SOVIET AFFAIRS TRAINING PROGRAM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87M00539R000300320031-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 29, 2009
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: September 16, 1985
• Content Type: MEMO

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SECRET
OTE 85-6717
16SEP1985
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Central Intelligence
VIA: Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
Executive Director
Deputy Director for Administration
Director of Training and Education
SUBJECT: Soviet Affairs Training Program
REFERENCE: Memo for DDA, DDI, DDO, DDS&T, D/OTE fm DCI,
dtd 7 August 85, same subject
1. I have explored your request for recommendations regarding a
Soviet Affairs Training Pr with a working group consisting of and
representatives of the DO DI (Doug MacEachin), and DS&T
and the NIO/USS
2. The working group strongly agrees that the Agency generally--and
especially the junior and mid-level officers working directly on the
USSR--would benefit greatly from a first-rate Soviet Affairs Training
Program. The program would consist of:
--four to five one- to two-week courses;
--10 - 15 specialized modules;
--luncheon/evening seminars;
--video/self-study.
3. Objectives
The working group agreed that the principal objectives of the
program are to:
-bring up to speed quickly officers who work on the USSR but
whose academic or professional background on the Soviet Union is
limited;
All Portions Classified
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SUBJECT: Soviet Affairs Training Program
-strengthen the understanding of Soviet specialists in areas
not of their specialty, with emphasis on Soviet active measures,
deception, and intelligence operations;
-strengthen the understanding of the totality of the Soviet
Union as a political problem for the U.S. and as the first priority
intelligence issue for CIA;
--challenge and enrich the perspectives of Soviet specialists;
-build a stronger sense of community among Soviet analysts and
collectors;
-strengthen the understanding of the USSR on the part of
non-Soviet analysts and collectors.
4. Operating Bias
The working group agreed that the content
delivery must meet schedules of busy officers,
This means:
--courses should be as short as possible;
--stand-alone modules;
-tape and video-disc presentations,
-self-study.
--emphasis on "real world" Soviet behavior and on current and
near term (1 - 3 years) Soviet intelligence issues;
-maximize exposure to different perpectives on USSR;
--maximize challenge to conventional thinking on USSR.
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brA.. ICCi l'
SUBJECT: Soviet Affairs Training Program
5. Target Audience
The program would be directed to the needs of junior and
mid-level officers working primarily on the USSR. The Agency has some
professional officers, at all grades, working on Soviet
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issues, including:
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Additional numbers would
come from the ranks of non-Soviet specialists who have a need for some
general or specialized understanding of Soviet policies or operations.
6. Courses
An overview course of about 40 hours would be designed to
warrant that participants are exposed to an introductory understanding of
the full range of issues. The course would go beyond substance and
address the issues of the limits to our knowledge, that is, the role of
the interpretation, bias, and assumption. We would continue: a
three-and-one-half-day unit of the "Soviet threat" in the CT program, a
two-week USSR Country Survey Course designed for non-Soviet specialists,
7. Modules
A major part of the Soviet training program would consist of
about 10 - 15 specialized modules. Among the topics under consideration
are:
- The Soviet Union as an Intelligence Target
- Soviet Active Measures
- Soviet Measures for Deception
- Soviets and Arms Control
- Soviet Economics
- Kremlin Politics
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SUBJECT: Soviet Affairs Training Program
- Soviet Military Strategy and Doctrine
- Soviets in the Third World
- Scientific and Technical Trends
- Security and Intelligence Operations
8. Seminars
A coordinated series of luncheon and evening seminars would be
designed to complement the program by exposing Agency officers to the
full range of competing interpretations on ke aspects of the modular
courses.
9. Program Director and Staff
The working group is unanimous in its recommendation that a DO
officer, either current or retired, direct all aspects of the proposed
Soviet Affairs Study Program. We have a list of retired SE officers and
have already been in touch with a couple of excellent candidates (see
Attachment A). (Incidentally, there is very strong support for this
effort on the part of every Soviet specialist we have talked to.)
10. We have developed a list of Soviet hands in CIA who would be
willing to help with incidental parts of the program (see Attachment B).
A similar list of outside experts is being developed (see Attachment C).
11. Issues
The working group believes strongly that some elements of the
program should be required of all Soviet specialists. For example, you
could mandate that all Soviet specialists must take at least two modules
per year or that all new Soviet specialists take the overview course
within two years of their assignment. The details can be worked out, but
we need your views on the question of what, if anything, is "required."
-Yes, some elements should be required
--No, we do not need to make any aspect required
--Let the individual Directorates decide
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SUBJECT: Soviet Affairs Training Program
12. We request your approval to proceed with the development of the
program. If you concur on the general approach, we will be back to you
in 45 days with an action plan for implementing the first phase.
cc: NIO/USSR
D/SODA
C/SE
C/CDS/DS&T
Director for Administration
Exec tive Dir for
~- / 7- - ?- S---*
Date
2 3 SEP 1985
py p'3 ector of Central Intelligence Date
2 5 SEe 1985
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ATrAC BENT A
Soviet Affairs Training Program--List of Potential Agency Instructors
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LIST OF CONSULTANTS UNDER CONSIDERATION
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. ,mk xc t'
ATTACHMENT C
SECRET
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 . LUfft IU1 N I IAL ER 85-3112
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. .
7 August 1985
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Administration
Deputy Director for Intelligence
Deputy Director for Operations
Deputy Director for Science and Technology
Director, Office of Training and Education
FROM: Director of Central Intelligence
SUBJECT: Soviet Affairs Training Program
I would like to pursue a recommendation by the PFIAB that we set up an
in-house program designed to improve our overall understanding of the Soviet
Union. The concept would involve bringing together all those with the
requisite expertise to provide a course of study that would run the gamut of
Soviet military, economic, political, operational, etc., activities in an
integrated way. This training would be made available to any and all
officers, regardless of Directorate, who deal in Soviet affairs.
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I think this proposal has merit. It would allow for the exchange of
knowledge and experience, improve the totality of our efforts to deal with the
different aspects of the Soviet problem, and lead to officers (analysts, case
officers, technical specialists) who would be better prepared for assignments
in the field or in Headquarters. If it proves successful, we can consider
including other members of the Community, such as attaches, in the program.
I'd like to take the lead and head up a small group to 25X1
develop options and recommendations for implementing a program of this kind.
Each Directorate should be represented on this group by a highly qualified,
experienced Soviet hand. I'd like recommendations on the content of the
curriculum, the target audience (e.g. CTs, new analysts/case officers,
middle-grade officers, or all of the above), as well as suggestions as to who
we might draw on as instructors/lecturers (current employees, retirees,
outsiders on contract).
Finally, I'd like to have suggestions for candidates to head this effort;
here, too, we need to look for the person who best can provide the dynamic
leadership a program of this kind needs--we don't need to restrict ourselves
to current employees, either. I'd like to have the report of F--7group, 25X1
with your comments, in about a month.
cc: DCI
DDCI
CONFIDENTIAL
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