a fundamental shift in purpose
necessitates matching shifts in philosophy and practice,
some of which have already taken place and others of
which must.
6. The 1QT Program has become firmly established as
s foundation block in the Agency ?s personnel management
pry. This is so well recognized today that one forgets
it was not always so--a circumstance that is perhaps as
high a tribute as can be paid to the soundness of the
Program?s concept, the integrity of its management, and
to the solid results it has achieved. As was noted in the
preceding paragraph, there is good reason to believe that
it may become the pattern, in slightly modified form, for
virtually all of the recruitment and basic training of junior
professionals in CIA.
THE PRES-ENT IQI PROGRAM
The present JOT Program, as described in 7 Aug a58,
is "one means of selecting and preparing highly qua ie young men
and women for professional careers in the Agency. "
The program is open to persons who (1) have a college education
or, in the case of on-duty personnel, its equivalent in experience,
(2) are qualified to undertake assignments of any degree of sensitivity,
and (3) are medically qualified for full duty/general,
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Participation in the JOT Program normally extends over a span of
approximately two years and includes (1) a lengthy period of formal
training, and (2) controlled on-the-job assignments designed to
develop the professional potential of trainees to fill positions of
increasingly greater responsibility within the Agency.
JOT's are recruited under quotas established each year on the 25X1A9B
basis of antliinat d profes al person needs of the A cy. The 25X1A9B
1960 quota oinclurdesor DD/P, 7~ for DD/I, and or DD/S. 25X1A9B
JOT's come from 3 principal sources: college and ui,iversity
campuses (by far the greatest source), "walk-ins," and "Internals"--
i.e., young persons already employed by CIA. Candidates are located
and screened by the Office of Personnel (except for "internals -who
apply directly to OTR), tested by the A&E Staff of OTR, examined by
the Medical and Security staffs, and interviewed by the JOTP before
being selected. Then they must undergo a complete security investi-
gation and an intensive assessment before final acceptance. This
whole process, aimed at assuring the best possible choices for the
program, has been characterized by the IG as probably the most thorough
personnel selection process inside or outside the Government!
Although Individual JOT's may EOD at any time during the year if
need be, they are usually brought on duty i roup which is formed
into a single all-JOT class of not more than members who then begin
immediately the formal portion of their two-year training program. In
1958 when the integrated program was started, and again In 1959, only
one class was formed each year. Ir) 1960, however, two classes will
be needed---one starting in July and another in January 1961--to accom!--?
modate the number of JOT's being hired.
The "integrated" program of formal training has two parts: an
orientation period attended by the full class (in 1960 this will cover
10 weeks) followed by a period of skills training during which the JOT's
are split into 3 groups, according to the major component to which they
25X1A2D1 will later be asslane . DD/P trainees take the 20 week Operations
Course a which has been designed especially for them.
25X1A2D1 DD/I trainees w :tae the 6 weeks Operations Familiarization Course
wvw vv aa. aa~ca~a'-
quarters. DD/S trainees take the 6 weeks OFC and the 4 weeks Opera-
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courses, including perhaps Supervision. and Effective Writing.
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On completion of the integrated program (approximately 30 weeks
total), JOT's are given on-the-job training assignments in their re-
spective components for the balance of the two-year JOT term. During
this latter period they receive careful supervision in a variety of
apprenticeship tasks and may also be enrolled for additional training
courses. This is also the time for those who need foreign language
training to begin it. In most cases this will mean instruction at
elementary and intermediate levels in one of the "world" languages
(French, Spanish or German) because, until a JOT has demonstrated
his career potential and solidified his career intentions, it will
generally not be advisable to invest in him an overly extended period
of training, especially in an "exotic" language. Exceptions to this
rule will occur, of course, but the reasons for them will be fairly easy
to spot.
At the end of the two-year term' the JOT is formally assigned to a
component and pursues the normal career pattern of a professional
employee in that component.
. RECRUITMENT
REQUIREMENTS
In past years, JOT requirements have been fixed by an over-all
personnel ceiling for the program by DCI. As shown on page 2,
yearly intake averaged fewer thannfrom 1951-55 and slightly over
from 1956-59--numbers in line with the concept of an executive
trainee program. Requirements were not related to specific needs, nor
were quotas or allotments established for the various components in
assigning "graduates." The philosophy seemed to be that the JOT
Program was a supplement to the Agency's recruitment program for
professionals, and was designed to bring on duty young persons of
superior capacity and of general background who could be trained for
a great variety of key positions in which they could continue their
development toward ultimate assignments to senior managerial and
executive posts. Requirements for specialized personnel (lawyers,
doctors, engineers, economists, accountants, scientists, etc.) and
requirements for junior professionals other than JOT?s were to be met
by "normal" recruitment action.
In practice, the JOT Program became the ,principal source of new
"Case Officers" for DD/P, a significant source of junior professionals
for OCI, and a relatively minor source for all other Agency components
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(see Annex A for assignments of all JOT's who have completed the
program). This came about because of a number of factors, including:
(1) the "lure" of overseas assignments and the fascination of clan-
destine operations--both of which caused most JOT's to prefer DD/P;
(2) the eagerness of DD/P to get more JOT's; and (3) the reaction of
the JOT Staff in its management of the Program to mounting pressure
from DD/P and a lack of corresponding pressure from DD/I and DD/S 4
In any case, an imbalance in the program resulted and, even worse,
an atmosphere in which trainees assigned to DD/I and DD/S were often
regarded as the less successful members of the group who couldn't
make the DD/P team.
In early 1960, OTR took an important first step to broaden the JOT
Program and to change the way in which JOT requirements are determined.
A numerical quota was set for trainees to be hired in 1960 (enough to
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among the three major components for DD/P, = ]for DD/I, and F1
for DD/S. This action was taken after all components had been con- 25X1A9B
suited and the Director of Personnel had studied the matter intensely,
and it reflected carefully calculated projections of requirements. Indi' 25X1A9B
cations are that similar action will be taken each year hereafter to
determine the number of JOT's to be hired and their subsequent assign-
ments. Certainly this is the proper course to follow.
More is needed, however, than just numerical quotas; requirements
should reflect the types of candidates sought. To be sure, we must
avoid any rigid prescriptions in this respect--all the more since we
are dealing with fairly young and inexperienced candidates--but the
system must be responsive to the actual, professional requirements of
the Agency which of necessity are translated ultimately into specific
categories and specialties. Thus what is really needed is
(1) a capacity in the Agency to define clearly the various
types of functional competence required both at headquarters
and overseas,
(2) an ability to project personnel inventory requirements
Into future annual induction quotas,
(3) a clear understanding of the types of requirements the
JOT Program is expected to fill within annual quotas, and
finally
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(4) a career development program, given the right
human materials, that is capable of generating within
the Agency the professional skills it will continue to
need in the future.
It is not the purpose of this review to examine CIA's personnel
planning system and certainly not to discuss its career development
program. However, there are several points still to be made about
JOT requirements.
We cannot and should not look to the JOT Program to supply the
full catalog of professional specializations necessary to the effective
operation of the Agency. Other recruitment--at both junior and senior
levels--will always be necessary and desirable in some fields of
specialization. Nevertheless, we should expand out JOT spectrum
to include all these categories of professional employees who logically
can be obtained by hiring well qualified young men and women and then
developing them within the Agency through an orderly program of train-
ing and rotational assignments. This suggests that DD/I, and especially
DD/S, should make far greater use of the JOT Program than they now do,
because it offers the means by which they can obtain young professionals
who (1) have "survived" a more thorough selection process and (2) have
received through JOT training a broader understanding of the Agency's
missions and better basic instruction in its over-all activities than
can be provided otherwise. The suggestion is also clear that the Office
of Training must attune itself to handle a much more diverse as well as
a larger group of JOT's
Specifically, it is proposed that DD/I look to the JOT Program to
furnish a foundation of basic Agency training for its young economists
and most of its young professional specialists of other types, including
scientists. For his part, the DD/S should consciously search out those
areas of support which ought to be "seeded" with young people possess-
ing broad professional training and ability. At first, until proper pro-
jections of such requirements can be made, the DD/S should fix arbitrary
annual quotas for components--say on the order of 2-4 for each of the
larger Offices, 1 perhaps for the smaller components and 3-4 to come
under the control of the SA career group. It would not be amiss even
for the Medical and Legal Staffs to enroll their new, young professional
careerists in the formal training portion of the JOT Program, considering
their need for broad training in Agency activities. The foregoing pro--
posals contemplate a JOT Program embracing two categories of young
professional trainees: (1) JOT's selected, trained and administered as
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at present to meet requirements for non-specialized professional
positions in each of the three major components, with major emphasis
on Case Officer requirements of DD/P? (2) JOT/Specialists selected
by the using components, in consultation with the JOTP, for specific
T/O assignments; they would pursue an abbreviated program of 6-12
months including the integrated course and possibly some specialized
courses and language training during which they would be carried on
JOT rolls and at the conclusion of which they would transfer to their
predetermined slots. More will be said about these proposals in
later sections of the survey. To the extent that DD/i and DD/S accept
them, it will be correspondingly important that their JOT requirements
be expressed in types and categories in addition to mere numbers.
A last point on requirements. Notwithstanding action already in
progress to increase the size of the JOT Program, and added suggestions
along this line in the preceding paragraph, we must be vigilant against
the temptation to include semi-professionals in the Program. This
latter term is meant to include categories like RI analysts, OCR docu-
ment coders and disseminators, Logistics stock records personnel,
etc. Such employees do not need the broad training given JOT ? s; and
if they and their JOT contemporaries are both properly chosen for their
roles, then there will be enough dissimilarity in aptitudes and interests
to make joint training unproductive as well as unwise.
STANDARDS
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L Cates the bare outline of the standards applied to JOT
candidates: 1) college education (or equivalent in experience for on-
duty personnel), (2) ability to obtain security clearance for any type
of assignment, (3) medical qualification for full duty/general. Before
acceptance, candidates must also undergo psychological testing and
a very careful screening process based on personal interview. A word
about each of these standards.
College training. Is, of course, in line with the concept that JOT's
are professional employees. However, the way is and should remain
open for outstanding non-college candidates who prove their ability in
Agency assignments.
The strict security standard is deliberate--on the theory that
professionals who are to receive broad training in Agency functions
ought to be qualified from a security point of view to perform those
functions. This theory as applied to the great majority of JOT's Is
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certainly quite sound. But in a few cases involving specially qualified
candidates for DD/P positions, who are eligible for TOP SECRET clear-
ances but not for certain other types, it seems that waivers might be
entertained
If the proposal to include specialists in the JOT Program is
accepted, a fresh look at present medical standards will be necessary.
Even without this change, it would seem that waivers of the "full duty/
general" requirement should be available for candidates fully qualified
in all other respects who seek careers along lines that do not demand
such rigid physical qualifications.
Something should also be said about the osychiatric standard being
applied to JOT candidates. It is very difficult to deal with this aspect
of medical evaluations because OTR gets so little information about it
in given cases. However, a presumption is raised now and then that
the Psychiatric Division may be setinel q for the JOT Program from among
candidates who are medically qualified. If so, the practice should be
stopped. Psychiatric evaluations which raise questions but which do
not ciearl disqualify candidates should be treated as advisory in nature
and relayed to the Chief, JOTP or other officials as the Medical Staff
deems appropriate; they should not he permitted to become the basis
for the peremptory medical rejection of candidates. It is worth noting
that the State Department requires no psychiatric examination in selecting
Foreign Service Officers except, of course, when there are obvious Indi-
cations in the medical report that such an examination is needed. This
is a deliberate policy, according to the Chief of the Foreign Service
Examining Panel, based on the belief that routine psychiatric screening
examinations even at their best are an uncertain process and would cost
more than they would be worth. The rare psychiatric "casualty" who
shows up in the Foreign Service (and who might have passed through a
routine psychiatric screening anyway had there been one) is simply
disposed of.
The osychological tests being given to JOT's should be reviewed--
to insure that we are covering the aptitudes and characteristics we
really ought to cover. The ability to write, for example; is a key part
of the Foreign Service Officer examination but is not included in our
JOT test battery, We may also be able, through additions or modifi-
cations to the tests, to increase their usefulness in determining
appropriate areas of assignment for JOT' s .
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More will be said later (p. 17) about the use of personal interviews
to select JOT's. Here is the point simply to note that persons conduct-
ing interviews, whether for Initial screening or final selection purposes,
must know the standards to be used in evaluating candidates if the
interviews are to be productive. As of now, we do not have a clear,
concise recording of these standards; we should, even if they are
expressed in fairly general terms, because interviews are currently
being conducted by quite a number of people--by consultants for spot-
ting purposes, by Personnel recruiters for screening purposes, and by
several members of JOTP for selection purposes. If JOT/Specialists
are brought into the program, still more people will be involved in the
selection process. And they should all be "reading from the same book. "
Preparing such a set of standards will not be difficult; presumably we
have been ayinca them right along, so it's merely a matter of writing
down what has already been agreed upon. In preparing such a list,
we will find helpful the "precepts" used by Foreign Service, and also
the "attributes of a successful intelligence officer" described by the
Inspector General on 3 October 1958 to a class of JOT's.
RECRUITMENT SYSTEM
The aspect of the JOT Program in need of greatest change-C--and
urgently so--is our personnel recruitment system. We ought to have
a eat many more applicants from whom to choose and they should be
more diverse in background and more representative of the broad sweep
of American life than are our present applicants.
To hire 150-200 Foreign Service Officers in 1960, State has pro-
cessed applications from over 10,000 young people. About 6,400 of
them took the written exam last December in 65 cities throughout the
U. S. (plus a few overseas locations); 10 300 passed of whom about
800 are expected to survive the oral exam and then, after medical and
security checks, be placed in rank order on a list of eligibles from
which appointments will be made. To hirel in 1960, CIA
expects to test oni had been tested by 20 June) .
True, the applicants we test, unlike those for Foreign Service, must
first have been screened by a recruiter from Personnel and appear to be
acceptable; so they represent the most promising of a larger group of
persons considered by the recruiters. Some, in fact, have been spe-
cifically "spotted" for the JOT Program by university "consultants" we
use for this purpose, Nevertheless, we may be kidding ourselves to
think that our modest recruitment effort can compete in the quality of
its final results with the massive competitive selection program of the
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Foreign Service. Certainly we shouldn`t deliberately select a second-
place position as our goal for CIA?s recruitment system.
In addition to increasing the numbers of applicants for the JOT
Program, we should strive for groups of trainees who (1) are geographi-
cally representative, (2) properly reflect the wide and essential variety
of American life, and (3) are sufficiently diversified in the technical
skills required in all those Agency operations which JOT's are expected
ultimately to perform. Adequate information is not at hand to measure
our present JOT's against these three criteria. But a sample might
indicate that there is room for improvement. Annex B shows, by states,
where JOT's who came to the program with bachelor degrees earned them;
shown also are the theoretical numbers who would have come from each
State had geographical quotas, according to population, been applied.
Massachusetts--with a theoretical quota of 12--actually supplied 62
JOT's. Connecticut with a "quota" of 6 furnished 40. Texas with a
"quota" of 23 supplied only onel Seven states with a combined "quota"
of 16 supplied no JOT'so Admittedly, these comparisons would be
different, but probably only slightly so in terms of geographic regions,
if the legal residence of each JOT were used instead of the state in
which he went to college. Another sort of imbalance is also shown in
Annex B: the kinds of colleges (I.e., private, state, etc.) attended by
members of the last two JOT classes are recorded along with the per-
centage of JOT's attending each. The Ivy League schools accounted
for about 1/4 of the total, and in 1959 private (as opposed to state)
schools accounted for 3/4 of the total class.
Now, what can we do to increase and diversify applicants for the
JOT Program.
The first and biggest step must be to publicize our recruitment
program. CIA must (1) tell prospective applicants--all over the United
States--that it offers career opportunities on a highly competitive basis
to young people with certain aptitudes and skills, and (2) it must state
what those aptitudes and skills are. At present we seem to consider
ourselves sharply limited by security in doing these two things. Why?
Are we afraid to tell the American people that we exist as a permanent
organization with fairly sizeable professional personnel requirements?
Our enemies know it. And so will anybody else who looks at thelI
man building we will soon occupy in Langley. Are we afraid to ac nc~owl
edge the kinds of professionals we hire? The enemy knows that too.
Are we afraid it will be difficult to provide cover later for persons who
apply overtly? Surely we are clever enough to deal successfully with
that problem; new employees don't all have to be hired overtly, though
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some would, of course. And perhaps the latter would be a most healthy
development, for in trying to conceal our entire staff of employees we
expose techniques which are extremely important to the cover of certain
members. of our Organization. :~-~
Maybe a quote from a Brookings Institute report of 1951 on The
Administration of F'oreiqn Affairs and Qvers ea~s Otaera ion will be help,
ful at this point:, In speaking of the high standards that must be used
in recruiting persons for duty overseas, the report states:
"The number of qualified people who not only
meet these special standards but are also willing
to undertake a tour of duty overseas is limited.
The number of such qualified persons might
nevertheless be fully adequate if the method
of recruitment were not so unfamiliar to many
citizens and so complex that many prospective
employees with high qualifications are lost. "
The same thing might be said of JOT recruitment. And until we
throw off some of the mystery surrounding how we hire overt employees
and what types we look for, we can never get the broad base of applie-
cants we should have from which to select the best for Agency employment.
The second step must be to augment and reinforce the recruitment
program of the Office of Personnel. At the moment Personnel has 8
recruiters covering the entire U . S. seeking JOT and all other types of
applicants. In addition, there are "consultants" (usually faculty mem-
bers specially briefed for this task) on about 35 campuses spotting for
the JOT Program. Even with substantial and sustained publicity to aid
them, these few recruiters and "spotters" are inadequate to generate
the flow of applicants we ought to have to yield properly
qualified JOT's a year. We should have consultants or spotters on not
fewer than 150 campuses all over the country, and our recruiters should
be in contact with all the major military demobilization centers. The
number of JOT applicants should be measured each year not in hundreds
but in thousands.
REGRLTITMENT, AfIS
To stimulate JOT applications, the Office of Personnel must now
rely almost wholly upon word-of-.mouth information about the Program--
its existence, its career aspects, and the types of candidates being
sought. A small and uninviting pamphlet EMR oyment Opportunities in
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the Central ,.nnex. C) can be given or mailed to
prospective candidates ----If they have somehow learned how and where
to ask for it-but it i;3 highly doubtful that any wavering applicant will
be persuaded by wh?t he reads in this pamphlet.
Is it any won' er then that -the ma or problem in recruiting and re-
taining JO'T's is .yirst to persuade and then to convince doubtful, reluctant,
and even appr~-iensive young people that they should give themselves to
such an ur,%no bn cause. How different the lot of the State Department
which tkxs yo= r had 6,400 college graduates, fully aware of what they
were seekinr;, earnestly competing to get into the Foreign Service.
CIA needs a nation-wide program of publicity, aimed primarily at
the colleges and universities, telling about its JOT Program- Prospec-
Live candidates need to know what we're looking for, what we offer,
and how to compete, At least once a year, someone representing the
Agency should visit every school or location where there is sufficient
interest to justify the trip and talk to individuals or groups about oppor-
tunities in CIA. Suitable written materials which will really stimulate
interest should be available to give or mail to people who want them.
Occasionally, an article about career opportunities in CIA should be
~n This Week , Reader's IJige st Life,, or some other widely
circulated publication. As suggested in the preceding section, the
number of "consultants" spotting for the JOT Program should be greatly
increased--with emphasis on CIA "alumni" who are now serving on
faculties all over the country. Added means must be developed to
stimulate interest among non-careerists in the military services. And
the number of locations (now 33) where qualifying tests are given should
be increased.
All this publicity must necessarily observe the security precautions
that affect our various activities. But under the guise of recruiting for
purely overt jobs, we can conduct most, if not all, JOT recruitment by
simply making distinctions in how we handle and brief people who apply
for or pass the qualifying test.
Increased recruiting, however done, will cost more money and
require more people to do it. Nevertheless, the Agency simply must
face up to this problem if it wants first-class results; and It can ill
afford to settle for less.
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PAY AND EMOLI3dv ENTS
Under current policies, JOT's are usually hired at grade GS-7
($4,980) and can expect a one-grade promotion every 8 months during
their two-year training period if they perform satisfactorily) so that
they reach GS-10 ($6$505) by the time of assignment to regular positions.
JOT?s who go into the military program (see p. 27) civilianlze at GS--9
($5,985) and are GS-10 when assigned to regular positions. A few highly
qualified JOT's enter at GS-8 ($5,470) or even GS-9 and may be a GS-11
($7, 030) when transferred to a regular assignment. Advancement ther ?e-
after for all JOT?s depends on their ability (and the availability of higher
slots). Average age of JOT's hired in 1959 was 26 and 24% of them held
advanced degrees.
As a basis for comparison:
(1) State appoints new Foreign Service Officers at Class 8 -
pay range $4, 730 to $5,885. Any one of eight pay steps in the
Class can be given depending on age, qualifications, marital
status, etc. This year no FSO will be appointed below $5,225;
many will receive the top step. Advancement thereafter is governed
by a strict up-or-out policy. Age of FSO? s appointed in 1960 is
expected to average 24.
(2) FBI appoints new agents at GS-10 and promotes them to
GS-11 after two years and GS-12 after three more years if they
maintain satisfactory records. Advancement beyond that depends
on ability. All new agents (at present) must hold LLB degrees.
Average age at appointment is not known but is probably 25-26.
(3) Colleges are widely advertising the fact that many private
companies seeking graduates this year in engineering, business ad-
ministration, accounting, etc. are offering $6,000 - 6,600. Even
liberal arts graduates, according to Kiplinger? s han in Times
(May 1960 edition), can expect offers averaging 5,100. And all
these are salaries promised holders of bachelor degrees whose
average age is 221
(4) ROTC graduates who enter military service do so as 2nd
Lieutenants - which is the rough equivalent (for married officers)
of GS'-?. After 18 months they are promoted to 1st Lieutenant -
the rough equivalent of GAS-11.
From the foregoing comparisons, it is clear that, to continue com-
peting successfully for outstanding young men and women, CIA is going
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to have to (1) raise the starting pay of JOT',s, or (2) lower entrance
standards (particularly age), or (3) really sell its career program--
perhaps even a combination of all three. One thing is certain: we
cant just stand still.
Experience argues strongly in favor of retaining present entrance
standards. Older, maturer JOT's bring to the Agency a richer variety
of background and experience and are able to absorb and apply JOT
training more readily than younger persons. Turnover rates are also
lower.
Selling CIA, as a career is a task that demands the utmost from all
of us who deal with the JOT Program and it is an exceedingly difficult
task. For no matter how liberal the Agency may become in publicizing
and promoting JOT recruitment, it can never permit the candor and
freedom of discussion that applicants desire before making career
commitments. Hence, we must first attract them by whatever means
are open to us--salary, opportunities for overseas duty, the challenge
of public service, CIA's prestige and our own enthusiasm for it, yes
even the lure of the "unknown. " Thereafter, the real job of selling
career service begins; it is one of cementing their bonds with the
Agency through stimulating training, challenging assignments, in-
spiring leadership, and visible opportunities for recognition and ad-
vancement to those. who deserve them. In any case, "selling our
career program" is a process more calculated to retain JOT's already
aboard than to attract, those applying
This lea.='es us the prospect of raising starting pay for JOT9s.
Certainly if 7;;!e expect their average age to remain at present levels,
we will have to do something of this sort. As a tentative proposal,
considering competition from other Federal agencies and from private
business, it is suggested that GS-8 ($5,410) become the "normal"
starting pay for JOT's and that GS-9 and GS-10 be available as starting
salaries for more mature, better qualified candidates. In any case,
OTR should initiate an immediate study, in consultation with the
Director of Personnel, to determine the salary scales that ought to be
used for JOT's and the factors to be considered in applying these scales
to individual candidates.
It is suggested further that the Agency study ways and means by
which JOT's recruited from outside the Washington area can have the
costs of transporting their families and household goods to Washington
paid by CIA. Both the Foreign Service and the Atomic Energy Commission
do this, as do most large companies hiring young professionals. And so
does CIA for certain classes of employees as specified in
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SELECTION
PRESENT PROCEDURES
At present the selection of JOT?s is a function of the Chief of the
JOT Staff. He Is aided by recommendations from (1) members of the
Office of Personnel who recruit and screen applicants before they are
tested, (2) psychologists of the A&E Staff who analyze test results and
perform psychological assessments of candidates, and (3) members of
the JOT Staff who interview and evaluate candidates after all preliminary
steps of application have been completed. JOT?s are, of coarse, sub-
ject to medical and security approval and formal appointment by the
Office of Personnel. In addition, the Director of Training monitors the
actions and decisions of the JOT Staff; but this has become progressively
less restrictive as his confidence in the Staff has increased, and he
seldom overrides their decisions.
As we have seen, candidates for the JOT Program are "spotted" by
university consultants,, contacted by Personnel recruiters. walk into
CIA headquarters for interview,, or apply from within the Agency. Except
for "internals" who are then assessed by the A&E Staff and examined by
a dal that determines their acceptance or rejections all other candi?-,
dates (1) get a screening interview a Personnel recruiter, and (2)
if Judged promising;; are given a written test prepared by the A&E Staff
and administered throughout the year at 35 locations over the country,
and (3) if considered by the JOT Staff to be "good" candidates (about
half those tested are so regarded) are invited to Washington at Agency
expense for interview by a member and also by the Chief of the JOT Staff.
Selection or rejection follows this last step, subject to the medical and
security checks previously noted.
In the two critical steps of the selection process--the test and the
final oral interviews,-action is taken without reference to predetermined,
recorded standards; no passing or failing mark has been established for
the test, and the oral interview is not grounded on any precise criteria,
Missing too are clear statements of JOT re meats indicating the
general types of assignments to be filled by members of a given class.
As the Chief of the JOT Staff puts It, the aim is to select "first class"
people, and general principles rather than recorded criteria are followed
in making selections. Trainees are, usually chosen on the strength of
broad general qualifications and are later placed, subject to the needs
of the Agency, in the particular types of assignments they are considered
best able to handle,:; based on observations by the JOT Staff and others.
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The record to date indicates that the Chief of the JOT Staff who
has served in that capacity since July 1952 and hence has selected all
but a mere handful of those taken into the program) has acted both wisely
and well in making his choicer. Praise for the caliber of men and women
in the program has been uniform throughout the Agency--praise amply
justified by JOT pextrmance records. There is likewise no trace of
doubt that the Chief of the JOT Staff has functioned with great objec-
tivity, with complete fair-mindedness, and with absolute integrity.
Nevertheless, the selection procedures now being followed ought
to be modified. And if JOT/Specialists are brought into the program, a
separate process must be worked out for selecting them.
10 These changes should be made in present JOT selection
procedures:
a. The written tests should be amended to produce
results of more precise value in determining appropriate
fields of assignment for candidates who are selected.
b. The final interview (in effect, the "oral exami-
nation") should be based on recorded criteria- -criteria
fully understood by those conducting the interview and
known also to candidates before they take the written
test. It is only fair that candidates know the qualities;;
characteristics and other factors that will be considered
in the competiti process to which they expose them-
selves; and it is absolutely essential that interviewers
have this information If they are to function properly.
No satisfactory way to disseminate such information
exists saw by writing.,
c. Stronger representation should be accorded
the DD/P, and perhaps also the DD/I, In the final
selection process, This could be done by having
representatives of these components participate in
candidate interviews on an ad hoc basis. But it
probably could be done more satisfactorily by
inviting the components to nominate members for
rotational assignment to the JOT Staff. The latter
now has 5 officers a including the Chief; four of
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them are OTR careerists, one of whom had substantial
service in DD/P before becoming an ST careerist, and
another who served four years in DD/I before joining
OTR. The fifth member of the JOT Staff is the Personnel
officer on rotational assignment from OP
d, JOT's should be selected against established
personnel requirements and for specific major components.
The present method of choosing trainees against broada
generalized requirements and then fitting them later into
specific assignments, although in some respects advan-
tageous, has some much more persuasive disadvantages:
(1) requirements of DD/S and 1)1)/I for
trainees with specialized backgrounds are not
met adequately, primarily because such re-
quirements are not emphasized in the recruit-
ment process
(2) major components are left uncertain
as to the number of JOT's they will get from
each class until assignments are actually made
(3) trainees themselves are uncertain as
to the component for which they have been
chosen and those who go eventually to DD/I
and DD/S often feel that they failed to make
the "first team."
(4) selection criteria tend to favor heavily
candidates whose backgrounds place them in
the middle spectrum of CIA's personnel require-
ments to a point where the rich and essential
variety of people we need (and which WW II
produced for C are not always obtained.
(5) the JOT Staff assumes an unnecessary
burden in trying, often through hasty observa-
tion, to decide during the first few weeks of
each JOT class the component training (and
hence assignment) each person is to receive
during the second phase of integrated training.
It is therefore proposed: that candidates be
selected each year against carefully projected lists of
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component requirements, as specific as to numbers
and types as is practicable when planning two or
more years ahead, and that assignments, at least
by major component--DD/Id DD/PQ DD/S --be
determined whew trainees Xff sAiected. The right
to adjust assignments-for sufficient cause--can
be preserved, thereby providing whatever flexibility
in such matters is required.
2. If the number of JOT applicants approaches the level
hoped for in previous discussions about a nation-wide recruit-
ing campaign to attract them, consideration should then be
given to establishing an automatic passing scare on the
written test. At present there is no passing or failing grade
and, so long as the number of applicants remains fairly low,
none is needed. However, when applicants can be counted
in the thousands, it will be desirable to fix such a mark--
flexible if necessary, so each year the "cutting score" can
be set to yield the desired number or proportion of success-
ful candidates. Setting such a grade not only lets appli-
cants know where they stand, it also determines who goes
on to the final interview instead of leaving this crucial
decision to someone's subjective review of a file; these
will be important considerations in a large-scale recruiting
situation,
3. If the recommendation regarding JOT/Specialists is
accepted, several changes must be made in selection pro-
cedures to accommodate them. The written test will have to
be modified, perhaps by adding supplementary material for
each field of specialization. The JOT Staff will need to
develop with the co ponents concerned the criteria and
standards to be used in selecting specialists so this informa-
tion can be recorded and disseminated to all those involved
in the recruitment and selection processes who will need it.
And finally, an arrangement must be worked out for the JOT
Staff to share in an advisory role in the final interview and
selection of candidates, with the parent component approving
the choice and designating the specific T/O assignment which
each candidate is intended to fill.
TRAINING
No attempt is made here to deal with the substance of JOT training;
there are listed merely a few observations concerning its management.
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FORMAL L_ SgU GTIO1
During their formal (or "integrated") instruction, JOT's are first
brought together in a single class for 10 weeks of orientation and then
split into three groups, according to their major components, for about
20 weeks of skills training:
DO/P -
DD/I - 6 weeks OFO I (a new change
effective in 19601) and a 12-14 week Intelli -
gence Production Course at headquarters.
D:D/S 6 weeks OFC and 4 weeks OPM
plus other selected courses at headquarters.
A great benefit from this approach to formal instruction is the
sense of group identity JOT' s develop. Most important, too, is the
broad foundation they receive in over-all Agency activities. The
decision made this year to enroll DD/I trainees in the Operations
Familiarization Course I was a great stride forward in
both these directions: they will receive basic familiarization in D:D/P
activities and will have a sense of shared experience
with their contemporaries in DD/P and DD/S.
Some comments and suggestions about the formal Instruction program
appear in a separate section below.
O LATHE- Q TRA31V NG
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Upon completion of formal instruction, JOT's go to their components
for on-the-job training which they continue, with possible breaks for
language or other training courses, until their two-year (approximately)
program is concluded. As a general rule, on-the-job training is per-
formed with the Office or Division to which the JOT is expected to be
assigned later, but this need not be so. If a unit which offers excellent
training opportunities has a relatively small requirement for new person-
nel, it may nevertheless be wise to stack It high with on-the-job trainees,
shifting the surplus later to units having greatest need for theme It is a
truism that units most desperately in need of additional personnel are
usually in the least advantageous position to train beginners.
It is recognized that many factors have to be balanced in choosing
on-the-job training assignments. But it must be recognized also that
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the individuals involved are still trainees striving to find their proper
niches in the Agency and to prepare themselves for what they hope
will be challenging and rewarding careers. Most of them are uncertain,
some quite so, on both these points. Thus, it is of lastingly greater
importance that trainees receive the kind of guidance, supervision and
training that will motivate and prepare them for the future than that they
plug temporarily some discouragingly dull assignment of little instruc-
tional value - even though the latter may be of key importance to the
unit concerned,
It is fair to say that a great measure of the success of the JOT
Program rests on the skillful handling of the on-the-job phases--
selection of training assignments; informed and understanding counsel
throughout the period; ability to spot and avoid "problems" before they
occur, if possible, and, if not, to resolve them promptly and effectively;
ability to "see ahead" and to help trainees merge their own best interests
with those of the Agency; and finally, the wisdom to know when to cut
trainees loose.
In the past, the JOT Staff has worked very closely with on-'the-
job trainees and has built up with virtually all Agency components a
fairly well-ordered body of precedent and experience in the matter.
This is fortunate because the growth in the size of the program in 1960,
and further increases which can be anticipated, will introduce new
stresses in this phase of the program and place even greater importance
on the necessity for components to shoulder their full share of responsi-
bility for counseling and motivating trainees.
The on-the-job training phase would not apply, of course, to JOT/
Specialists if they should be brought into the program.
LANGUAGE TRAINING
One of the primary aims of the JOT Program is to provide lin-
guistically competent young officers--by hiring them if possible and,
if not, then by training them--for the DD/P and for those segments of
DD/I and DD/S which require such competence. This is a goal of
constantly growing importance--one that needs sharper definition and
still more vigorous prosecution.
At present, JOT candidates are not required to possess language
skills though Personnel recruiters seek out and encourage those who
do. Even so, fewer than half those selected have a useful level of
proficiency in any foreign language; and most of them, as well as their
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colleagues with lesser skills, must have refresher training while in
the JOT Program to prelerve whatever proficiency they had when hired.
It is probably unrealistic to expect future groups of JOT candidates
to show any notable improvement In language skills,, at least for some
years anyway, because the colleges just aren't turning them out in
sufficient numbers nowadays. And if we make this an entrance require-
ment, future classes will simply shrink in size unless standards are
lowered in some other, very likely more important, direction. Thus we
are faced for quite some time with the necessity to train most of our
future linguists.
If it is any consolation, Foreign Service has the same problem
it no longer requires applicants to pass foreign language tests, although
those who do receive five extra points on their over-all scores. How-
ever, Foreign Service requires that officers who lack a foreign language
when appointed acquire one before they can be promoted, and the nec-
essary training is arranged at the Foreign Service Institute or elsewhere
during their first year or so. Ground rules on language competence are
clearly spelled out in FS Circular 227, 16 August 1957: "The acquisition
of a 'useful' knowledge of French, German or Spanish is expected of
every FSO by 1962 or within five years of appointment) and officers
who fall to measure up will find their advancement blocked"; moreover,
officers "will be encouraged to acquire a 'useful' knowledge of two
foreign languages, as well as sufficient command of the language of
each post of assignment to use greetings, ordinary social expressions,
etc."
CIA has no Agency policy or regulation specifying the language
skills its employees must possess. It should and undoubtedly will
some day. Meanwhile, a highly useful start can be made with the
JOT's who are suns(t to take language training (on the basis of
prospective assignments) during their second year in the program but
whose record on this score can be improved. Why not make such train-
ing a requirement for all those whose prospective careers indicate the
need for it? To this end, it is recommended that a policy embodying
the following general concepts be adopted:
1. All trainees must possess, before they complete the
JOT Program, a "useful" knowledge of a modern foreign lan-
guage--with exceptions to the rule being made for trainees
whose components indicate no prospective need for such skills
or for other justifiable causes. ("Useful knowledge" would
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probably be interpreted in the DD/P and DD/S to mean an inter-
mediate speaking knowledge and in the DD/I an intermediate
reading knowledge.)
2. In the absence of clear reasons to the contrary, initial
language training for JOT's will be in one of the world languages-
French, German, or Spanish. (This choice is made for reasons of
economy as well as utility on the premise that extended training
in an "exotic" language should not be undertaken until we know
the trainee's career intentions toward us and ours toward him.)
Adoption of the foregoing policy would bind units with which JOT's
are training on-the-job to release them for required language instruction--
a sometimes troublesome problem at the moment. It would also make clear
to the JOT his own obligation in the matter. Finally, over a period of time
it would improve significantly the Agency's inventory of language
competence s.
SUGGESTED SCHEDULE
It has been suggested from time to time that the operational train-
ing for JOT candidates for the Clandestine Services would be more
effective and meaningful if they could get at least some on-the-job
desk training for to the operational instruction. It also has been
remarked that the Operations Planning and Management Course (OPMC)
contains features peculiarly advantageous to headquarters desk work.
With this in mind, although the present concept of training has
proved to be effective and satisfactory, QTR. should devote. further
thought and study to the following, proposed training concept: that
1. all JOT's complete the l0-week JOT Orientation
Course;
2. all JOT 9 s attend, instead of the present OFC or
OC0 a five-week orientation-and-familiarization training
course in basic, clandestine tradecraft a
3. there then follow a one-week break for "administra-
tor?s time" for such JOTP purposes as further personal inter-
views, completion of A&E Staff processing, selection of
career training program and the like;
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4. JOT (and JOT/Specialist) candidates for the DD/I
then take the 14-week Intelligence Production Course (IPC),
and upon completion of this go on to DD/I on-the-job
training and assignment;
5. candidates for DD/P and DD/S positions take next
a four - six week course similar to the present Operations
Planning and Management Course (OPMC) but at headquarters;
6. DD/P candidates then enter into six months (more or
less) on-the-job desk training in DD/P operating divisions,
putting to practice the skills and knowledge taught in the
OPMC-revised; DD/S candidates enter into the same period
of on-the-'job training with area division Support Staff
components;
7. upon completion of this first phase of on-the-job
training, DD/P "case officer"candidates return 25X1A6B
for a 14 - 16 week operations course, concentrating on
"field" application of tradecraft and other basic skills and
knowledge to FI7 CI, and CA operations; DD/P "specialists"
concurrently would take such further Headquarters courses
as Information Reports, Requirements,, and Reporting (IRRR),
Counterintelligence Familiarization, and so on, according
to their individual needs;
8. similarly, DD/S candidates would go on with
selected (directed) DD/S-component training, manage-
ment and supervision, effective speaking, and writing
work shop;
9. upon completion of the above, formal training, the
DD/P and DD/S candidates would return to the operating
divisions for further, more advanced training for overseas
assignment or for duty in the headquarters elements. This
next period may also include
training course, intensive language training, selected
technical (TSD) training, and so on as required. The total
time in JOTP/training status would total two years, except
for those requiring continued, intensive language training.
ASSIGNMENT
A facet of the JOT Program quite important in the past and one which
consumes a good bit of the energy of the JOT Staff is the determination
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of assignments for trainees. Under the urging of the Director of Training,
the Chief of the JOT Staff has felt a heavy personal responsibility for
assuring that trainees receive the assignments they are best suited to
fill and which will give them the greatest opportunity for professional
development, taking into account their own aptitudes and ambitions as
well as the needs of the Agency. Much counseling, evaluation and
deliberation have gone into this process--with gratifying results.
However, this approach--while perfectly in keeping with past
concepts that JOT' s were "executive trainees" or young professionals
with "superior qualifications" --is not compatible, in all of its present
application, with a JOT Program designed to fill most, or very nearly
most, of the junior professional requirements of the Agency. As dis-
cussed above (page 19), the determination of JOT assignments, at
least according to major components--DD/I, DD/P, or DD/S--should
be made when candidates are selected. In addition, more of the
responsibility for determining specific assignments later when JOT's
are trained on-the-job must be borne by components. To be fully
effective, these shifts must be accompanied, of course, by certain
other changes in CIAs personnel management system; otherwise an
important contribution of the JOT Program will be lost. The shifts
assume, among other things, that:
1. Satisfactory means will be employed--better recruiting
techniques, proper selection methods, more personalized treat-
ment of ow-the-job trainees by supervisors, etc. --to provide
JOT's the motivating influences presently generated by the
JOT Staff.
2 C CIA will develop a satisfactory executive develop-
ment program with the "machinery" necessary to identify and
guide the early careers of its more promising young profes-
sionals. The absence of a visible program of the sort,
coupled with the withdrawal of the JOT Staff from part of
its present role in the guidance and assignment of trainees,
could easily discourage the more gifted trainees before
their career intentions have solidified. A most encouraging
sign would be the emergence among supervisors across-the-
board of the recognition that JOT 3 s are CIA assets, and not
just members of a single component, so that a more aggressive
effort can be made to identify those (perhaps 10 - 15 a year)
who should receive the broadest training and rotational
development.
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3. Each major component will be properly tooled up to
carry through with the assignment of trainees as they com-?
plete the JOT Program. This step will become critical
when requirements for JOT?s are in close balance with their
supply, as they will be in the future program. DD/I and
DD/S can probably handle this in stride, but DD/P will
likely have trouble until its assignment system is more
tightly centralized.
In implementing the new assignment system, the move to determine
the major component of each trainee at the time of his selection should
be made promptly, with the 1960 class if possible. But a fairly lengthy
period of transition should be allowed for the JOT Staff to detach itself
from the matter of determining the specific assignment a trainee is to
receive on completion of the program; there is still much the JOT Staff
can contribute that is sorely needed In this process.
Much of the foregoing discussion is unrelated; of course, to JOT/
Specialists because their specific assignments would be determined at
the time of their initial selection.
MANAGEMENT
This section includes observations on several matters involved in
or affecting management of the JOT Program but which were not dis-
cussed under preceding topic headings.
MILITARY PROGRAM
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Since its inception, the JOT Program has made use of agreements
negotiated between CIA and the Department of Defense (plus Selective
Service where necessary) for deferring or "arranging" the military service
of draft-eligible JOT?s to suit the interests of the Agency. This practice
originated during the Korean War when without it there would have been
a mighty small JOT Program. Since 1953 it has been employed on a
steadil diminishing scale. In all, during the nine years of the Program,
(appro)imately 30% of all males selected) were "sponsored"
by CIA in connection with their obligated military service; 69 of the
Ihave since resigned.
. Currently the "military program" is limited to placing a small num-
ber of newly selected JOT ? s In OCS programs of the Air Force and Marines
where they serve part of the period of their obligated service and are
detailed to CIA for the remainder. This Is done so they can fulfill their
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military obligation (at least the external portion) before beginning JOT
training. Fourteen JOT's selected In 1958 and nine selected in 1959
were so treated.
The basic justification on which the military program rests is
essentiality--i. e. , without it we could not recruit enough, or enough
of the right kinds, of trainees to meet essential Agency requirements.
In the past, particularly the 19511953 period, the need for such a
program was clear. It could become so again if we have a sudden
military build-up for any reason. Therefore, there may be merit in
continuing the program on a very moderate scale to keep alive the
various agreements and arrangements with the military services o In
so doing, however, we should choose participants with the greatest
care to assure that their motivation lies in their career interest in CIA
and not in their desire to take advantage of the military program. And
insofar as we can, we should sponsor them for the types of military
tours which will be most productive for them and for CIA in their later
Agency careers--tours, for example, which provide opportunities for
the exercise of leadership or for special training in fields of direct
interest to CIA. Finally, we should not hurry to cut short the tours of
the younger officers unless we are sure that the military experience
they are getting is distinctly less valuable than the experience they
would acquire in CIA during the same period.
PROMOTION POLICY"
Unlike Foreign Service, the military services, and some other
"career" organizations, CIA does not have a promotion policy or
personnel management system which provides for automatic advance-
ment ("up or out") of career members after stated intervals of time.
Instead, we follow the normal pattern In Federal service of promoting
employees on a "best qualified" basis but not insisting on the removal
of those who fail to gain promotion.
For the Agency as a whole, there is little doubt that CIA's present
promotion system is the one to be preferred. At the same time, however,
it Is decidedly less attractive to many ambitious young professionals
than a career system which assures that they will go up (or out) at
predictable future dates.
Our inability to project with assurance the career patterns that JOT
candidates can expect has been a significant handicap in recruiting for
the program. It has also presented problems in persuading ambitious
young JOT's to remain in the program when they have become discouraged
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about their future prospects. This latter point has been an especially
sore one during the past two years with so much talk about "personnel
humps," reductions in ceiling, promotion freezes, etc.
The JOT Program has met this problem head-on, insofar as it can,
by providing for the automatic promotion of trainees while they are in
the program (pp 15) . Beyond that, however, they are on their ovum.
The question is thus presented whether something more should be
done with respect to this whole matter. It is obvious that the question
should be answered affirmatively, but the "what" and "how" are a great
deal less obvious. They depend in considerable measure on future trends
in the Agency's career development program. Are we, for example, going
to establish a core of "true careerists" within the over-all staff of the
Agency? Probably not, at least not soon Are individual Career Services
going to manage their affairs so they will have an age distribution among
professionals that will assure their orderly advancement? Hopefully yes,
and the serious attention DD/P is giving this problem right now is en-
couraging, Will the Agency press for a tough selection out policy,
early retirement, etc. ? Perhaps.
Meanwhile it is suggested that an informal agreement be reached
with the Deputy Directors to provide that the automatic consideration
JOT? s receive for promotion while in the program be extended beyond
"graduation" and include advancement to the GS-12 level, the agree-
ment to be monitored by the Director of Personnel. This would equate
JOT's roughly with their military contemporaries (who advance to the
level of Captain fairly automatically, after which more highly com-
petitive processes come into play) and also with their contemporaries
in the FBI. Such an arrangement would release from this problem the
most intense pressure now affecting it--the scramble to reach GS-12,
which is blocked for many former JOT's despite their outstanding
performances.
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SUMMARY
Since the inception of the JOT Program in 1950, OTR has evolved
an effective and successful system for selecting highly qualified young
professional trainees and then developing them systematically--through
balanced periods of formal instruction and on-the-job training--for
important, productive careers in CIA. There has also been evolved a
body of principles and techniques of great value in counseling, stimu-
lating the career interests of, and assisting in determining the most
suitable placement for young professionals coming into the Agency.
From its early beginnings as a relatively small "executive trainee"
program, the JOTP has developed into the principal (and almost only)
source of new Case Officers for DD/P, an important supplier of young
officers for OCI and OO/C, and a useful source of young professionals
for a number of other elements of the Agency. It has increased in capacity
from 41 the first year to an expected Intake oflI new members this
year. And the point has arrived, in our judgment, where it is appropriate 25X1A9B
to consider whether the program should be extended, in modified form, to
embrace virtually all young professionals entering the Agency so that
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components can obtain officers who (1) have "survived" a more thorough
selection process and (2) have received through JOT training a broader
understanding of the Agency's missions and better instruction in its
over-all activities than is provided otherwise. OTR believes this should
occur and accordingly has developed for consideration and decision
appropriate recommendations for expanding ? .he JOT Program, as well as
other recommendations for strengthening and improving it.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION
1. (p. 8) Seek approval in principle for an Agency policy
establishing two broad categories of junior professional trainees:
a. LQI?s--selected, trained and administered as at
present to meet requirements for non--specialized pro-
fessional positions in each of the three major components,
with the great weight of the program being devoted to Case
Officer requirements of DD/P,
b. JOT/Skecialists-?-selected by using components,;
in consultation with the JOT Staff, for specific T/O assign-
ments. Trainees would pursue an abbreviated program of
6-12 months, including the integrated course and possibly
some specialized courses and language training. While
in the program, they would be carried on JOT rolls and at
the conclusion transfer to their predetermined slots.
If the foregoing policy is approved, OTR should
staff out--in coordination with the Director of Personnel
and each Agency element concerned-,-the estimated num-
bers and types of specialists to be recruited and trained
each year and the standards and methods to be employed
in their selection.
2. (p. 11) Record, coordinate with major components as necessary,,
and make appropriate distribution of the standards and criteria to be used
in gglectilIg JOT' s so that all who participate in this process will have a
common understanding of it.
3. (p. 10) Review and improve, if needed, the screening tests
(including language tests) being used in connection with the JOT Program
with a view to increasing their usefulness in determining appropriate
areas of assignment for trainees as well as in the initial selection
process.
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4. (p. 16) Initiate an immediate study, in consultation with the
Director of Personnel, to adjust the entrance salaries of JO "'s so the
JOT Program can remain competitive with similar recruitment programs
of private business and other Government agencies. The study should
identify: the factors to be used in determining salary levels for candi-
dates of varying age and experience; and the salary scales to be applied.
5. (p. 18) Accord the DD/P and the DD/I stronger representation
in the selection and handling of JOT~s by inviting them to nominate
members for rotational assignment to the JOT Staff as suitable vacancies
become available.
6. (p. 19) Adopt Immediately the practice of designating at the
time of EOD the major component--l. e. , DD/I, DD/P or DD/S--,for
which each JOT is selected, with the understanding that such designa-
tions can be changed if sufficient justification exists.
7. (p. 22) Develop with each major component suitable arrange-
ments for providing oral briefings and written guidance to aid supervisory
officials, especially at the branch level, in carrying out their responsi-
bilities in connection with on-the-job training of JOT's.
Office of Personnel
.PX
1. (p. 19) Continue to improve methods used in forecasting JOT
requirements so that trainees can be selected each year against cage-
fully projected lists of component requirements which are as specific
as to numbers ands as is practicable when planning two years
ahead,
2. (P. 11-13) Take such action as may be necessary to increase
substantially the number of candidates for the JOT Program and, Insofar
as possible, to insure that they are (a) more geographically representa-
tive and (b) more diverse in backgrounds and skills than at present.
Action should include a considerable increase In the number and disper-
sion of college and university consultants and In communications with
military demobilization centers. It should also contemplate earlier
contact with applicants so that more lead time is available for process-
ing those selected.
3. (p. 14) Prepare a new and more attractive brochure for use in
JOT recruitment, as well as other suitable promotion materials that may
be needed for this purpose.
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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY
By OTR
1. (pa 23) Development, in consultation with major components,
of a specific policy governing language training of JOT?s--the policy
to require that each trainee possess, before completing the JOT Program,
a useful knowledge of a modern foreign language, unless the component
to which he will be assigned indicates no prospective need for such a
skill or there is other justifiable cause for not providing such training.
2. (P. 24) Revision of the training schedule for JOT 's who will
go into DD/P to provide them with (a) the equivalent of the Operations
Planning and Management Course during their initial block of instruction
and then (b) a substantial pe:diod of on-the-job experience before they
take the 25X1A6B
3. (p. 28) Reduction in the use of the military program for JOT ? s
to the minimum essential level; and greater restraint in cutting short
the military tours of those who are in this program, doing so only when
it is clear that the military experience they are getting is distinctly
less valuable to them and to the Agency than the experience they would
acquire in CIA during the same period.
4. (p. 29) Possible proposal to the Director of Personnel and the
Career Council of a "semi-automatic" promotion program for professional
personnel extending beyond their trainee period and including the GS-12
level.
5. (p. 20) If the number of JOT applicants approaches the levels
hoped for in discussions of a nation-wide recruiting campaign to attract
them, consideration should then be given to establishing a "cutting
score" (i.e. --automatic passing grade) on written screening tests used
in connection with the program.
By.9ffice of Personnel
1. (p. 11-13) Means by which a large nation-wide JOT recruitment
program might be developed, perhaps along the lines employed by the
Foreign Service.
Ax DDS and Others
1. (p. 10) The desirability of modifying present security and
medical standards for certain types of junior professionals, particularly
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those in specialized categories? .Alternatively, the waiver of (a)
requirements for special clearances in the case of highly qualified
candidates for DD/P who are eligible for TOP SECRET clearances but
not for certain other types,, and (b) full duty/general medical require-
ments for candidates fully qualified in all other respects who seek
careers along lines that do not demand such rigid physical qualifications.
2. (p. 10) The desirability of modifying the way in which psy '?
chiatric evaluations of JOT candidates are now handled so that the
Medical Staff will be placed in an advisorva rather than a decision
making role, with respect to the selection of candidates on whom a
psychiatric question is raised but who are not thereby clearly dis-
qualified for duty.
30 (p. 16) Reimbursement of all JOT?s, or as many of them as
possible, for expenses connected with moving their families and
household goods to Washington when they enter on duty. (See par.
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