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TOP SECRET •

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE OFFICE

WASHINGTON. D.C.

OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR

18 March 1976

MEMORANDUM FOR DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ELLSWORTH

SUBJECT: National Reconnaissance Program Charter

The 11 March 1976 CFI directed that the draft charter be

reviewed by a CFI task group, with the view toward having it

issued as a CFI directive. IC Staff, called the

first meeting of the Task GIP8185"WrIVHatrch. I attended

meetin representing the NRO; the CIA was represented b

nd Les Dirks. The purpose of the meeting was to

Staff's proposed changes to the draft NRP Charter

prepared by Mr. Plummer and forwarded to the CFI by yourself.

Except for one area we were able to redraft a charter

acceptable for CFI review. Your comments were incorporated

as follows:

Paragraph c - Now provides for the transfer of

collection requirements and priorities from the DCI to the

Secretary of Defense in time of war.

Paragraph b - Now defines

responsibilities to direct, fund, and

We were unable to agree on the IC Staff's role with regard

to the NRP.

The DEW as previously discussed with both you and

v2:' ,.. ithe DCI, would limit the IC Staff's involvement to one of 'system

I --- .1 level cost and performance data required to perform intelligence

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value assessments and cross program trade-offs as directed by

the CFI. The NRO would, as in the past, provide staff support

to the CFI (or individual members) with respect to system design,

Capabilities, costs, planning, programming, budgeting, and

ternal management of the NRP.

The IC Staff proposes total staff support to the CFI

:

y the IC Staff. The NRO would be required to provide such NRP

formation and data at whatever level of detail the IC Staff

L.—....1=Lnight specify.

the Secretary of Defense's

operate the NRP.
TOP SECRET

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As Mr. Plummer has pointed out to both you and the DCI,

the NRO Staff and Program Offices are very small. The Staff,

Program Offices, and system contractors are not staffed to

provide voluminous reports and/or briefings to various staff

elements within the intelligence community. The NRO has from

its very inception been structured to support a very limited

number of decision makers and to provide system level performance and cost data to enable the intelligence and requirements

community to perform value assessments of new systems or proposed

changes to existing systems.

If the CFI determines that the NRO should provide whatever

data is requested by the IC Staff or by other staff elements

within the intelligence community, we can, of course, restructure the organization to accommodate the level of support

desired. However, the DNRO feels very strongly on this point

and feels that it would adversely affect the efficient conduct

of the program. He would appreciate the opportunity to

participate in the CFI discussio

Charles W. Cook

Acting Director

Attachment

IC Sta dtd 17 Mar 76,

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THE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELUGENCC

WAINDICITON. O. C. 20305

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to.

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latelliganta Catanunty Staff

400

1216/76

17 Halt L.CCMEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director, National Reconnaissance Office

Deputy Director for Science and Technology, CIA

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SUBJECT : Revision of NRP Charter

1. Attached is a copy of the proposed Committee on Foreign

Intelligence Directive, "National Reconnaissance Activities" which

would replace the 1965 agreement between the Secretary of Defense

and the Director of Central Intelligence. The attached draft

resulted from a 16 March meeting of a task group established at

request of the Committeeon Foreign Intelligence. The task group

addressed drafts developed from a proposed NRP charter which the

Deputy Secretary of Defense tabled at the CFI meeting of 11 March.

Z. Since the CFI proposes to issue the charter as a CFI

Directive the title, "National Reconnaissance Activities," is

used so it could be included in an unclassified listing of the

titles of.CFI Directives, should the CFI elect to issue such.•

3. At close of the 16 March task group session some

question remained as to whether there might exist a blanket

directive covering Defense Department/CIA relationships in time

of war (and not merely in theaters of war). Recheck has indicated

no such directive exists, so it is proposed that paragraph 3.c. include provision that in time of war the Secretary of Defense•

shall be responsible for establishment of collection requirements

and target priorities.

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4. The only matter on which agreement was not reached

within the task group is at paragraph 3.g., where differing NRO

and Intelligence Community Staff views are presented concerning

the staffing of the Committee on Foreign Intelligence. The

NRO position is based primarily on its view of security requirements and a desire to continue procedures used in providing

information to the EXCOM, which the CFI has replaced. The ICS

view is based on the charge in Executive Order 11905 (Section

3 (b) (3) ) that "the CFI shall be supported by the Intelligence

Community Staff."

S. It is requested that the addressees coordinate the

attached draft within the Department of Defense and the CIA and

advise me as to suitability of the draft for submission to the

Committee on Foreign Intelligence for its approval.

cc:

Chairman, COMIREX

Chairman, SIGINT Committee

Attachment

As stated

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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE

DIRECTIVE NO. .

NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE ACTIVITIES

There is hereby created a National Reconnaissance

Program (NRP) for the collection of foreign intelligence by

satellites or such other overhead means as may be assigned.

The NRP shall combine activities of the Department of Defense

and the Central Intelligence Agency to assure that potentialities of U.S. technology and all operational resources and

facilities are aggressively and imaginatively exploited to

develop and operate systems for the collection of foreign

intelligence which are fully responsive to the Government's

foreign intelligence needs and objectives. As a function of

national importance, the NRP is assigned the highest priority •

for DoD and industrial support.

The Program will be managed by a National Reconnaissance

Office (NRO), a special 'Office within the Department of Defense

for the collection of specialized intelligence information

through reconnaissance programs. This charter sets forth the

responsibilities of the NRO, which will be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order 11905, "United States

Foreign Intelligence Activities," 18 February 1976, and its •

implementing directives.

3. Responsibilities 

a. The Secretary of Defense, Committee on Foreign •

Intelligence (CFI), and the Director of Central Intelligence

shall exercise such authority over the NRP as is provided.

by Executive Order 11905 and by National Security Council

Directives.

•

* This Directive supersedes the "Agreement for Reorganization of

the. National Reconnaissance Program," signed by the Deputy

Secretary of Defense and the Director of Central Intelligence,

dated .11 August 1965•

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• b. The Secretary of Defense shall direct, fund and

operate the NRP. With the concurrence of the Director of

Central Intelligence, he shall appoint a senior Department

of Defense statutory official to be the Director of the

NRO (DNRO). The Deputy Director of the NRO will be selected

by the DNRO with the concurrence of the Director of Central

Intelligence. The Secretary of Defense and the Director of

Central Intelligence shall provide the necessary support to

execute the Program.

The DNRO shall satisfy, through conduct of the

NRP, foreign intelligence collection requirements and

priorities as established for the NRP by the Director of

Central Intelligence. When U.S. forces are engaged in

active theaters of war, or when the President so directs,

establishment of collection requirements and target priorities

will be a responsibility of the Secretary of Defense.

The DNRO shall establish a Joint staff including

representation from organizations involved in the URP to

support the Program. Program offices responsible to the

DNRO shall be established in appftpriate agencies of the

Department of Defense, the military services, and the Central

Intelligence Agency for the implementation of the NRP. The

DNRO shall have the authority to assign responsibilities to

the various prograwoffices and departments and agencies of

the Government, according to their capabilities and consistent

with program guidance from the Committee on Foreign Intelligence

The DNRO shall direct and manage the NRP. Planning

and programming for satellite systems or other designated

overhead collectors, as approved by the Committee on Foreign

Intelligence for the collection of national intelligence

information, are the sole responsibility of the DNRO. He •

shall be responsible for directing the activities conducted

by the program offices in research, development, procurement,

operation and control of satellite or other designated overhead collectors of foreign intelligence information. The

NRO will not produce finished intelligence.

The DNRO shall submit to the Operations Advisory

Group requests for approval to conduct foreign intelligence

collection activities under such arrangements as may be

directed by the Operations Advisory Group.

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(NOTE: There is a split view on this program.)

NRO View

The DNRO shall provide staff cupport to the Committee

on Foreign Intelligence for the NRP. The Intelligence

Community Staff (ICS) will be furnlshed system-level

performance and cost data required to perform value

assessments as directed by the Committee on Foreign

Intelligence.

Intelligence Community Staff Proposal 

The DNRO shall provide to the Committee on Foreign

Intelligence, and to the Intelligence Community Staff for

its staff support to the Committee on Foreign Intelligence,

such information as is needed for execution of the Committee's

responsibilities, including system-level performance and

cost data required by the ICS to perform value assessments

as directed by the Committee on Foreign Intelligence.

Only those program offices participating in the .

NRP shall engage in reconnaissance intelligence collection

using satellites or conduct studies or adyanced technology

. development related thereto.

1. The DNRO shall establish direct lines of control

and communication to all elements of the NRO and supporting

organizations for development, operations, and logistics

. activities. The NRO shall not be subject to DoD or CIA.

procurement or administrative instructions or directives

except as their application may be beneficial to the management of the NRP, as determined by the DNRO. s

j. • The DNRO shall establish a fiscal control, accounting, and reporting procedure to ensure that all funds obligated

and expended in support of the NRP are fully accounted for and

appropriately utilized.

k. The DoD Inspector General and General Counsel will

be responsible for oversight of.the NRO, in compliance with

Sections 5 and 6 of the Executive Order 11905.

1. Contract audit functions will be performed by the

Defense Contract Audit Agency, in accordance with covert •

security procedures.

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The DNRO shall prepare the budget and program,.

recommendations for the NRP and submit them under procedures established by the CFI for approval and inclusion

in the overall intelligence budget. The DURO shall defend

the NRP through briefings to the Congress or elsewhere

under procedures approved by the CFI.

The DNRO shall have reprogramming authority

within the approved NRP, subject to rules governing and

reprogramming of funds adopted by the CFI.

o. The DNRO is designated as the Head of a Procuring

Agency and may redelegate to the extent of his legal authority.

He shall also have the authority to approve the lease or .

procurement of automated data processing equipment integral

to NRP systems.

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The DNRO shall establish the manning requirements

' for the NRO and request manpower support from the appropriate

agencies and departments.

The NRP shall be considered a covert activity ofthe U.S. Government and will not, as a matter of policy,

be publicly acknowledged without the approval of the DCI.

The DNRO is responsible for recommending to the DCI the

security measures necessary for the protection of the NRP

for implementation of security procedures.

Director of Central Deputy Secretary beputy Assistant for

Intelligence of Defense National Security Affair

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