THE HISTORY OF OCR 1953 -1966 COLLECTION AND PROCUREMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84-00951R000100080001-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 16
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 10, 2000
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: April 1, 1969
• Content Type: REPORT

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IQ;
1 April 1969
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'T'ABLE OF CONTENTS
La &e
2. Factors Affecting OCR Development
and operations . . . . . . . . . . . .
3. Collection and Procurement Activities . .
4. Requirements Coordination . . . . . . .
5. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6. Summary Assessment . . . . . . . . .
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INTRODUCTION
In retrospect, collection and requirements coordination functions are
often overlooked both in terms of their major importance as an OCR
responsibility and their co-existence with an activity whose basic function
progressively evolved toward information handling and reference services.
Yet during the first ten years covered by this History, OCR, through
its Liaison Division, Acquisition Branch of the CIA Library, Graphics
and Biographic Registers, played a major role in effectively responding to
r major customer needs by establishing facilities to collect required intelli-
ence information and to coordinate related requirements both within the
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Agency and in the Intelligence Community.
The Graphics, Biographic Registers' and the Acquisition Branch's
activities continue today, although under a different organizational Office
structure. The Liaison Division's collection and requirements coordina-
tion activities served the need until Collection Branch was merged in 1961
with the Contact Division, DCS, and requirements coordination was
assigned in 1963 to the newly created Collection Guidance Staff in the
DDI's Office.
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This is a story of how OCR responded dynamically to rapidly changing
needs, pioneered in creating means to meet them, and made a substantial
contribution during the growth period of the Agency and the Community.
It is a story of initiative, flexibility and accomplishment.
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1. OCR IN 1953
In reviewing OCR's collection and requirements coordination activities
within the time period covered by this History, a brief outline of their
nature and scope as of 1953 will be useful both as a point of departure
and as perspective for what subsequently transpired. In this context,
the OCR operating components involved were engaged in the following
activities :
The Liaison Division was providing a central Agency service for
the coordination of CIA and other USIB Agencies' ad hoc foreign
intelligence requirements, assigning and monitoring collection action
as appropriate to CIA and other Agencies' collection facilities. The
Division also collected and procured information directly from govern-
ment agencies, both USIB and non-USIB, available in Washington.
Effective January 1953, the International Conference Branch was
established, providing a central Agency service for the collection
of intelligence information on International Conferences, Trade Fairs
and Exhibitions.
The year 1953 marked the beginning of OCR's major role in the
Foreign Publications Procurement Program.. As a result of NSCID
No. 16 (7 March 1953) assigning the coordinating responsibility for
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such procurement to the Director of Central Intelligence, and the con-
comitant abolishment by the Department of State of its Foreign Publica-
tions Branch due to budget and manpower reductions, CIA took on the
operational responsibility for the program in "Washington by establishing
in April 1953 the Foreign Branch in the CIA Library (later the Acquisition
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Branch). The Foreign Branch provided a central Agency service for the
procurement through Foreign Service facilities of foreign language
publications of interest to the Intelligence Community. Such responsibilities
involved providing Publications Procurement Officers with collection
requirements, directing their collection actions and developing and
exploiting sources of foreign language publications in other agencies
which were of interest to CIA.
Graphics Register was providing a central reference collection service
of motion pictures and still photography on foreign areas, subjects and
personalities for use by CIA and other USIB agencies, coordinating the
development of specific and standing collection requirements of CIA
and other USIB agencies and levying requirements on available govern-
ment and commercial collection sources. The Register maintained
direct procurement arrangements with U. S. Government counterparts
and selected commercial sources of motion pictures and still photo-
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grapey in the New York and Washington areas. A major function
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of the Register involved the coordination of all Agency aerial photography
requirements and subsequent procurement directly from the U. S. Navy
and Air Force.
Effective January 1953, by State Department and CIA agreement, the
Department assumed the responsibility for providing complete biographic
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service to the CIA for political, diplomatic and cultural personalities.
The Biographic Register continued its responsibilities for supplying
information on personalities in the scientific and economic fields and on
the organizations with which they were affiliated, conducting liaison with
other Government Agencies for the exchange of biographic information
and materials, and coordinating Agency requirements for levying on
Foreign Service Post facilities. The Register also briefed CIA and
other USIB Agencies' officials on special and general biographic
requirements.
over-all guideline OCR philosoply and objectives were specifically
laid out in a "Memorandum to All Hands, OCD" issued on 12 November
1948 by the Assistant Director, James M. Andrews. OCD's major
function was to provide service to the offices of the Agency. "It
must be the objective of everyone in OCD to see that prompt and
efficient service is given to every worker from another Office in CIA
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who requested it and never to deny a request save when, on practical
grounds, it seems certain that compliance would work harm. to the
Agency by interfering with other services which are being and must
continue to be performed." No hint would be tolerated of the former
"ritualistic approach" of the old OCD. "Channels and procedures are
created to yield practical results ; if they fail to yield the practical
results . . . then they are inadequate and must be changed.
Prerogatives are sterile, and must never be cited as a reason for
denial of a request." This philosophy carried over into the ensuing
years and was a contributing factor in OCR's initiative and flexibility
in meeting the fast changing and increasing needs of those it served.
The year 1953 was significant in terms of its reflecting the
evidence of the Agency's transition from its initial organizational and
formative period to that of growth, adjustment and development. The
effects of the Agency's reorganization during FY 1951 became apparent
b
in the increasing workload placed upon OCR. During FY 1952, the
recently established research and production offices of ORR, OSI and
OCI were launched on their respective programs. The operational
offices of OSO and OPC continued to expand. The continued growth
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and development of these offices resulted in increased requirements for
OCR services, including its collection, procurement and requirements
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coordination activities. OCR's Liaison Division, the CIA Library and
the Graphics Register were particularly involved.
As the Agency's organizational pattern settled down, personnel
staffing filled out, and operating components began to implement planned
programs, OCR's collection and requirements coordination resources
faced the challenge of meeting new and expanding requirements of an
organized and rapidly developing agency.
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2. FACTORS AFFECTING OCR DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATIONS
A brief summary of the factors affecting OCR's operations and
development as they took place will lend realistic perspective in review-
ing past activities in collection operations from the vantage point of
present day emphasis on information handling and computerized
reference systems.
Internal factors were of major significance. The initial build-up
of files of information and material soon proved inadequate to the need.
It became necessary to search out, locate and procure intelligence and
information available in the files and facilities of U.S. Government
Agencies in the Washington area in addition to depending upon the field
collection facilities of the USIB community.
There occurred a steady expansion of requirements for OCR
collection and requirements coordination services from the new
intelligence components (ORR, OSI, OCI) established by the Agency
reorganization of 1951 as these offices launched upon their assigned
programs. Similar expansion of requirements came from the
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operations components of the Agency (OSO and OPC) as they increased
the scope of implementation of their missions.
As basic coverage and needs were filled out in due time, emphasis
shifted to current intelligence requirements, a greater need for new and
current information. Requirements became more specific and definitive.
The impact of new technical collection programs, such as the U-2,
was substantial, resulting in requirements for collateral support to help
identify and/or confirm heretofore unavailable aerial photography on
important target areas and installations . This type of support to the
photo-interpretation program called for more information and ground
photography on more areas (particularly on former non-priority areas),
on more subjects and within a shorter time frame than before.
The 1960s reflected the progressively increased allocation of OCR
resources to the design and development of ADP and computer systems
in the information handling field, further straining adequate allocation
of office resources to collection and related requirements coordination
responsibilities and functions of OCR.
Outside agency factors prior to the establishment of the Defense
Intelligence Agency in 1961 primarily concerned the problems of OCR's
se,
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inter-agency requirements coordination being handled on a decentralized
basis, dealing with each collection/requirement component of the USIB
agencies. OCR's role therefore was that much more important in the
relatively un-coordinated requirements activities of the Intelligence
Community, particularly in view of the coordinating role of the Director
of Central Intelligence as stated in NSCID No. 2.
The establishment of DIA in 1961 necessitated considerable adjust-
ments and changes in operating procedures involving the former direct
contacts and relationships between OCR and the separate components
and Commands of the military services. Adjusting to living with the
organizational and growing pains of the new agency, OCR furnished
support in advising its counterparts in DIA on organizing the latter's
inter-agency operating procedures covering collection and requirements
coordination activities of the new DIA and the former separate service
components.
International conditions of intelligence interest also exerted their
influence on OCR's collection and requirements activities. The 1950s
were characterized by the Cold War period, with its priority emphasis
on aOV-Bloc coverage, followed by the emergence of new nations, the
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increasing crises in non-Bloc areas (Korea, Cuba, Guatemala, Middle
East, Vietnam, etc.), and the establishment of Communist China as a
major threat. As a result, more coverage on new areas, rapidly expand-
ing requirements, changing priorities, all required greater flexibility in
handling strained collection facilities and the increasing complexity of
requirements coordination.
The relaxation of Soviet restrictions on Free-World travel in the
USSR and on the foreign travel and participation by Sov/Bloc nationals
in international conferences and in the East-West Exchange Program
created new collection exploitation opportunities.
Budget restrictions, manpower reductions and economy drives were
also contributing factors. The scope of their impact ranged from varying
degrees of curtailment to disestablishment of certain OCR activities and
programs.
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COLLECTION AND PROCUREMENT ACTIVITIES
OCR made a significant contribution to the overt collection activities
of the Intelligence Community by its expansion of the scope of sources
exploited. This was achieved without duplicating the collection efforts
of the established USIB collecting systems. The OCR programs in fact
complemented these systems and assisted in reducing the requirements
burdens placed upon them.
In describing OCR's participation in collection and procurement
activities, it will be useful to define just how these terms are used in
this Chapter. They fall into two categories: 1) "direct" collection, in
which OCR personnel dealt directly with sources; and 2) "indirect",
wherein OCR was responsible for the operational management and
administration of activities in which contact with primary sources or
actual collection itself was performed by non-OCR and/or other agency
personnel. OCR Liaison officers' procurement of information and
material already in the possession of other government agencies in
Washington is also included in this category.
Examples of "direct" collection activities included: the OCR
Liaison Collection Division program for the collection of foreign
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positive intelligence information from U.S. Government Officials acquired
by their foreign travel, attendance at International Conferences and
participation in the East-West Exchange Program (DCID 2/8); OCR
Graphics Register collection, as authorized and delegated by Domestic
Contact Service, of still and motion picture photography from U. S.
Television Networks, Motion Picture Organizations, U 9 ,(Commercial
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Photo
25X1 A sources; serving as the Agency contact with the
involving Communist propaganda
materials and motion picture films and publications of intelligence and
operational interest.
Examples of the "indirect" activities included: CIA Library's
Acquisition Branch's operational responsibilities in managing the pro-
curement activities of the Foreign Service Officers under the Publications
Procurement Program (DCID No. 2j$); OCR Graphics Register manage-
anent of the Graphics Coordinator Program and the State INR/CS New
York office's graphics procurement activities; OCR Biographic
Register's responsibilities in directing the collection of biographic
information by Foreign Service Posts abroad (DCID No. 1/9); OCR
Liaison Division collection of intelligence information and material in
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the possession of U. S. Government Agencies in the Washington area.
All of the above activities represented an expansion of the over-all
Community overt collection effort. Each activity had its own particular
capability and field of coverage, encompassing publications, biographic
information, motion and still photography, and the broad field of general
intelligence subjects recordable by the hand camera's lens, human
observation, or in the form of documentation.
Soviet relaxation of foreign travel restrictions, attendance at
international conferences and its participation in the East-'Vest Exchange
Program resulted in the creation of new overt collection opportunities.
Recognizing a void in the Community's established collection programs'
capabilities to exploit these opportunities, OCR Liaison Collection Division
initiated and established an overt collection program to fulfill the need
(DCID No. 2/8).
Similarly, Soviet liberalized public information media release
policies resulted in increased subject content of intelligence interest
appearing in SOV-Bloc motion picture films, still photography and
publications, which, in turn, challenged the collection and procurement
capabilities of the Graphics Register and the Acquisition Branch programs.
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