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STAR GATE PROJECT:
AN OVERVIEW
I.
(U)
RECENT DIA DIRECTION
(S/NF/SG/LIMDIS)
In the FY 1991 Defense Authorization Act,
the Defense Intelligence Agency
(DIA)
was identified as executive
agent for initiating
a new program to investigate
parapsychological/ anomalous phenomena.
A funding level of
$2
million was authorized for DIA to undertake specific research and
other activities relative to this activity.
Objectives of this
authorization were to enable a systematic and scientifically
sound approach to the R&D effort,
to permit wider and more
systematic review of potential intelligence applications,
and to
assess foreign developments
in this area.
(S/NF/SG/LIMDIS)
Consequently,
DIA developed a
scientifically rigorous research and investigative program.
Basic and applied research projects were initiated with the
objectives of phenomena understanding and improving application
capabilities for potential operational areas.
Collection
requirements were levied and foreign data bases were compiled in
order to assess and better understand foreign achievements and
their potential impact on U.S.
security interests.
Limited
applied research projects were also conducted.
This activity was
formally established as
a limited dissemination
(LIMDIS)
project
early-on and given the official project name,
STAR GATE.
(S/NF/SG/LIMDIS)
A variety of project reports were
subsequently published that documented key STAR GATE activities,
foreign assessments,
research plans and protocols,
proficiency
testing procedures and other methodological needs.
A
Congressional ly requested Long-Range Comprehensive Plan was
prepared.
This report identified near- and long-term activities
for optimizing research and application investigation in this
phenomenological area.
(S/NF)
A plan for external assistance was also developed and
an external contract for basic and applied research in this area
was negotiated with the Systems Applications International
Corporation
(SAIC)
(S/NF/SG/LIMDIS)
The FY
1992 Defense Appropriations Act
provided DIA with an additional
$2 million in R&D research funds
to further enhance Project STAR GATE research and other
activities.
The Act stressed that DIA develop an even balance
with foreign assessment,
research,
and operational activities.
Foreign assessments should emphasize Russia,
China,
and other
country efforts,
and operational activity should identify
specific users,
to include special operational areas.
SECRET/NOFORN/WNINTEL/LIMDIS
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(S/NF)
The FY 1992 Act called for an effort to identify
possible foreign weaponization activity in this area.
This
is
a
new requirement that
is receiving high priority,
and
is
approached from the viewpoint of unconventional or non-lethal
weapons technology.
(S/NF)
The FY 1992 Act directed DIA to realign
10 civilian
billets so that project staffing could be continued in order to
satisfy all project objectives.
It also called for
a 2-year
architecture plan that was subsequently prepared.
II.
(U)
BRIEF HISTORY OF PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(U)
In the mid-late 1800's,
investigations into anomalous
mental phenomena were initiated by a very limited number of
researches working essentially independent of one another in
various countries.
The early investigators were motivated to
examine this area due to evidence suggested by a wide variety of
anecdotal accounts of spontaneous occurrences.
Many of these
early investigations focused on case study collection and
analysis;
some were aimed at phenomena demonstration under
controlled conditions and were based on the psychological
perspectives of that time-period.
Formal research efforts were
initiated by leading physicists,
and investigation societies were
established in
1892
(London)
and 1896
(New York)
.
(U)
Figure
1 lists the major U.S.
research efforts on this
topic and their time-frame of activity.
The most well know early
U.S.
researcher was Dr.
J.B.
Rhine at Duke University,
Durham,
N.C.;
he explored proof-of-principle of extra-sensory perception
(ESP)
by use of simple experimental targets
(5 symbols)
and well-
established statistical methods.
His work led to considerable
publicity and to a general acceptance that laboratory experiments
had in fact reasonably demonstrated the existence of "telepathy,
clairvoyance,
and psychokinesis".
His laboratory eventually
moved to
a private foundation
(Foundation for Research on the
Nature of Man
(FRNM)
)
,
in Durham,
N.C.
(U)
In the 1960's,
new U.S.
work began in New York,
N.Y.,
and San Antonio,
TX that examined psychological variables and
psychological states;
this new work incorporated a wide variety
of target material
in the experimental set-up.
Emphasis was on a
"free-response"
(not forced choice card guessing)
approach that
examined how well
a subject could draw concealed pictorial
material.
Various psychological conditions
(altered states),
such as deep relaxation or sleep,
were explored and methodologies
for evaluating results were developed.
A different statistical
approach was required,
since the target possibilities were no
longer from a small fixed set that could be easily evaluated.
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STAR GATE
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KEY US RESEARCH EFFORTS
1930-1960
1950-PRESENT
1960-PRESENT
1960-PRESENT
1970-1980
1970-1990
1980-1990
1980-PRESENT
DUKE UNIV, DURHAM, NC
PARAPSYCHOLOGY FOUNDATION, NY, NY
FRNM, DURHAM, NC
MIND SCIENCE FOUNDATION,
SAN ANTONIO, TX
MAIMONIDES MEDICAL CENTER, NY, NY
SRI INTERNATIONAL, MENLO PARK, CA
PSYCHOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LAB,
PRINCETON, NJ
ANOMALIES RESEARCH LAB,
PRINCETON UNIV, PRINCETON, NJ
OTHERS:
SEVERAL UNIVERSITY RESEARCHERS
PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS
FIGURE
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(U)
Results from these efforts were publicized and led to a
greater awareness of some of the psychological factors that are
conducive to enhancing parapsychological effects.
The most
productive research team
(Miamonides Medical Center)
eventually
moved to the Princeton,
N.J.
area and formed the Psychophysical
Research Laboratory.
New work also began in an academic setting
when Dr.
Robert Jahn,
Dean of the Aerospace Science Department,
established
a small parapsychological team at Princeton
University,
N.J.
His effort continues to this day and explores
psychokinesis,
precognition,
and remote viewing.
(U)
However,
none of the early research examined application
potential of this area,
and very little of
it examined distance
effects of the phenomena.
(U)
Some of the early parapsychological effort
(i.e.,
remote
viewing)
at SRI International and at Princeton University did,
however,
examine the potential for describing geographic targets
at various distances.
Figure
2 and Figure
are San Francisco
Bay area targets that showed
a remote viewer could produce
reasonable overall description of features at near-by geographic
locations.
Some experiments showed that
a remote viewer could
also describe the interior contents of target facilities.
These
descriptions were usually reliable when only shape/form
correlations and not analysis/ interpretations were considered.
Figure
4 and Figure
5 are examples
of
Dr.
Jahn’s remote viewing
investigations where long distance
(thousand of miles)
and time
factors
(prediction,
past event description)
were explored.
(U)
Research findings
in this area are sometimes not readily
accepted,
regardless of adequacy of experimental controls or
integrity of the investigators.
Consequently,
a variety of views
can be found concerning the same data.
Some of these have had
a
retarding effect of the field and on funding.
Part of the
controversy lies
in the difficulty of agreement between "proof-
of-principle" and "reasonable demonstration" demands.
A listing
of recent publications that illustrate various perspectives on
this research
is shown on Figure
6 .
(U)
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
(1987)
publication
presented
a balanced view of the research;
some of the articles
presented reasonable cases for "anomaly demonstration".
A
National Research Council
(NRC)
report in 1988,
however,
took a
negative stance in general,
even though
it reviewed a very
limited aspect of the field.
Recent publications
( Statistical
Science
(1991)
and Psychological Bulletin
(1993))
provide good
evidence that paranormal/parapsychological effects have
in fact
been demonstrated and are replicable.
SECRET/NOFORN/WNINTEL/LIMDIS
STAR GATE
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CJl
CLOSE LOCATION
- REAL TIME BEACONING
.
VIEWER’S DESCRIPTION
UP IN THE AIR”
WALKWAY
SYLVANIA FACILITY
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CLOSE-IN SHIELDED
VIEWING
“THIS IS AN ENERGY EXPANDER. IT HUMS.
ITS SOME VERY STRONG ELECTRICAL ENERGY
GOING AROUND THERE
PURE ENERGY
CIRCULATING.”
BERKELEY BEVATRON
21PU6718.S0JP
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FIGURE
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RECENT REVIEWS
*THE ANOMALY CALLED
PSI:
RECENT RESEARCH
AND
CRITICISM'; BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN
SCIENCES, NOVEMBER
1987
•ENHANCING HUMAN PERFORMANCE', NATIONAL
RESEARCH COUNCIL;
1988
•REPLICATION AND META -ANALYSIS
IN
PARAPSYCHOLOGY'; STATISTICAL
SCIENCE;
VOL
6,
No.
4;
1991
'DOES
PSI
EXIST?
REPLICABLE EVIDENCE
FOR AN ANOMALOUS PROCESS OF INFORMATION
TRANSFER'; PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN (PENDING)
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(S/NF)
Several important basic and application-related
findings resulted from the later SRI
investigations.
These were:
(1)
distance/ shielding do not effect results;
(2)
some people
have an innate capability to perform well;
(3)
goal orientation
is more important then psychological factors/states or the nature
of the target;
and
(4)
a potential correlation between remote
viewing capability and certain brain area activity may exist.
These findings were based on research procedures and techniques
that received critical review by an expert nine-person Scientific
Oversight Committee.
The research approach and procedures were
judged scientifically sound.
Some of the procedural problems
associated with early work in this field had been resolved and
corrected
(U)
Appendix B contains specific comments from a research
panel that reviewed some of this work
in the 1983-1984 time-
frame.
This Science Panel review led to later research efforts
that included a variety of basic and applied research objectives.
(S/NF)
The effort at SRI was discontinued in 1990.
However,
as
a result of Congressional direction in FY 1991 for DIA,
new
research in this area was established with the Systems
Applications International Corporation
(SAIC)
,
in Menlo Park,
CA.
III.
(U)
APPLICATION INVESTIGATIONS
(S/NF)
In the early 1970*3,
U.S.
researchers at SRI-
International ,
Menlo Park,
CA,
also initiated research into
phenomena understanding and application pursuits.
This work,
centering on "remote viewing
(RV)
11 came to the attention of the
CIA.
CIA then provided funding to SRI for continuing RV
research.
Then funding was discontinued
in 1975;
subsequent
funding for RV investigation at SRI was provided by DIA and some
of DIA's service support elements with occasional support from
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various R&D organizations.
DIA's interest
in funding this area
was primarily from a threat assessment point-of-view in order to
help understand the Soviet work.
(S/NF/SG/LIMDIS)
The successful long distance SRI remote
viewing experiments from the 1970's generated interest in
operational pursuits with in-house government personnel.
In the
late 1970's,
HQDA/INSCOM established
a small unit for
"development of
a community capability'
in RV.
This unit was
transferred to DIA in 1986 when
12 billets were authorized in the
GDIP budget for this activity.
A Special Access Program
(SAP)
,
SUN STREAK,
was established in order to protect identity of the
individuals and due to the nature of some of the projects
examined.
(S/NF/SG/LIMDIS)
A variety of potential operational projects
were investigated over the next few years;
in 1989 the Military
Intelligence Board
(MIB)
agreed to examine the utility of the
project under field conditions involving counternarcotics
projects.
The MIB reviewed results of this test period in
September,
1990.
Subsequently,
STAR GATE was established to
expand on earlier efforts and to permit systematic and
scientifically sound investigations to continue.
All STAR GATE
activities are conducted in accordance with appropriate
scientific procedures and methodologies.
(S/NF/SG/LIMDIS)
Over-all,
STAR GATE activity
is based on
both a concurrent research and application philosophy.
It
is
recognized that formal scientific proof of this phenomena may yet
be available,
even though "anomaly demonstration" may be granted
in some academic areas.
Although formal scientific acceptance
could be helpful,
the history of application investigations
in
this field demonstrates that at least some level of application
reliability can be achieved for some types of projects.
The
issue
is how to improve overall data quality/reliability so that
wider use can be made of this potential capability.
(S/NF/SG/LIMDIS)
In addition to recent research reviews
/ Figure
6 )
,
formal reviews of operational potential or activity
have also been conducted.
One review examined a four-year
investigation period and was summarized in
a briefing given to
the Military Intelligence Board
(MIB)
in 1989.
Overall findings
are shown as Figure
7 and Figure
.
Key points from this review
were:
Potential applications exist for certain projects types:
Counternarcotics
(CN)
Counterterrorism
(CT)
Counterintelligence
(Cl)
NOFORN/WNINTEL / LIMDI
S
STAR GATE
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60 -
co
2IC”
r"r NOFORN
PROJECTS WORKED
S/T
1986-1989
TOTAL PROJECTS =192
KNOWN
PARTIALLY KNOWN
NOT KNOWN
CT
CN
,
“
Cl
DOC
PRED.
CONTENTS
PROJECT TYPE
SP5353-04
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OVERALL DATA CORRELATIONS
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(TEST FACILITY, AIRFIELD)
NOFORN
CONTENTS
PROJECT TYPE
^ SMALL SCALE
(LASER TEST, ANTENNA DISH)
SP5353.02
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Limited potential exists for detailed data:
—
S/T parameters
—
Precise locations
Low potential exists for predictive tasks
-
Individuals'
performance:
—
Correlates with project tasks
Can improve with high demands/needs and strong goal
orientation.
(S/NF/SG/LIMDIS)
Another review occurred in 1990.
This
followed from an earlier MIB recommendation that operational
investigations focus on counternarcotics projects.
Figure
shows results of this effort,
overall,
about one third of all
projects were judged to have provided data of good quality.
This
was based on evaluation of
32 projects.
Although 104 projects
were conducted,
weather/operational constraints prevented follow-
up for ground truth on the majority of those projects.
IV.
(U)
FOREIGN ASSESSMENTS
A.
(U)
INTRODUCTION
(S/NF)
The FY 1991 Defense Authorization Act identified
DIA as executive agent of
a new program for examining
parapsychological phenomena.
As part of this program,
DIA was
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STAR GATE
SG1A
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ON-
(JTF)
SPECIAL U.S. ARMY
COUNTERNARCOTICS
TEST-1990
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APPENDIX
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[b0789R0028001 80001 -2
APPENDIX A
TERMINOLOGY
(U)
The investigations described
in this report involve
a
class of human capabilities generally referred to as
parapsychological or paranormal phenomena.
There are two general
types,
informational and energetic.
(U)
Informational aspects include the ability to describe
remote or concealed data without the use of known sensory
systems.
This aspect
is generally referred to as remote viewing
(RV)
or extrasensory perception
(ESP)
.
Another term,
anomalous
cognition
(AC)
,
is also currently used by researchers
in this
field.
The ability to predict future events
is usually referred
to as precognition.
(U)
The energetic aspect refers to the mental ability to
influence material or biological systems via unknown mechanisms.
This aspect
is sometimes referred to as psychokinesis
(PK)
(U)
Soviet researchers generally use the term
"psychoenergetics" to identify this research area.
Chinese
researchers prefer the terms "extraordinary human body functions"
or "somatic science"
for similar functions.
(U)
A variety of other terms have,
and probably will,
be
used to describe specific aspects of the basic phenomena.
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APPENDIX
B
SCIENCE PANEL REPORT
SRI
STUDIES
IN REMOTE VIEWING :
A PROGRAM REVIEW
1 MARCH
1984
B-l
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^OO789ROQi2®0tHt80On(D-'0CE— SENSITIVE INTELLIGENCE
SOURCES AND METHODS INVOLVED