Approved For Release 2003/04/18
: CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030015-8
FOUO
Star Gate Records Declassification
1 0
Current
Status
The Congress
directed
that
Star Gate be reviewed
for
declassification
and provided
billets
and
funds
to
achieve
this
end.
In reviewing
the
year
history
of
the
intelligence
community's
projects
in
parapsychology, CIA
concurs
with
the
Congressional
direction
that
the program
and
all
historical
information
should be
declassified
and
released
to
public
sources
except where
national
security
policy
regarding
disclosure
of sources
and methods
or
specifics
of
operational
missions
requires
that
the
information
continue
to
be
protected
under
approved
classification
procedures.
In
addition
to
the
contractor
reports
that
are
listed
in
the
bibliographies
prepared
during
the
Star
Gate
review
(which
includes
all
of
the
contractor
reports
that
have
been
declassified
already),
there
are 43 boxes
of material
related
to
Star Gate and
its
predecessor
projects
conducted
under
various
government
organizations
that
are now
under
the management
and
control
o
CIA.
These boxes
include 38 boxes
transferred from
DIA under
Congressional
direction, two
(2) boxes
containing
copies
of contractor
reports
(in
addition
to
the
contractor
reports
noted
above)
and
three
(3) boxes
of historical CIA documents.
The DIA documents
date
principally
from
1979
to
the
present
time.
CIA documents
generally
cover
the
period from
1972
to
1977.
The documents
include
a
variety
of
types,
e.g.,
contract
records,
remote
viewer (RV)
training
records, RV
inputs
against
operational
tasks,
internal
reports,
memoranda
and
briefings,
open
literature
information
on
parapsychology
and
its
interest
to
others,
contractor
communications,
etc.
Some
of
this
material
is
classified (muc
o
which
appears
to
be
over-classified)
and some
of
it
is
unclassified
and/or
not
marked.
Twenty-three
(23)
of
the
38 DIA boxes
principally
contain
multiple
folders each with
a
report
of two
similar types and most
of which
-
95%
or more
-
should be
considered
as
unclassified
regardless
of how
it
is
currently
labeled.
These
reports
contain
either:
raw RV
inputs
as
a part of RV
training exercises [Type
1]
or raw RV
inputs
in
response
to
operational
tasks
[Type
2].
For both
types
of
inputs, raw
RV
data
essentially
comprises
handwritten
or
typed
text
and/or
^
hand
sketches/drawings
which
record
the
"visions"
or
"impressions
FOUO
Approved For Release 2003/04/18
: CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030015-8
Approved For Release 2003/04/18
: CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030015-8
FOUO
that
the RV
is
experiencing
during
his/her RV
"session" on
a
particular
task.
For
the
training
sessions
[Type
1],
the
tasking
is
all
related
to
readily
available
material
or
sources,
e.g.,
describe
a person
(perhaps
a
notable
politician
or
entertainer)
or
describe
a
situation
or
place
which has been
created by
the
trainer,
etc.
Except
in those
cases,
if
any,
where
the
task
description mi ght
telegraph
intelligence
interests, none of these
data
are
classified.
Certainly
the RV
inputs,
if
separated from
the
specifics
of
the
task (which
is
the
general
situation
in
the
report
folders)
are
unclassified.
Similarly,
the only
data
related
to
the
operational
tasks
[Type
2]
that
is
classified
are
those
describing:
the
specific
details
of the'
operational
task,
the
tasking
organization
(if
it
is
a
classified
entity)
and/or
the
requested
EEI’s
(Essential
Elements
of
Information).
Again, RV
inputs,
once
separated from
the
details
of the
operational
task
(and once
again
the
general
situation
in
the
report
folders)
are
clearly
unclassified
as
they
provide
only random
snippets
of
information
and
crude
drawings
that
do
not
relate
to
anything
classified
in
and
by
themselves.
Thus,
if
the
assumed
guideline
noted
above
regarding
the
classification
(or lack
thereof)
of the RV
inputs
is
adopted,
the major
declassification
effort
will
need
to
engage
only
the
review
and
sanitization
of:
-
the two
(2) boxes
of remaining
contractor
reports
that have
not been
declassified
already
(38
in
number),
and
-
the 18 boxes
of DIA and CIA
material which
contain
documents
of
all
types.
2.0
Resource
Estimate
The review of the RV
operational
input
folders
[Type
2] would
require
only
assurance
that
the
folder
for each
task
does
not
include
details
of the
tasking
(usually
the
case)
and,
if
it does,
the
extraction
of
that
information
for
subsequent
declassification
review
and
processing.
Subsequently,
the
classification
marking
on
the
residual
RV
information
will have
to be
excised
prior
to
release.
FOUO
Approved For Release 2003/04/18
: CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030015-8
Approved For Release 2003/04/18
: CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030015-8
FOUO
Similarly,
but even
less demanding,
is
the review
of the RV
inputs
in
the training
folders
[Type
1].
Here,
as
above,
tasking
details
-
usually
separated
-
should
be removed
for
subsequent
review.
However,
in
this
case, most of
the
tasking
information
also
will
be
unclassified
except
in
those
circumstances
wherein
the
task
might
imply
classified
intelligence
information,
knowledge
and/or
interests,
not
a
common
situation
for
these
training
tasks.
Review
of both
type
folders
to
identify
and
extract
tasking
details
is
estimated
to
require
person-days/box
(or
less).
Excising
the
classification
markings
on
the
residual
information
and
completing
the
necessary
records
management
information
is
estimated
to
require
person-day/box
for
records
management
staff
and
person-days/box
by
administrative/clerical
support
staff.
Thus,
the 23 DIA boxes can be
sanitized by
an estimated
total
of 69
person-days
of
a
professional
reviewer
(46
person-days)
and
a
records
management
expert
(23
person-days)
plus
person-days
of
clerical
support.
The review
task can
be performed by
a
suitable
contractor
for an
estimated
cost
of $3 OK.
The two
(2) boxes which
contain
the 38
classified SRI/SAIC
classified
reports
that have
not
been
sanitized
can
be
reviewed
for
declassification most
readily by
the most
recent
contractor,
i.e.,
SAIC.
This
contractor,
in
conjunction with
the
Star Gate PMO,
declassified
the
majority
of
all
of
the
contractor
reports
in
1994
and
is,
therefore,
very
familiar with
the
process.
The document review
process
is
estimated
to
require
person-days
of
contractor
time
to
include
document
review,
excising
of
classified
data
and
markings,
and
the
reprint
and
reassembly
of
sanitized
versions
for
government
review
and
approval.
Estimated
cost
for
this
contractor
effort
is $40K.
Subsequent
government
review/approval/recording
is
estimated
to
require
person-week
of
records
management
staff.
The
remaining
boxes
of
material
will
require
substantially
more
time
and
investment. The
3 CIA
boxes
comprise
material
that
has
been
previously
archived
and
hence
should
be
somewhat
easier
to
review
than
the documentation
contained
in
the
15 DIA
boxes.
In
addition,
all
of the CIA documents
are 20+years
old and many
can be
declassified
based upon
that
fact
alone.
The
15 DIA boxes
contain
a
potpourri
of documentation
including
copies
of
classified
contractor
reports
(which may
be
duplicative
and,
FOUO
Approved For Release 2003/04/18
: CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030015-8
Approved For Release 2003/04/18
: CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030015-8
FOUO
as
such,
should be
destroyed),
open
source
literature,
internal
formal
and
informal
memoranda
and
correspondence,
program
office
status
and
progress
reports,
logs and
details
of operational
tasking,
etc.
These
data
will
be
supplemented by
any
information
extracted
from
the Type
and Type 2
folders noted
above,
although
this
is
not
anticipated
to add much volume
to
the
total.
Review
and
sorting
of these boxes
is
estimated
to
require
person-
weeks/box
including
sorting
of
the
documents
into
the
categories
of
1)
unclassified open
literature
for
destruction,
2)
other
classified
material which
is
duplicative
and
can
be
destroyed,
3)
classified
material
that
cannot
be
declassified
under
current
policy
and must
be
archived by
the CIA
and
4)
review
and recommendations
for
the
sanitization and
declassification
of
the
remaining documents.
Cost
to
perform
this
review by
a
qualified
contractor
is
estimated
at $120K.
Subsequent
records
management
and,
as
appropriate,
sanitization
processing
is
estimated
to
require
person-week/box
for
records
management
staff
and
person-week/box
for
clerical
support.
Thus
the
total
estimated
labor and
funding
support
to
review
and
declassify
the 43
boxes
of material
is:
Records
Clerical
Contractor
Mgmt
Support
Funding
Staff
fp-days)
(p-days)
($K)
23 boxes of RV
inputs
boxes
of
reports
remaining
boxes
120
Given
the
uncertainty
in
the
estimates
above,
recommended
staffing
and
funding
for
the
declassification
process
is
full-time
records
management
staff
(to
also
be
the
declassification
team
leader),
full-
time
administrative/clerical
support
staff
and
a
contractor
budget
of
$250K.
The process
should be completed
in
less
than
calendar
year.
Finally,
and
in
addition
to
the
billets
and
funds
above,
a
requirement
for
the
services
of
full-time FOIA
staff expert
is
estimated once
the
bulk
of
the
available
documentation
is
released
to
public
sources.
Numerous FOIA
request
can
be
anticipated
subsequent
to
this
release
of
this
information.
Fortunately, most
of these
requests
can be
FOUO
Approved For Release 2003/04/18
: CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030015-8
Approved For Release 2003/04/18
: CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030015-8
FOUO
referred
to
the
National
Archives
for processing
once
the
declassified
documents
have
been
transferred.
3.0
Declassification
Plan
The
objectives
of the
declassification
plan and program
is
to
declassify
as much
of
the
information
described above
as
possible
under an
approved
declassification TOR
(such
as
in
the
attached
draft
TOR) and
to
release
the
subsequent
unclassified
documentation
to
the National
Archives.
Only
those
data deemed
to
fall
under
the
specified
caveats
such
as
those noted
in
the
attached TOR
will
continue
to be
classified
and
will be
archived and
retained
within
the
CIA.
Subsequent
to
approval of
this
plan,
billets and funds
will be
provided
to
(for example)
the
Historical
Records
section
of the Center
for
Studies
in
Intelligence
to support the
efforts
of that
office
in
the
review,
record
generation,
declassification,
release
and/or
archiving
of these documents.
As
noted
above,
extensive FOIA
requests
are
anticipated
once
the
information
regarding
this
program
is
released
to
the
public,
so some funds
will
also be provided
to
that
office
to
support
responding
to
these
requests.
The
declassification
plan
comprises
the
following
tasks
- assuming
a
10/1/95
start
date:
Task
Completed
Assign
lead
for
process
to
appropriate CIA
organization
Develop,
approve
declassification TOR
Let
contracts
for
review
of
contractor
reports
Let
contracts
for review
of
all
other boxes
Completion
of
all
contractor
efforts
OOB*
Completion
of government
review
and
processing
OOB
Complete
transfer
of
all
declassified
documents
10/15/95
1 1/15/95
12/15/95
1/15/96
7/30/96
9/15/96
to
National
Archives
OOB
9/30/96
(*OOB
- On Or Before)
FOUO
Approved For Release 2003/Q4/18
: CIA-RDP96-00791R000200030015-8