IMAGERY SUPPORT TO INTERDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82T00285R000100210003-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 8, 2002
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: June 2, 1978
• Content Type: MF

~? ~ ,~ ~~ ~--~ ,~.~s p~-fir-"
Approved For Relea~002/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00285R000 1
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director, National Foreign Assessment
Center
a
THROUGH Associate Director-Management, NFAC
SUBJECT Imagery Support to Interdisciplinary Analysis
1. The recent proposal by Maurice Ernst to create a petroleum
analysis center i,n OER has focused my thinking on the question of haw
the Office of Imagery Analysis can best be integrated-into NFAC efforts
at indisciplinary analysis, One thing is clear--this question is
inseparable from the larger issue of how PJFAC can most effectively use
the major analytical assets that exist in the talents and expertise of
OIA. When the issue is considered in this broader context, I believe--
for reasons that I will try to explain below--that the interests of NFAC
will be best served by having the imagery ingredient of in
pli.nary ana"lys~s provided by OIA analysts operating from
rather than moving them to .other locations. ~~
2, My major concern about movin
o
r
l
g
u
ana
ysts out ofd
involves an issue that is fundamental to tFre effective managernent of
OIA. Some background probably is required to mak
e my concern under-
standable. I arrived in OIA about i8 months ago and soon came to the
conclusion that the potential contribution of the Office to NFAC intel-
ligence production programs was far greater than the actual contribu-
tion. The reasons for the shortfall were many and complex, but could be
summed up by two closely related factors--morale acrd communications.
Although there was great pride in the quality of the Office's analytic
capabilities, the lack of effective and constructive communication at
both the working and managernent levels between OIA and other NFAC
components created a general uncertainty about what kind of work the
Office was supposed to be doing and why. That is, there was no gener-
a lly understood purpose or organizational identity to provide the kind
of motivation that people need to work most effectively. The conununi-
cations gap also contributed to a genera'1 sense of being unappreciated.
3. You and other senior NFAC managers have given us a great de a'1
of help over the past 18 months in establishing an organizational
purpose and identity that people find professionally satisfying. I
think that OIA people are now convinced that their main purpose in life
is not to look aver the shoulders of their NPIC colleagues in hopes of
finding mistakes, but rather to perform the much more positive task of
using their skills to ensure that imagery is making as much of a con-
Approved For Release 2002/(~f,~-14,:yC>4A~RDP82T00
x i
v~ii,..~s alr
25X1A
25X1A
 Approved For Release 2002/06/14 C1A RDP~~2T00285R00(f1'd'(~~'d~i-9
' SU[3JECT: Imagery Support to,Inter~disciplinary Analysis
tribution as it can possibly make to the solution of the most important
intelligence problems facing NFAC. Making things actually work and.
giving the message lasting credibility, however, requires more than just
the right words--it is essential- that the wards be accompanied with
concrete actions that result in more meaningful substantive communica-
tions with other C1FAC analysts. Things have to happen to convince
people that they really are part of the action and-have an important
role to play, Some of the obvious things that would contribute to this
end we can't do much about--like move the Office ~to Langle.y. But, we
have done some things that I think have- had a os~itive effect. For
example, we have been working with to modify the ex-
ploitation requirements system in a way a sou d stimulate more
communication,- and we have developed and iven a series of 3 day imagery
orientation courses for analysts in OFiZ, ~SR, OSI-and OWI. f'devertheless,
we still have a long way to go.
4. It is against the background of this kind of management problem
and challenge that I must assess PRaurice's proposal to organizationally
and physically relocate imagery analysts for the petroleum analysis
problem, and concludethat it would be counterproductive. On the one
hand, it could convey the message to-my people that when an intelligence
problem is really important and it requires an imagery input,. OIA can't
be trusted to do the job right--the imagery analyst must be put under
the immediate control of another organization. On the other hand, it
squanders an important appar?tunity to establish prc*cisely the kind of
interoffice communications that we need to work most effectively.
5. There are same intelligence problems where the need for a high
quality imagery input is very clear and these problems therefore force
the kind of communication we need. There are moray more intelligence
problems where an imagery input could be just as important, but where
the need for such an input is nowhere near as clearly perceived. I am
convinced that it is essential for us to exploit these problems where
the headquarters analysts must came to the imagery analyst to establish
general patterns of doing business. I have seen a recent example of
this spillover effect in the directed energy analysis effort and know
that it works very effectively. (before we got directly involved in the
interdisciplinar?;y effort with OWI and OSI there was a great deal of
resentment by my people and a great deal of dissatisfaction with our
work on the part of OST and OWI analysts. A year ago you and I
were both getting complaints from OSI and OWI. The situation now is
almost completely turned around because people are really talking to
each other about a broad range of analytical prob1err+s to be solved in
addition to the directed energy problem.}
--2-
25X1A
Approved For Release 2002/06/1'4 i4~-F~D~82T00285R000100210003-9
o,l' .., i ~. s..
 ~;,.%~~m w~. OIA-53/78
SUB~C~ove~1 For Relea 002/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00285R000~?210003-9
magery Sup ort to Interdisciplinary Analysis
6. The second major argument against moving analysts out of
is that it simply isn't necessary to achieve the desired
o ~ectives. Presumably, there are two major objectives of bringing
together analysts from the various disciplines. First, it fac ilitates
the kind o~F substantive exchange and communication necessary to solve
the intelligence problem at issue, and, second, it ensures. control of
the resources.
7. As I argued above, in order to work most effectively, we need
the. kind of substantive communication that is achieved by co-location of
analysts for all of our anal,ytica1 effort. A respectable case probably
could be made that it would be better if all our analysts could be co-
located with their colleagues in headquarters, but we siniply can't do
that so we have got to identify and develop methods for strengthenin g
communications between the organizations as they exist. With regard to
the resource cgntrol issue, I would point out that, unlike the other
production offices in NFAC, OTA has no important constituency other than
NFAC components.- Our analyti-cal effort is dedicated almost exclusively
to PJFAC--that is why- OIA was created. There is no need to move people
in order to guarantee that the resources will be available as needed for
important interdisciplinary analysis.
8. There are several current examples which demonstrate that OIA
can participate in interdisciplinary analytic efforts very effectively
without moving people out of the building. .The tfrree most important
are: the RDT&E resources effort (a group where the analysts all have
been co-located except for the imagery analysts); the directed energy
effort (none of t:he analysts have moved from their home offices); and
the-civil defense effort (an organizational modality somewhere in
between the other-two). Please note that far all three efforts, imagery
plays a significant role.
9, The final argument I would make is that scattering imagery
analysis around NFAC is likely to be an expensive way of doing business.
There are indications that we have already gone farther in this direc-
tion than makes sense. We were- recently asked by OGCR for help in
developing a mensuration capability needed for the narcotics analysis
effort. Specifically, we were asked to provide some older comparators
that have been surplused. We had planned to give these comparators to
service imagery organizations, I understand that OGCR is also negotiat-
ing with'NPIC far use of a Mann comparator and for the provision of hard
wire access to the NPIC computer. Frankly, I don't th-ink this makes
much sense. Is it really efficient or necessary to create an inde-
pendent mensuration capability in OGCR? If the imagery analysis being
conducted in OGCR"is sophisticated enough to requ~lre comparators and
NPIC c
te
ompu
r support, then it probably should be conducted in
not Ames,
- 3
25X1A
Approved For Release 2002/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00285R000100210003-9
 r~a " ?~~' OIA-53/713
Approved For Rele~s ,, 2002/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00285ROOQ,~,Q0210003-9
SUBJECT: Imagery Support to Interdisciplinary Analysis
10. This has been a long rnernorandum. I apologize for that, but
think that importance of the issue justifies its length. I feel strong-
ly about this and would be remiss if I did not articulate ray views.
Noel E. Firth
Director
Imagery Analysis
Distribution:
Original - Addressee
1 - NFAC/OGCR
1 - NFAC/OER
1 - NFAC/OIA
Extra copies to:
D/NPIC
C/IEG/NPIC
D/ORD
25X1A
Approved For Release 2002/06/14: CIA-RDP82T00285R000100210003-9