Information Paper: GRILL FLAME (use of the Army’s name with the Monroe Institute of Applied Science)
What this is
That the paper is dated 27 October 1978, originates with DAMI-ISH, and states its issue as the use of the US Army's name in conjunction with the Monroe Institute.
That OACSI recorded MIAS as having been considered under GONDOLA WISH to train three or four INSCOM subjects, and that OACSI knew of only one Army individual who had ever spoken with Monroe, the GONDOLA WISH project officer.
That OACSI rejected MIAS on stated grounds including that its technique amounted to hypnosis and involved interrogation of the subject, and that CIA, while not treating Monroe as a security risk, would not let its own people train there.
That OACSI treated the training as human experimentation requiring HEW review before federal money could be spent, and recorded that neither Monroe nor the Institute held any security clearance.
That the paper records an off-the-record DIA and CIA view of Monroe as trying to commercialise a personal talent, with neither agency believing MIAS worth spending time or money on, and that the paper is signed by MG E. R. Thompson, Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence.
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“INFORMATION PAPER DAMI-ISH 27 Oct 78 SUBJECT: GRILL FLAME (U) ISSUE: (S/NOFORN) Use of USofA's name in conjunction with Monroe Institute of Applied Science (MIAS).”
CATALOGUE FACT. The work order titles this document 'Information Paper: GRILL FLAME (use of the Army's name with the Monroe Institute of Applied Science)'. The page itself renders the possessive as 'USofA's' - a single compressed token, not 'the Army's'. If the stored title is meant to reproduce the issue line it does not; if it is a paraphrase it is a fair one. The page carries a handwritten 'INSCOM' annotation at top right. The classification line reads SECRET NOFORN and the foot carries the stamps 'GRILL FLAME (U)' and 'CLOSE HOLD/HAND CARRY'.
“1. (U) Robert A. Monroe is Executive Director of MIAS, Afton, VA. 2. (U) Mr. Monroe claims to be able to train persons in a technique that induces a so-called out-of-body experience, in which the individual perceives himself to be physically at some target site. 3. (S/NOFORN) Under the Project Title GONDOLA WISH, MIAS was briefly considered earlier this year to train three or four INSCOM Subjects. 4. (S/NOFORN) The only Army individual known by OACSI to have ever spoken with Monroe was the GONDOLA WISH project officer.”
Paragraph 3 gives a fourth trainee count for this batch: 'three or four'. The 15 May 1978 memorandum says two in one paragraph and three in another; the 25 August 1978 Assessment Report says three. Note the tense: 'was briefly considered' and 'MIAS was rejected' below - written five weeks after the 25 September 1978 memorandum recording GONDOLA WISH as cancelled. The project officer is again not named.
“5. (S/NOFORN) MIAS was rejected as a training possibility after OACSI determined a number of facts: a. The technique used by MIAS involves sensory deprivation, and the playing of rhythmic sounds to induce an ‘altered state of consciousness’--i.e., hypnosis. b. In the altered state of mind, the Subject undergoes some sort of interrogation by Monroe or an assistant. c. Several years ago the CIA determined that Monroe is not a security risk per se; but, for obvious reasons, they will not permit their people to undergo training at MIAS. CIA's interest came at a time when they were examining several alternatives to further the investigation of the phenomena.”
This paragraph characterises the MIAS technique as hypnosis. The 25 August 1978 Assessment Report (CIA-RDP96-00788R002000160001-3) describes the same technique as audio-induced altered states of consciousness and does not use the word hypnosis. The two documents assess the same organisation differently; recorded as a difference between pages, not resolved.
“d. Altering anyone's state of mental or physical being comes under a Federal statute which covers experimentation on human beings. The Department of HEW is required to review all proposed experiments of that kind, and approve them before any Federal monies can be spent. e. Neither Monroe nor the Institute has had any sort of security clearance.”
The same two points appear in compressed form in the 25 September 1978 memorandum (CIA-RDP96-00788R001200240011-2) as the bullets 'Monroe Institute not cleared.' and 'Contract regarding training involving experiements with the mind must be cleared through an office at HEW.' No statute is cited by name or number on this page.
“5. (S/NOFORN) Off the record, DIA and CIA personnel who are very familiar with MIAS and Monroe believe that he is a ‘nice guy’ who is trying to cash in on some unique talent that he alone possesses. No one in either agency believes that time or money should be spent on MIAS. E. R. THOMPSON Major General, USA ACofS for Intelligence”
DOCUMENT ERROR, NOT CORRECTED: this paragraph is numbered 5, and so is the paragraph on page 1 that introduces subparagraphs a to e. The document has two paragraph 5s. A citation to 'paragraph 5' of this document is ambiguous and should carry the pdf page. The drafter is identified at the foot as 'MAJ Stoner/55048'. NAME TRAP: MG E. R. Thompson signing here as ACofS for Intelligence is the ACSI whose spring-1978 decision is described in the 1984 programme history as cancelling GONDOLA WISH and naming GRILL FLAME; that history gives no name, and this page gives no first name beyond the initials E. R.
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