CREST CIA-RDP9600788R0017003300036

“I AM LTC BUZBY, PROJECT MANAGER FOR INSCOM PROJECT CENTER LANE. I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO MY OPERATIONS OFFICER, FRED ATWATER. THE PURPOSE OF THIS BRIEFING IS TO PROVIDE YOU WITH BACKGROUND INFORMATION CONCERNING INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES USING THE CENTER LANE TECHNIQUE. THAT TECHNIQUE IS THE USE OF PSYCHO-ENERGETICS FOR INTELLIGENCE PURPOSES.”

This is the highest-value page for establishing what the file is. There is no title, no letterhead, no date, no addressee block, no office symbol and no signature block above or below it - the typescript begins straight into speech. The only thing above the text is the CIA release stamp. Both men are given only these forms of name: 'LTC BUZBY' (rank and surname, no first name or initial) and 'FRED ATWATER' (no rank given here, though pdf page 9 calls him 'MR. ATWATER'). - no page in this file gives LTC Buzby's first name or initial. - no page in this file gives the name or title of the officer being briefed; he is addressed only as 'SIR' throughout. The word 'PSYCHO-ENERGETICS' is hyphenated here only because it breaks across a line ('PSYCHO-' at the end of one line, 'ENERGETICS' at the start of the next); everywhere else in the document it is set solid as 'PSYCHOENERGETICS'. The last typed line of this page is partly obscured where the release stamp is printed over it.

“THE OVERALL CLASSIFICATION OF THE BRIEFING IS SECRET, CENTER LANE LEVEL 4.”

This is the ONLY classification marking anywhere in the 12 pages - it is spoken inside the script, not stamped. - no page in this file carries a classification stamp, a portion marking, a downgrading instruction, or a classification authority / 'Classified by' line. A reader wanting the classification authority for this document will not find it here.

“(CHART 1) PSYCHOENERGETICS ARE THE PROCESSES BY WHICH AN INDIVIDUAL MAY PSYCHICALLY INTERACT WITH OBJECTS, LOCATIONS, ORGANISMS OR EVENTS. THIS INCLUDES SUCH DISCIPLINES AS PSYCHOKINESIS, REMOTE VIEWING, AND REMOTE COMMUNICATIONS.”

'CHART 1' is underlined in the typescript. This is the document's own working definition of its central term and is the clearest definitional paragraph in the file. Note the spelling here is 'PSYCHOKINESIS' (not the 'psychokienesis' misspelling reported in a sister file) - checked at magnification. The paragraph continues past this point into a passage about General Stubblebine and the 'Baxter Effect' on blood cells, which I have not quoted here because the closing lines of the page are overprinted by the release stamp.

“(CHART CHANGE) THE US ARMY INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY COMMAND'S INVOLVEMENT WITH PSYCHOENERGETICS BEGAN IN SEPTEMBER 1977. AT THAT TIME, AN INSCOM ELEMENT IMPLEMENTED THE GONDOLA WISH PROGRAM WHICH WAS DESIGNED TO INTEGRATE THE SOVIET AND EAST EUROPEAN PSYCHOENERGETIC INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION THREAT INTO THE ALL-SOURCE OPERATIONS SECURITY (OPSEC) SUPPORT SCENARIO.”

'CHART CHANGE' is underlined in the typescript. Handwritten page number '2' at the foot, below the release stamp - confirmed at 250% magnification. AMBIGUITY on this same page, four lines above this passage: the phrase that should read 'REMOTE VIEWING' is typed as 'REMOTE ?IEWING' where the doubtful letter has a clear vertical stem and so is NOT a clean V; at 700% magnification it is consistent with an R whose bowl printed weakly, and the OCR sidecar reads it as 'KIEWING'. I could not resolve the letter with confidence and have therefore not quoted that line at all. A later reader should re-examine the original page rather than trust either reading.

“BY SPRING OF 1978, THE ARMY ACSI CONCLUDED THERE WAS SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO WARRANT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM TO EXPLORE MILITARY APPLICATIONS OF PSYCHOENERGETICS. HE CANCELLED THE GONDOLA WISH EFFORT, PLACED A COMPLETE SECURITY ENVELOPE OVER ARMY'S INTEREST IN PSYCHOENERGETICS, AND IMPLEMENTED A NEW PROGRAM ... THE NEW EFFORT WAS GIVEN THE UNCLASSIFIED NICKNAME GRILL FLAME. IN OCTOBER 1978, ACSI TASKED INSCOM TO ESTABLISH A PROGRAM USING PSYCHOENERGETICS FOR INTELLIGENCE APPLICATIONS UTILIZING REMOTE VIEWING.”

ELISION MARKED: the '...' replaces the words 'DIRECTED TOWARDS INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION USING [REMOTE] VIEWING.' I have elided that clause deliberately because the first letter of the word 'REMOTE' in it is degraded on the scan and reads ambiguously as R or K (the OCR sidecar renders it 'KEMOTE'); I did not want an unverifiable letter inside a quote. The two halves either side of the ellipsis are separate consecutive sentences, not joined. '1978' is underlined in the typescript at the start of this paragraph. Note the script names the ACSI only by office, then refers to him as 'HE' - - no page in this file gives the ACSI's personal name.

“VIEWING IS AN SRI INTERNATIONAL COINED TERM WHICH IS DEFINED AS THE ACQUISITION AND DESCRIPTION. BY MENTAL MEANS, OF INFORMATION BLOCKED FROM ORDINARY PERCEPTION BY DISTANCE, SHIELDING, OR TIME.”

TRANSCRIBED AS TYPED, NOT CORRECTED. Two artefacts to flag. (1) The sentence begins mid-phrase: printed page 2 ends with the word 'REMOTE' and printed page 3 opens with 'VIEWING IS AN SRI INTERNATIONAL...'. (2) The full stop after 'DESCRIPTION' is on the page; in sense it should be a comma ('the acquisition and description, by mental means, of information...'). It is a typewriter artefact and I have left it exactly as struck. 'SRI' verified at 700% magnification against the confirmed R in 'INTERNATIONAL' on the same line - it is SRI International, the Menlo Park institute, not 'SKI'. Handwritten page number '3' at the foot.

“IN MARCH 1980, THE UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING, WILLIAM PERRY, ORDERED CURTAILMENT OF ALL PROGRAM 6 MONIES SUPPORTING PSYCHOENERGETIC R&D EFFORTS, BUT POSED NO OBJECTION TO THE CONTINUANCE OF INSCOM'S NON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INTELLIGENCE APPLICATIONS EFFORTS. THIS ACTION CAUSED DARCOM TO CEASE ALL ACTIVITY AT THE END OF FY 80.”

This is the only place in the file where a named civilian official is tied to a funding decision. The page gives 'WILLIAM PERRY' with no middle initial. 'NON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT' is typed open, without a hyphen - not corrected. This passage should be read against pdf page 9, which states that the Program 6 prohibition was later suspended by 'THE CURRENT UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING' - the script does NOT name that later incumbent, and does not say whether it is the same person. - the file gives no name for the 'current' Under Secretary.

“PARTICIPATED IN THIS JOINT SERVICES EFFORT UNTIL THE END OF FY 82 WHEN THE BUDGET SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE (SENATOR WALLOP) CURTAILED ALL PSYCHOENERGETIC OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED BY THE ARMY IN THE NATIONAL FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE PROGRAM (NFIP). THE CONGRESSIONAL CONFEREES AGREED, HOWEVER, TO LET DIA COMPLETE THE THIRD YEAR OF THEIR EFFORT AND DIRECTED THAT FUTURE FUNDING -- IF ANY -- OF THIS PSYCHOENERGETIC ACTIVITY BE BUDGETED OUTSIDE THE NFIP.”

The sentence begins mid-clause because the subject ('INSCOM') is the last word of printed page 3. The page gives 'SENATOR WALLOP' - surname only, no first name or initial. Handwritten page number '4' at the foot.

“SO IN THE FALL OF 1982, IN KEEPING WITH THESE CONGRESSIONAL DESIRES AND WISHING TO MAINTAIN THE MOMENTUM OF EFFORT ALREADY ESTABLISHED, THE CG, INSCOM DECIDED TO CONTINUE INSCOM'S PROJECT AND PROVIDE FUNDING WITH SECURITY AND INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES (S&IA) MONIES. INSCOM TERMINATED FORMAL INVOLVEMENT WITH GRILL FLAME AT THE END OF FY 82, AND CONTINUED ITS EFFORTS UNDER A PROVISIONAL SPECIAL ACCESS PROGRAM NICKNAMED CENTER LANE.”

This is the passage that states the GRILL FLAME to CENTER LANE succession and the funding switch to S&IA money. Note the internal tension with pdf page 1, which calls CENTER LANE 'A REGISTERED DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY SPECIAL ACCESS PROGRAM' while this page calls it 'A PROVISIONAL SPECIAL ACCESS PROGRAM' - 'registered' and 'provisional' are the words on the respective pages; I record the difference without resolving it. The page names the decision-maker only by office, 'THE CG, INSCOM' - - no page in this file gives the name of the Commanding General, INSCOM.

“THE FY 85 GDIP INITIATIVE WAS POSTPONED IN LATE AUGUST (29 AUG 83), AND NOW ACSI DOES NOT ANTICIPATE THE POSSIBLE APPROVAL OF NFIP FUNDING UNTIL FY86; THEREFORE, CENTER LANE WILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE WITHIN INSCOM AS A TASK FORCE WITHOUT A TDA.”

THIS IS THE BEST DATING EVIDENCE IN THE FILE. Because the document carries no date line of its own, '(29 AUG 83)' is the latest date named on any page and establishes that the briefing was written on or after 29 August 1983; pdf page 8 speaks of 1983 as in progress and pdf page 9 plans FY 84 expenditures, which is consistent. Note 'FY86' is typed closed up without a space, while 'FY 85' and 'FY 82' elsewhere on the page are typed open - transcribed as struck, not normalised. Handwritten page number '5' at the foot.

“BY THE END OF 1980, WE BEGAN AN ADVANCED TRAINING PROGRAM USING THE HEMISPHERIC SYNCHRONIZATION PROCESS DEVELOPED BY ROBERT A. MONROE AND USED AT THE MONROE INSTITUTE OF APPLIED SCIENCE IN VIRGINIA. AS YOU RECALL, GENERAL STUBBLEBINE BRIEFED YOU ON THE HEMISYNC PROCESS AND PROVIDED YOU WITH SLEEP TAPES.”

NAME CHECK PERFORMED. The OCR sidecar renders the personal name as 'MUNROE' and the institute as 'MONROE'; at 400% magnification the page clearly reads MONROE in BOTH positions, with the same O in each. The OCR 'MUNROE' is an OCR error, not a document spelling, and I have transcribed MONROE. The page gives 'GENERAL STUBBLEBINE' - surname and rank only, no first name, no initial, and no indication of which command he held at the time. Handwritten page number '6' at the foot.

“DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS OF INSCOM'S EFFORT IN PSYCHOENERGETICS, WE HAVE CONDUCTED OVER 700 OPERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION MISSIONS IN SUPPORT OF 89 COLLECTION PROJECTS, AND MANAGED 4 SOURCE TRAINING PROGRAMS -- ALL WITH A LIMITED NUMBER OF PERSONNEL AND AT A COST TO DATE OF ONLY $703K. THOSE INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION MISSIONS HAVE RESULTED IN 3 ‘INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY FIRSTS.’”

REDACTION. Immediately below this sentence the page carries the marginal marking 'SG1A' set flush left in a modern sans-serif face (a release marking added by the declassifier, not part of the original typing), followed by a SOLID BLACK BOX roughly 8 typed lines deep that runs to the foot of the page. The excised material is whatever followed the phrase 'INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY FIRSTS' - almost certainly the list of the three firsts, but the page does not say so and I do not assert it. [REDACTED] I CANNOT TELL whether this black box and the one at the head of printed page 8 are one continuous excision spanning the page break or two separate ones; both carry the same SG1A marking. The costs are explicitly 'LESS PERSONNEL SALARIES' per the same page. Handwritten page number '7' at the foot.

“(CHART CHANGE) OVER 85% OF OUR OPERATIONAL MISSIONS HAVE PRODUCED ACCURATE TARGET INFORMATION. EVEN MORE SIGNIFICANT, APPROXIMATELY 50% OF THE 700 MISSIONS PRODUCED USABLE INTELLIGENCE. (CHART OFF)”

'CHART CHANGE' and 'CHART OFF' are underlined in the typescript. FIGURE INCONSISTENCY WORTH RECORDING: printed page 5 says 'MORE THAN 700' missions, printed page 7 says 'OVER 700', and this page says 'THE 700 MISSIONS' - the same total is stated three ways, the last of which treats an approximation as an exact denominator. This page also carries the second SG1A marking and solid black box at its head, above the '(CHART CHANGE)' paragraph. Handwritten page number '8' at the foot.

“RECENTLY, THE PROHIBITION AGAINST UTILIZING PROGRAM 6 FUNDS WAS SUSPENDED BY THE CURRENT UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING AND THE ACSI HAS MADE ARRANGEMENTS TO USE THESE FUNDS TO SUPPORT THE INSCOM CENTER LANE PROJECT.”

This directly reverses the March 1980 William Perry decision quoted from printed page 3, and is the pivot on which the whole FY 84 spending plan on printed pages 9-11 rests. The page deliberately says 'THE CURRENT UNDER SECRETARY' without naming him - - the file nowhere identifies who suspended the prohibition, and does not say whether it was Perry himself or a successor. Do not assume. Handwritten page number '9' at the foot. This page also states that Mr. Atwater would demonstrate capabilities 'THROUGH THE USE OF OUR PROJECT BOOKS' - those project books are not part of this file.

“THIS $496.5K P6 MONEY WILL BE SUPPLEMENTED BY $235K INSCOM S&IA FUNDS WHICH WILL BE USED FOR TRAVEL AND SUPPORT FUNCTIONS. ... HAVING THE MOST IMPACT ON OUR PLANS IS THE FACT THAT THE CG INSCOM HAS JUST PROVIDED US WITH A REVISED MISSION STATEMENT: (CHART CHANGE)”

ELISION MARKED: the '...' replaces a complete sentence about final budget plans for FYs 85-89 still being formulated. The two quoted parts are not contiguous and are not joined. 'CHART CHANGE' is underlined. Note that on printed page 4 the same office is typed 'THE CG, INSCOM' with a comma and here 'THE CG INSCOM' without one - transcribed as struck in each case. Handwritten page number '11' at the foot, confirmed at 250% magnification.

“EXPAND OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES AND TRAINING BEYOND THE CONFINES OF INFORMATION COLLECTION INTO THE FIELDS OF PSYCHOENERGETIC COMMUNICATION AND PSYCHOKINESIS. ... THIS NEW MISSION STATEMENT EXPANDS OUR EFFORT A GREAT DEAL. WE ARE NO LONGER CONFINED TO REMOTE VIEWING AS OUR PRINCIPAL TOOL AND WILL NOW DEVELOP AND USE TELEPATHIC AND PSYCHOKINETIC SKILLS.”

ELISION MARKED: the '...' stands between the third indented bullet of the quoted mission statement and the speaker's own following paragraph. They are separate blocks on the page, not one sentence. The mission statement as reproduced has three indented bullets; the other two are 'CONDUCT INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION AND COUNTERINTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS UTILIZING ALL PSYCHOENERGETIC PROCESSES APPLICABLE.' and a training bullet. The speaker's gloss sentence is the last typed line on printed page 11, and the text that would continue it is on the MISSING printed page 12 - see the note on pdf page 12.

“DEPENDENCE ON COORDINATES. WE ARE EXPANDING OUR ADVANCED TRAINING PROGRAM TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF OUR NEW MISSION STATEMENT. THIS EXPANSION OF ADVANCED TRAINING WILL INCLUDE THE USE OF A SENSORY ISOLATION TANK TO HELP REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL ‘NOISE’ DURING OPERATIONS AND TRAINING. ... DEVELOPMENT OF THIS COLLECTIVELY FOCUSED PSYCHOENERGETICS (CFP) CAPABILITY IS CRITICAL TO FULFILL MISSION STATEMENT REQUIREMENTS. SIR, THIS COMPLETES MY BRIEFING.”

MISSING PAGE - THE MOST IMPORTANT DEFECT IN THIS FILE. This page carries the handwritten number '13' at its foot (confirmed at 250% magnification), while the preceding pdf page carries '11'. PRINTED PAGE 12 IS ABSENT FROM THE PDF. This is not a numbering slip: the page opens mid-sentence with the fragment 'DEPENDENCE ON COORDINATES.', whose subject and verb are on the missing sheet, and printed page 11 ends on a complete but clearly continuing paragraph. Whatever the script said between 'WILL NOW DEVELOP AND USE TELEPATHIC AND PSYCHOKINETIC SKILLS.' and 'DEPENDENCE ON COORDINATES.' is not recoverable from this file. ELISION MARKED: the '...' replaces one sentence about developing a training vehicle for collective focusing; the parts either side are separate sentences. The lower two thirds of this page are blank below the closing line. There is no signature, no distribution list, no attachment list and no date at the end of the document.