THE STORY OF THE CTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP81-00706R000300160001-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 31
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 30, 2003
• Sequence Number: 1
• Content Type: REPORT

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THE STORY OF THE CTS
The Consolidated Translation Survey
the "CTS", is a small and unglamorous operation, the prime
objective of which is to avoid duplicative translation of
foreign language material into English.
Operated by Foreign Documents Division of the Office
of Operations, and later under the Office of Central Reference,
the CTS functioned significantly in carrying out the Central
Intelligence Agency's mission in coordinating translation
activities of the intelligence community.
Through FY 1968, in the nearly 20 years of its service,
it is estimated that this operation has resulted in savings
in the neighborhood of $7 million to the U.S. Government.
Reference to its index files has surfaced approximately
1,400,000 pages of foreign authorship proposed for translation
as already available in English.
The above noted conservation of expense and effort is
the tangible result of the CTS operation. There can be no
solid computation of values realized through reference to its
monthly published listings used by more than 600 recipients.
It is alo~ impossible to estimate time saved for analysts in
acquisition of desired translations. Nor can a value figure
be applied to the conserved efforts..ef>f-orts'of skilled trans-
lators which'were diverted to undone translation tasks, not to
the refernces compiled of thousands of appropriate-translations
The Consolidated Translation Survey, better known as
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for analysts seeking information from foreign sources for
specific research projects.
Springing from a small 3x5 card file on a requirements
officers desk, the CTS developed into a well-respected tool
for translation coordination with an index system referencing
more than 400,000 translations by ahthors and sources.
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It should not be construed that the CTS constituted the
entire 'exploitation/ translation coordination of Foreign
Docents Division and its officers. For what may be termed
"coordination at the source" was a consistent objective and
highly successful activity of FDD.
The Subcommittee, later the Committee.on Exploitation
of Foreign Language Publications, set up in 1953 by NSCID-16
and chaired by the Chief, FDD, was highly instrumental in
reducing possibilities of two or more intelligence agencies
exploiting, translating, or reporting from the same foreign
language sources. As noted in the FDD Annual Report for
1954-55:
The Subcommittee on Exploitation of Foreign
Language Publications, meeting biweekly ...
proved to be one of the strongest coordina-
tion factors ever avilable to FDD in its
operations with the CIA and the IAC.
... programs of the Division were revised
through the Subcommittee for the elimination
of features no longer desired or which were
adequately covered by other sources.
A number of ex^mples supporting this statement tixmm.
followed.
Vigorous co-.tarpart liaison between working-level
linguists and analysts1as well as management,. contributed
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greatly to reduction of large-scale, or broad duplication
of foreign language effort. However, the single item* or xxki
articles, anything ZY :.:1:i five -ft5i~t3' pages, proposed for
translation were the objects for scrutiny and reference on
which the CTS zeroed-in.
In the years of its growth and development, the CTS
increased its scx cooperative sources from the original
first three (Army, Navy, State) noted in its initial publica-
tion to about 450, of which at least one hundred could be
depended upon for consistent contribution.
That the responsibility for this index and 414&t-
publication should be assigned to Foreign Documents Division
a~pc C-r s
be-self-evident as a function of the largest translation
A
operation in the United States and gezhaps the world, exclusive
of the Soviet Union.
It was an operation so inherently part of the foreign
publications exploitation mission, that Foreign Documents
Division did not wait until 1949
for official approval of this assignment before it took action.
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As early as the summer of 1947, when the then Foreign
Document Branch was a component of the Office of Operations,
Central Intelligence Group, liaison activity with other trans-
lation operations of the intelligence community and the govern-
ment in general had been started in an attempt to exchange
information concerning the translation projects completed,
planned or in process by the various components of the govern-
ment. Engaged in this t^ liaison were
he last conincidentally,
was to be responsible for the CTS operation during most of-his
career with the Agency.
Initial cooperation from this approach was by the Trans-
lation Section, Intelligence Division, US Army General Staff,
which was the first to =.7i contribute monthly listings of
e its projects on a regular schedule. (ID later elected to
publish its listings, finally discontinuing this practice
when it found that the CIA/CTS could be depended upon.] In
the meanwhile, Records Section of Foreign Documents Branch
had been accumulating a 3 x 5 card file containing biblio-
graphic data relative to translation service requirements
accepted by the Branch. This offered the requirements control
officers at least a meager reference, mainly by author, to
work which had been done or was scheduled for completion. By
autumn of 1948 a half-dozen components of Army, Navy,
and Air Force were contributing listings, and liaison with
other agencies for additional participation was promising.
Definite assignment of the coordination mission of the
STAT
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Foreign Documents Branch might be interpreted in a 23 June
1948 memorandum from the Assistant Director for Operations
to the Executive for Administration and Management on
"Changes in Organization Char,of 00". Paragraph 3 in the
statement of functions for FDB read:
"Coordinates with CIA offices and other
government agencies in the continuous
exploitation of foreign language material
in order to meet established requirements."
A 3 September'1948 memorandum from the AD/O to
Chief, FDB, restated the above.
itppaby Replying to this on 20 September 1948,
Chief, FDB, explained that his organization
was planning to carry out this function by "collecting, carding,
crossfiling all information on translations anticipated, in
progress or completed by government agencies cooperating" and
this would also include the maintenance of a central file for tb
the information of the Intelligence Advisory Committee (IAC)
agencies. He also proposed the monthly publication of a
"Consolidated Translation Survey" which would comprise a list-
ing df all translations begun or completed during the month
preceding publication.
The idea had progressed far enough at this time for
the Editorial Section of FDB to draw up a "dummy" format to
illustrate the proposed publication. This dummy, dated
9 August 1948 on the flyleaf and 15 September 1948 on the
cover mockup, was subjected to 00 editing and revision before
STAT
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return to FDB. Most pertinent was the flyleaf "NOTE" of the
proposed puyblication which stated:
"This survey is an attempt to coordinate the work of
translation agencies. Its primary objective is to
provide information through which duplication of
effort will be eliminated. It also may serve as an
accession list of translations for the use of
authorized agencies interested in information of
intelligence value...
"Information regarding material surveydd can be ob-
tained directly from the central coordinating file
of Foreign Documents Branch..."
It also lifted six cooperating agencies besides CIA--
evQdence of some success of FDB's early start for coordination.
Ambitiously, its proposed listing of FDB items included a
brief abstract of the translation for each entry. These con-
'masted With the references to translations from other agencies
from which only bibliographic listings were received. This
limitation on information received,=
\. from other agencies, plus a
lack of professional abstracters eventually dictated that no
attempt bt abstract presentation would be attempted. (It was
also feared, and later proven, that the preparation of abstracts
for'the volume of items received for listing would be too time
consuming to ensure most timely publication.]
All this preparation and planning resulted in,.Juxrever'
was something to think about for another 365 days. For although
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this might have signalled thinauguration of the CTS service, 1P
such was not to be in 1948. The need for such coordination and
protection against translation duplication was at that time in-
volved also with proposals for a "central translation agency"
and for the coordination of foreign document and foreign
publications collection. However, the plan for the operation
as laid down by
memorandum and the dummy format for the
publication were to prove substantial guidelines for opening
the service a year later.
In November 1948, according to the "History of Foreign
Documents Division 1946-1952," there were discussions with
ICAPS (Interdepartmental Coordination and Planning Staff)
relative to the possibility of establishing an ad hoc committee
to study the proposal for a centralized translation service
Leading to this was an AD/O memorandum to Chief, ICAPS, dated
29 October 1948, in which were outlined FDB feeelings on such
a proposal and describing the FDB Srgm potential vis-a-vis
the requirements and possible demands of the IAC agencies.
Conversations and conferences ensued with the central
translation center concept appearing to hold the spotlight
rather than anfz' approach by segregation of the separate
problems to workable dimensions.
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Exemplifying such conferences,-but-''perhaps the one
which really fertilized the CTS egg, was the 10 February 1949
"Symposium on Translations" held in'the National Defense
Building udder the auspices of the Special Committee on
Technical Information of the Research and Development Board.
Representatives from all areas of government interested
in translation and foreign language source material attended
and expressed themselves generally as -E"favoring exchange
of information concerning availability of source material;
largely insist that their respeyctive activities would
require their own translation services even if a centralized
facility were established; and by-a-large-ma-j-artg strongly
endorS244 a centralized clearinghouse for information on
availability of translations completed and in process.
J.J. Bagnall, Chief, Foreign Documents Branch, repre-
sented CIA. Quoting the Symposium minutes he stated:
We are very much interested in translation
activities outside of intelligence agencies.
We are also interested in any attempt to
coordinate such activities, for we are well
aware of the extreme shortage of linguists,
especially in certain languages. We are
endeavoring to keep a record of the trans-
lations that are undertaken by the intel-
ligence agencies in order to avoid dupli-
cation of effort."
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The general problem of translation coordination at
what might be called "the source" -- those receiving and
processing foreign language documents was not neglected
n by the Symposium, but pertinent to the
concept-it of the CTS are the following exerpts from the
minutes:
"The majority of thosepresent favored a modest be-
ginning, suhh as a central card file containing such infor=,
kmation as the titles, authors, and location of translations,
"including those in preparation. The existence of such a f; le
Or-n
and its use by translation services should effectively prevent
duplication of effort in the preparation of translations....
If the initial limited effort to record the existence and
location of translations is successful, an expansion of the
centralized service may be considered.
"It was suggested that it might be possible to solve
a, the problem by having each agency send information concerning
jits Russian documents and translations to the Library of
Congress for inclusion inits catalogue and monthly accession
J list... "This suggestion was dampened by the L o C representa-
tive on grounds that the suggested material was not compatible
to that covered in the lists and that "the Library has neither
the personnel =z.-nor the funds..." He did, however, offer
the part-time services o'` a member of his staff for setting
up an experimental card file on available translations and
those in preparation to possibly determine if such a file
would prove useful.
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~
The next month, the Director of Central Intyelligence,
Rear Adm. R.H. Hillenkoetter, addressed a memorandum to the
Standing Committee of the Intelligenence Advisory Committee
(IAC), dated 16 March 1949, and referred to the
STAT
3 September 1948 memorandum on "Central Translation of Intel-
STAT
ligence Material," and to an
memorandum of 7 March 1949, concerning "Central Service and Comm
Coordination of Translation," the second of which he enclosed
a copy.
While there is no reference or introductory information
to clarify the available (thermofax] copy of the
paper, STAT
it may well have stemmed from the findings of the Symposium.
The ^ memo concluded with t recommendation that the
Committee approve the following:
Translations sections be maintained by
individual agencies;
Translation work accomplished by such
sections be coordinated by CIA;
A "Committee on Exploitation of Foreign
Language Documents" be established to make recommen-
dations to the IAC.
Admiral Hillenkoetter's memorandum, to confine it
to the CTS', or coordination of translations subject, stated
that it appeared
"that desirable coordination could be accomplished
by CIA's maintaining a central translation file of
intelligence material and disseminating periodically
a consolidated list of translations in procress,
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mmm~tp~et~t~
completed, and available from each of the agencies."
Admiral Hillenkoetter thought that the Ad Hoc Committee
on Translations and the Standing Committee of the IAC should
give consideration to the recommendations of the
"with a view towards the Ad Hoc Committee's" approval at
an early meeting.
This memorandum also suggested approval of the
recommendation that the Committee on Translations be replaced
by an "Ad Hoc Committee on Foreign Document Exploitation."
Hillenkoetter's memorandum, written in the passive form and
reading as though it was merely suggestive, might be considered
e. I
Q fin4 example of tact in those e9.aly days of attempting to 7 %&7
centrally coordinate intelligence activities amid the
rivalries,jealousies, and fancied prerogatives of government
departments. It produced action within a month.
On 11 April 1949, the Translations Committee met for the
last time, establishing as its successor the suggested
Exploitation Committee. The new committee is recorded as
meeting.weekly through 25 July 1949 and appears to have, on
18 April 149, immediately taken steps to study the coordination
problem by designating a Subcommittee on the Coordination of
Foreign Documents Translation.
On 254S,pril, a memorandum to the Director of Central
Intelligence, subject "Docume't Translation," referred to the
Admital's memorandum and explained that the Director of Intelli-
goncO-G?neralp-Staf f-Un i-ted-Sfates=Armyl.
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STAT
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gence, General Staff United States Army; Director of Intelligence,
U.S. Air Force, and the Director of Naval Intelligence "have
agreed that a greater degree of centralization of translation
effort is desirable" and that the logical place for this was
within the Central Intelligence Agency. The memorandum
proposed that CIA perform the functions of
"a. Coordination of translation effort
by master index."
and subparagraphs b. and c. covered translation of intelligence
interest, and translation of other intelligence material upon
request. It was signed by Makor Gen. A.R. Bolling, Deputy
Director of Intelligence [GSUSA], for the three service directors
at their request.
By 27 June 1949, the Subcommittee on Coordination re-
ported to the Exploitation group and concluded with seven
recommendations. These, in brief, called or
FDB/CIA to maintain a record of translations completed
or in progress;
IAC agencies to notify FDB of the initiation or completion
of all translations undertaken by them;
IAC agencies to undertake no translations without
referring to FDB for assurance that they were not
duplicative;
IAC agencies toovide FDB with a copy of all trans-
lations completed;
CIA to reproduce and distribute translations meeting
requirements of other agencies;
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"Translation" for the purposes of coordination to be
defined as the verbatim rendition into English of
texts over 200 words;
Foreign Documents Branch to issue at intervals a
consolidated report of translatioms initiated
or completed within the IAC.
The Subcommittee consisted of T.M. Nordbeck, Acquisi-
tion and Distribution Division, Department of State; IF STAT
Foreign Documents Branch, CIA.
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It is interesting to note here the constraint imposed
upon the proposed operation relative to the IAC. These were
the formative times of cenralized intelligence and most
A
translations produced by the IAC agencies were classified 1amti
the accepted idea being to safeguard divulgence of intelligence
interest in the subject matter of such work.
At any rate, the Exploitation Committee, before its
25 July 1949 adjournment,arrived at the following conclusions:
14 a. The Central Intelligence Agency should
assume responsibility for over-all coordi-
nation of exploitation of foreign language
documents and to perg4m such exploita-
tion centrally as may be necessary to
meet the requirements of the IAC agencies.
Ob. A permanent Foreign Document Exploitation
Committee should be established in order
to draw up lists of publications required
for centralizede exploitation; to determine
the priorities for exploitation of publi-
cations by subject matter and area; atd in
order to generally assist the Director of
Central Intelligence in the exploitation
program.
1 c. Each IAC member agency _may retain, at its
discretion, a translation and/or abstract-
ing unit for the purpose of translation
and/or abstracting special interest mater-
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ial. The Director of 'central Intelligence
would be informed of such exploitation in
order to prevent duplication of effort, and
the results of this work would be made
available to CIA upon request.
"d. A National Security Council Directive or
such other.inttructions as may be considered
appropriate should be should-be formulated
embodying the recommendations outlined
above. A draf~of a National Security
Council Directive is attached herewith."
[There would be no action on paragraphs b. and d.
until March 1953.1
Reorganization of FDB in August 1949 established a Reports
Division embracing the Records Section with requirements control
and maintenance of the "document exploitation file" as comple-
mentary functions. The comparatively large clerical T/O of
the new kx division as a whole afforded personnel for part,'or
odd-time, assignment to assist "Records" in maintenance of
the "Dex" file. This flexibility was to prove advantageous
over the.long run.
Almost coincidental with the reorganization the com-
ponent designations were reversed with "divisions" becoming
"branches" of the Foreign Documents Division.
The mild invigoration of the Records Section' coordina-
tion xw effort was distinctly timely. Using only the accepted
Information Report format, Foreign Documents Division issued its
first "Consolidated Translation Survey for September 1949" as
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Crediting the cooperation of ID, Department of Army,
NRL, Department of Navy, and Department of State, the report
listed 233 items, of which 179 were attributed to FDD. All
but 29 of the items were "completed" and available. Xkm=
None of the 29 "in process" were identified as FDD projects.
On 28 October 1949,
arldm m addressed a memorandum for the
Assistant Director for Collection and Dissemination, and for
the Chief, Management Staff, proposing that Foreign Documents
Ranximm Division "prepare for publication and dissemination
to the IAC Agencies a regular monthly~Consolidated Translation
Survey" and describing its makeup. It noted that the pro-
6v 13 ~ VC 61
posed publication would bg id`;rf' under the Foreign Documents
Division, I land a flyleaf would credit Mgencies
participating in the coordination effort. It cited the need
for the publication "both as a reference work and as a medium
f'lpr the prevention of duplication of effort" as expressed by
the XAC Agencies.
STAT
Concurrences were signed byl IO/CD, on STAT
2 November 1949, and by I Management Staff, STAT
on 3 November 1949. A footnote amending each signature is each
deserving of later comment.
J.M. noted:"Believe uttimately we may find a more
economical way of doing this job - possibly
by M c ine methods. This proposal, however,
seems unexceptionable to meet an urgent
C
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J.D, stated:"Management would like to have a try at frinmc2m
finding an easier way to produce in
near future."
Moviding authority for Reports Branch to carry out its
part of the coordination function, Actigg Chief J.J. Bagnall on
27 October 1949 issued an FDD Administrative Instruction on
"Collective Directives" stating that such Collection Directives
and direct requests should be received, checked for duplication,
and recorded by Reports Branch; "adequate record of action on
requests and CD's, completed or in process, shall be maintained
at all times by Reports Branch."
new
Reports Branch had again prepared for the pmap mmt pub-
lication by providing another rough mock-up which illustrated
` ( l
the proposed cover, fl leaf, and an introductory page. The
reverse of the flyleaf carried a distribution list composed
of State, Army, Navy, Air Force, acid CIA for a total of 101
copies, of which CIA was to receive 50.
With some editing of the introductory remarks and
format the new publication was "put on the street" as
Consolidated Translation Survey, No. 1/49. 23 November 1949,
"For October 1949". The classification was "SECRET" and it
was to be so published until 1959. The distribution was 104,
with the addition of AEC to the above listed. (As early as
April 1950 a monthly "Supplement" was initiated as "SECRET"-
STAT
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No extra positions, nor revision of T/O were provided
in formalizing this operation, Reports Branch merely-assign
an extra responsibility. ~.=. Zia-m=4d=xd-i=xT,=. Mira
]a 131 aafxtta dim -Tnnh.m The files were maintained by the
personnel of Records Section and the monthly publication was
compiled and produced by the Composition Section.
By mid-1952 the index contz5ned references to 20,000
translations. cross-indexed by author(s), source, and an attempt
at a key-word subject file, in all accounting for an accumula-
ion of upwards of 75,,000 cards. Compositionwlericals were
frequently called upon to-cards, card, type and file to help
the Records people maintain the index up-to-date. The split
'two
responsibility between the two sections was working, but it
was neither orderly nor dependable, especially in meeting the.
deadline as for the monthly publication.
On 22 September 1952 the approval of a 62 position
increase for the FDD T/O provided for'four positions for tlier_%--
duplication prevention-ZEE sr operation. These four slots
became the CTS Unit which was assigned to th,e Composition
.Section, renamed the Composition and Survey Section
$ 2This
placed specific responsibility for the CTS in the hands of
Section Chief, who was to be its out-
~../e~-~~.~.-G q- 0
reneur for the next 15 years. I STAT
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entre
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