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OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR

-Mt NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

WASHINGTON. D.C. 011101111111=0

4 Am trn

MEMORANDUM FOR MR. PACKARD

SUBJECT: Actions Approved at zas ExCom Meeting f!3 April 1971)

The attached memorandum covers some thoughts stun::: the

recent ExCom meeting which I to review with you.

Jo n cLucas

Attachment

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2.

The consequences of these two decisions are many. I

will mention some of them. The overall effect is to commit

the NRO to major expenditures to achieve

Firm proposals will be

inanTby the time of the July ExCom

Meeting.

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SOME EXCOM THOUGHTS 

At the meeting on 23 April, the ExCom reviewed the

work which had been called for at the January ExCora meeting

concerning an and also reviewed the

studies which had been done to see if

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The ExCom reached certain conclusions and made the

following decisions for the first time:
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... . .............. . ..... .......

By the time of the JUly ExCom meet -about two mouths

from now-reasonably =curate estimates yitee costs

can rolodaibout the best we can do is satirize

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The imoremotal cost of adidagthese two programs to the

baseline 110 budget is roughlDWa year for five years.

Added oasts viii be roughly as follows:

TT 72 FT 73 FT 74 FT 73 n 76 FT 77 TOTAL

•

•••

The beeellue BO budget for the

IteCos

Ina/adios the total of baseline .

totals am follows:

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The recent OMB report cites generally valid criticisms

of the performance of intelligence groups and does not omit

criticisms of the NRO. We are accused of unnecessary duplication of systems and lack of adequate control over those

NRO programs executed by CIA.

. The course that was selected by ExCom at the last meeting

is not universally acclaimed. I have discussed the outcome

of the meeting with Messrs. Helms, David, Foster, Froehike,

Seamans, Schlesinger, Anderson (PFIAB), and others. With the

exception of Dick Helms, these men almost universally think

that a different course would be better and are in suprising

a Bement as to what we should do in tead.*•ecific 11 they

we c enge w t r we oug t to in s t eve opment.

We are open to challenge each year for five years. Our recent

good luck in passing Congressional committee scurtiny with

essentially no cuts is due at least in part to our havi cut

the budget ourselves below the FYDP and returning &home1_ 111,11 in unused funds below the President's budget over the last our

years. If we now come in for requests above the FYDP, we will

be reversing recent trends and inviting criticism as well as cuts.

The way to avoid Congressional cuts, according to this

*Admiral Anderson did not take a position either way on this

issue.

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The desire would be to reprIltlible.14111 possible; if not, then to reduce their frequency so that overall costs

would be less than or no greater than they are now. •

I believe that these criticisms are well taken and should

not be ignored, and that we should take some action dealing

witty to its vulnerability to this kind of criticism.

A

e- erre e proac , one through tei program office at

MOIMMIlleand one through an ad hoc advisory committee

reporting to DNRO. This action would not interfere with the

on-going system definition on Configurations A and C, which may

turn out to be adequate; i.e. may achieve the desired increases

•

This additional study should

that it can be assimilated before

which will consider the initiatio

1971.

be accomplished by October so

the November EsCom meeting

velopment in December

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This action can be accomplished within present funding

in time for appropriate action at the November ExCom meeting.

It may be that the doubts which are expressed about the suitability of our present course of action and schedule will

prove unfounded. If so, then we can proceed along the lines

of the recent ExCom decisions. If the doubts materialize in

the form of Congressional budget cuts or through our own

decision to modify the present plan, we will have alternate

courses of action open to us.

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