OVERSEAS MOVEMENT OF DEPENDENTS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP62B00844R000200060026-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 30, 1999
• Sequence Number: 26
• Publication Date: June 1, 1956
• Content Type: REPORT

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OVERSEAS MOVEMENT OF DEPENDDE TS
1. PROBLEM:
Should dependents of Project personnel (Agency, Air Force, contract and
contractor) be permitted to join sponsors in an overseas 'theater?
2, ~S, UI 'UONS:
as Project AQUATONE is organized for a limited period of time, probably
not in excess of 18 months from date.
b. The overseas bass as now organized, constitutes a stripped-down
operational base. The organization comprises a bare minimum of administrative
support types of personnel aid is designed to be readily mobile to meet chang-
ing situations.
c. The overseas base should be mobile to a high degree,
d. The overseas base may be moved upon very little advance notice and its
personnel may be engaged in lengthy and distant TDY.
e. The security of the Project and its basic sponsor is of paramount im-
portance.
f. Morale of married personnel would be improved if dependents could be
located near areas of operations.
3. E ACM BEARING ON T1 PROB EM:
a. Personnel of all categories have been recruited on the basic assump-
tion that they would be required to separate from dependents for a period of
18 months overseas service.
b. During training, personnel have been continuously conditioned to the
fact of separation from dependents.
c. Detachment A is now deployed and in the field and separation from de-
pendents has been effected by personnel of Detachment A.
d. Detachment B personnel are now 75 percent identified, with the under-
standing that they will be separated from dependents during the period of
overseas service.
!. DISCUSSION:
a. In early June 1955 when the undersigned first became associated xtith
Project AQUATONE, the question was raised whether or not dependents would be
allowed to accompany personnel overseas. At that time a decision was made
that we should shoot for an operational-type detachment, with a bare minimum
of personnel necessary to accomplish the primary mission, and that weshould
not burden the field activity, nor the Project, with questions relating to
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the movement, housing, medical support, etc., of dependents in an overseas
situation. This concept was further extended to require that the Air Force
counterpart units should provide basic administrative support to our opera..
tional organization; i.e., messing, billeting, supply assistance, aircraft
maintenance, etc,
b. Negotiations were carried on with the major suppliers with this primary
decision in mind; i.e., salaries for personnel were established at rates con-
sidered sufficient to attract suitable personnel who would agree to the neces-
sary dependent separation. In addition to increased salary provisions, pro-
visions were also made for a 30-day home leave in the ZI at the conclusion of
9 months of overseas service, in order that contractor personnel might be
further induced to separate from dependents.
co Military and Agency civilian personnel were recruited. and/or briefed
on the operational and security considerations affecting.-.our decision that
this operation should be designed strictly to get overseas`,do the job, and
return. Therefore, no dependents would be authorized to accompany such per..
sonnet. Under this arrangement dependents of Agency and Air Force personnel
were relocated to points of their choosing within the ZI. There was never
any indication that dependents would at any time be authorized to join per-
sonnel overseas.
d. In recruiting contract employee types for the Project, great care was
taken in each and every case to point out that there would be an 18-month
separation from dependents. This point was covered in the very first interview
and continuously referred to thereafter. As in the case of contractor person-
nel, suitable financial arrangements were evolved to compensate for the
separation from dependents.
C. The present circumstances of Detachment A would seem to emphasize the
wisdom of the original decision that dependents should not accompany sponsors.
It may be necessary to move Detachment A from - to Germany, with the 25X6
further prospect that a move to Turkey may be consumated within the next two
or three months, If dependents were now located there would even 25X6
now exist a tremendous factor of morale and security within the unit as
sponsors would be physically removed and. thus leave thoit families 25X6
to shift for themselves on the local economy, far from friends, relatives and
any normal assistance which might be available to them if they were in the ZI.
If a further move should be made to Turkey, this would immeasurably complicate
the matter of family relationships, worry, and, consequent lack of morale and
efficiency of Detachment A personnel.
f. If one individual is given permission to have his dependents, even
at his expense, physically present within the country where the unit is es..
tablished, this same permission must be granted to personnel of all categories.
We believe it impossible to place the full burden of responsibility for one's
dependents upon the individual sponsor. Sicknesses, emergencies, police diffi-
culties, travel problems, financial problems - all continuously arising within
any group of people; these problems cannot be ignored by the individual sponsor
nor by his unit commander in an overseas situation. This is especially true
of Project AQUATONE units inasmuch as CIA has a very definite interest in the
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welfare of each and every person assigned to the unit. Each one of the afore-
mentioned problems becomes, in the final analysis, a security problem for
CIA, which, as an organization, must pick up the chips and see that the pro-
blem is satisfactorily solved, The unit commander thus inevitably becomes
burdened with an administrative and security load which is incompatible with
the organization of his unit and his primary objective - getting the job done
and getting home. From experience in other situations wherein CIA has per-
mitted dependents to proceed to adjacent countries to await theater clearances
before entry into the sponsor's country of assignment, it has been proven that
problems do continuously arise which demand the attention of the individual
employee, detract his attention from his primary job, and eventually result
in the organization's stepping in to solve problems which the individual finds
insoluable. It has also been organization experience that in many localities,
groups of dependents tend to congregate and to talk unnecessarily, (but out of
pure boredom), of the activities of their husbands. This situation presents
an unjustified security problem for the Project.
g. It is administratively impractical to describe a "50-mile" circle
around the Base, within which dependents may not live. This results in
nibbling away to reduce the distance; there is an added physical hazard of
transportation back and forth between "home" and the base, etc. Presence
of dependents leads to pre-planned holidays, etc., which quite probably will
conflict with operational requirements for the sponsor's presence on the
job (weather conditions, etc.).
5. CONCLUSION:
a. Present personnel have been recruited, briefed, and/or compensated
for an enforced separation from dependents. This policy has been in effect
for 12 months,
b. The present field detachment organization, evolved around a workin ,
operational group, is not staffed to take on additional administrative and/or
security responsibilities,
c. The required mobility of the field detachment and its personnel makes
it impractical for sponsors to adequately care for and provide for dependents
in an alien situation. Failure to be able to adequately so dare for families
will lead to serious morale problems among Detachment personnel.
d, Dependents, even though in the area at their expense and supposedly
on their own responsibility, inevitably become an organization responsibility,
due to security implications, in the event of any emergendy or unusual incident.
6, RECOME TION:
a, It is recommended that the existing policy whereby dependents are pro-
hibited from joining AQUATONE personnel in an overseas area be reiterated and
restated*
be It is further recommended that any violations of this
po cy be inunedi-
ately and stringently dealt with.
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Approved
UNCLASSIFIED
CONFIDENTIAL SECRET
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
AGENCY
OFFICIAL ROUTING SLIP
TO
NAME AND ADDRESS
INITIALS
DATE
1
6~ ~4~
2
r~ it
3
4
5
6
ACTION
DIRECT REPLY
PREPARE REPLY
APPROVAL
DISPATCH
RECOMMENDATION
COMMENT
FILE
RETURN
CONCURRENCE
INFORMATION
SIGNATURE
Remarks :
FOLD HERE TO RETURN TO SENDER
FROM: NAME, ADDRESS AND PONE NO.
DATE
r
CONFIDENTIAL
N 1956
SECRET
I A APR 55 237 Replaces Form 30-4
which may be used.
(40)
yr U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1955-O-342531
0026-9
60026-9