COMMENTS ON CHIEFS OF STATION SEMINAR NO. 11

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-05795A000400030001-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 15, 2001
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: July 13, 1967
• Content Type: MFR

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13 July 1967
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MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
SUBJECT: Comments on Chiefs of Station Seminar No. 11
REFERENCE: Course Report/Chiefs of Station Seminar No. 10,
4 May 1967
I. Introduction
1. The eleventh running of the Chiefs of Station Seminar (19 - 30
June 1967) was unique in that it had a guest chief instructor to direct it.
the last person to occupy the position on a regular
basis, rotated back to the Clandestine Services before a successor could
be made available. A temporar arrangement was devised to handle the
contingency: SB Division, recently returned from
-where he had been chief of station, was loaned to OTR for this one
running of the Seminar. Since he was previously committed to attend the
SB Operations Course for the two weeks immediately preceding the Seminar,
pre-course preparations were made by the undersigned who also attended
the sessions themselves and functioned as an assistant to ~Ile
The general skeleton of the Seminar was fashioned by Mrhi
d
s
eparture, and he also briefed and the undersigned on course
management and conduct. A departure in form from previous runnings of
the Seminar was also the manner of lining up the speakers. It had been 25X1A9a
custom to call on each one well in advance and to brief them
on what and how he wanted subjects handled. In view of the undersigned's
other job functions and the involvement o in the SB Operations
Course, it was impossible to attend completely to the personalized form of
extending invitations to guest speakers. This proved not to be a serious 25X1A9a
problem since most of the persons concerned had taken part in earlier
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seminars and needed little briefing that could not be given on the tele-
phone. Also they were sympathetic to the problem and unusually coopera-
tive in adjusting their schedules to meet ours. What could have been an
awkward situation fortunately did not materialize. There remains, of
course, the matter of follow-up. In a few instances, speakers went off
the track, or otherwise did not quite hit the mark. They should be called
on and helped to improve their performance if it is intended to ask them
to talk in future sessions. It would not seem appropriate to request
to do this because he will not have a responsibility for such
sessions. Probably the best way to take care of the matter is for the
undersigned to see these individuals in company with the next chief
instructor, who will no doubt want to talk with them in any case. Refer-
ence to past performances can be made at that time.
II. Highlights
2. A few specific points may be mentioned as significant and dis-
tinguishing in regard to COS Seminar No. 11. First, k9a
unusually effective in his role as chief instructor. Under very difficult
circumstances he handled his job like a real pro. He welded the group
together most adroitly; he smoothed out administrative problems with a
calm ease; and he used his own considerable operational knowledge with
purpose and effect. It is unfortunate that he cannot fill the chief' instructor's
role on a permanent basis.
3. A second point concerns the class members themselves. They
were an impressive group--interested, vocal, animated, and clear in their
minds that they had much to learn. The result was that with very few
exceptions each hour of the course was useful and stimulating to both
speaker and student.
4. A third point concerns the exceptions. A few of the speakers
failed to appreciate the "seminar" concept we were trying to achieve.
Some tended to present formal lectures, and the impression was created
that these officers had a regular spiel they would give almost indiscrimi-
nately in the several courses they were assumed (correctly) to address.
COS Seminar students tend to feel (again correctly) that they are a special
group with particular needs and problems and that a talk in the course
qualifies only if it is specifically aimed at such needs and problems. And
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even then they seem to want to talk these over and are less interested
in being talked at. The remedial action here is somehow to get through
to all the speakers (fortunately most are clear on the point) that what
they have to say to the CSR, Midcareer, etc. courses is not what they
should say to the COS Seminar--at least certainly not in the exact same
form.
5. Another point concerns the additional amount of time given in
this course to individual student presentations. The pattern seems well
set now, and there is little doubt but that contributions, usually informally
given, by the students themselves have a distinct value. Some of those
given in the recently completed seminar were exceedin 1 interesting and
very well given. For example, the officer in the station ini?Y
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as a member of the
member of the class provided a case study on a highly sensitive operation
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25X1A6a in-which was useful from the point of view of illustrating problems
in dealing with high level agents in underdeveloped areas of the world.
But perha s the single most useful individual presentation was that given
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the point of view of having been a ranking support officer in three divisions.
He provided what seemed to be an endless stream of very useful tips for
COS?s to follow in their administrative relationships with Headquarters.
The students in the class found his initial presentation of sufficient value
to request that another period be set aside for him to continue his remarks.
Many of them spoke after the course to suggest that the guidance a senior
support person in a Division can give to outgoing COSts ought to be a
regularized aspect of the COS Seminar.
25X1A6b 6. A final point in this tally of highlights concerns the portion of
the course held at As we know from 2?&1 ,.9a
25X1A6b vations, he felt that the phase was extremely valuable and
should, if possible, be continued. I would like to underscore that position.
There is no doubt whatsoever but that the worth of the course is greatly
enhanced by the informality and relative remoteness of the excellent
25X1A6b facilities provided at It is interesting that in almost: every
sin le instance the students quietly objected to the prospect of going to
25X1A6b for four days. Within a matter of a very few hours no more
grumbling was heard. On the contrary, there seemed little doubt but that
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all class members liked being at By the time the sessions
there were completed, all members of the class, I think it is fair to say,
were strong converts to the concept. Most of them said they wished. that
they could return after the weekend for further sessions at the facility,
and at the end of the course all recommended that future runnings have a
portion of the course held at In discussing this subject with
them informally, I referred to the objections to holding it at b
namely, the rather expensive investment in time required of senior CS
officers to come so far to make their presentations. The response was
usually that in view of the importance of the functions that these future
COS's would perform, the investment would seem to be entirely worth-
while, that after all, if the training was as useful as it demonstrably was,
the Agency will be well repaid by having better trained senior representa-
tives abroad. The point seems valid that if we train junior officers with
care and at considerable expense, certainly we should not stint on the
training of those very individuals who will be ultimately responsible for
directing the activities of junior officers in the field.
III. Discussion and Recommendations
7. A few changes were made in Seminar No. 11, principally the
dropping of some talks given in Seminar No. 10. This was necessary to
provide the additional time spent at but in several ca25X1A6b
subjects were eliminated since they were deemed non-essential. For
example, the "Background briefing on CIA" which had been given once
before was not considered particularly useful to the purpose of the Seminar
and was therefore discontinued. Two personnel problem discussions
(drinking and pregnancy) were eliminated, mainly due to the time factor;
however, the subjects as such came up in a number of other discussions
and regularly scheduled presentations. Thus, it would seem that the
formal scheduling of these topics for the future is not essential. In. the
past, it was customary to schedule a briefing on the
This was eliminated because of insufficient time. Futu25X1A8b
planning should probably provide for the restoration of that session.
Another topic not appearing in this course was that on the
This had never been judged to have unusual merit, and its
absence from this schedule was not a serious loss.
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8. There were no new subjects added to the course schedule for
this running, although we did provide additional time for student presen-
tations as noted above. The experiment, I think, proved worthwhile and
should be continued in the future.
9. Note should be taken here of recommendations made in the course
report dated 4 May and written at the conclusion of Seminar No. 10 (see
paragraph 3). Mr.-had strongly recommended holding a part of
the course at As indicated, this was done. Regarding the
point that more free time be made available in the course for reading,
discussion, and out-processing, I think we did accomplish a bit more
ventilation in the recently completed Seminar than in previous courses.
However, it might do well to follow up on suggestions made by several
of the students. These generally took the line that we should try to have
a two-hour free period in the middle of the day which would accommodate
lunch and sufficient time for reading and the ever present problem. of out-
processing. This might be feasible and should be looked into in the future.
As for the recommendation that questions for the DDP be collected later
in the course than they had previously been, we did follow up on that with
no particular problems involved. We frankly did not think the questions
themselves were particularly penetrating, but they served a purpose.
10. The suggestion that the course provide for additional c25XlA9a
histories was followed up by asking o present not only
25X1 C5b the Actually, this was not only
a response to the earlier suggestion, but was also efficient use cl5NV
ticular time in the schedule at s c e u ing,
it would have been difficult to speak.
The sessions were a great success. In response to Mr. on
that we should provide for an ambassador to address the Seminar, we did
make the attempt. Ralph A. Dungan, Ambassador to Chile, was asked by
25X1A9a Mr. to talk to the students. He indicated his interest in doing so
but said his schedule would not permit. What he did not say was that he
was about to resign from the Foreign Service and that presumably this
would have precluded his taking part in the Seminar in any event.
25X1A9a 11. In Mr. last course report he noted the suggestion of a
student that a limited number of CS officers might be asked to audit selected
25X1A9a portions of the course. Mr. endorsed the idea. We did not follow
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through in Seminar No. 11, mainly because time did not permit to make
necessary arrangements. As a matter of fact, it seems to me that there
is some doubt as to the merit of the suggestion. I say this because in. the
one or two instances when guests audited a particular lecture, some of
the class members expressed their displeasure to me. They felt that
the presence of auditors, in some cases not known to them, was a dis-
turbing and inhibiting factor.
25X1A9a 12. Again because of the time factor, we were not able to follow up
on the suggestion that Mr. ndorsed to set up a panel of branch
chiefs to discuss problems of Headquarters /Field relationships. We will
mothball this proposal until a new chief instructor has had an opportunity
to test it. Concerning the suggestion that we list guest speakers, titles
in those instances where they had been chiefs of station (there had been
some omissions in previous course schedules), we came within an inch
of total success, failing in only one instance to note a speaker's former
position.
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IV. Conclusion
13. This informal report has not been written in conjunction with
who will submit a formal course report. The decision to
write separately is based on the possible gains from two viewpoints. The
two together should constitute a fair record of Seminar No. 11. Not incor-
porated here is a compilation of student suggestions as made in their
critiques. None is so unusual as to warrant quoting here. They will.
remain on file, however, for the benefit of the next chief instructor. But
mention should at least be made at this time of the proposal made orally
by several persons, namely, that some effort be made to segment the
course into sections to avoid the apparent piecemeal presentation of sub-
j ects. Thus, all talks and sessions having to do with security would flow
in sequence, all on relationships with the Department of State and other
government elements, all on specific operational subjects, all on the
managerial role of the COS, etc. --in groupings instead of the present
dispersal throughout the course. Whether or not this would be possible
and desirable is something to be considered in the near future.
Acting Chief, Operations School
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