LETTER TO VICE ADMIRAL JON L. BOYES FROM HERBERT E. HETU

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP99-00498R000300050005-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 28, 2007
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: July 21, 1980
• Content Type: LETTER

Approved For Release 2007/03/01 : CIA-RDP99-00498R000300050005-2
21 July 1980
Vice Admiral Jon L. Boyes, USN (Ret.)
President, AFCEA
5205 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, Virginia 22041
Dear Admiral Boyes :
Enclosed is a statement by Admiral Turner
for your October issue of Signal magazine. We
will look forward to seeing it in print.
Sincerely,
Herbert E. Hetu
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Message by Admiral Stansfield Turner
to
The Armed Forces Communications
and Electronics Association
Three years ago, President Carter signed Executive Order 12036
establishing a new system to manage and oversee American intelligence.
Since that new beginning, the Intelligence Community has been tested
by world events and influenced, not only by those same events, but by
changing national priorities, demand for greater public accountability,
and the need to continue to produce a high quality intelligence product.
Since then, our best substantive performance has been in areas where
we have traditionally excelled.. Support for SALT II, for example, demon-
strated the Community's broad and diverse collection capabilities as well
as perceptive and unbiased analysis, Timely and accurate assessments of
events in Vietnam and Afghanistan drew creatively on a variety of ambiguous
indicators to provide clear warning,
There have been important procedural and organizational accomplish-
ments during this same period which will affect the long term health-of
the Intelligence Community. For the first time in our thirty-three.year
history, a closely reasoned, truly integrated National Foreign Intelli-
gence Program budget now provides the means for judging competing
intelligence programs against national needs. Vastly ;improved .relations
between the CIA and the FBI have engendered this country's strongest
counterintelligence program in over a decade, A renewed and expanded
dialogue with the academic and business communities is invigorating our
analytic effort.
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However, challenges remain. Just functioning effectively in a
world which during the 1970's learned more about intelligence operations
than was ever known is a serious challenge.
Recognizing and assessing small but potentially significant degrees
of political and social change has become increasingly important and
can severely test the most discriminating observer. Analysts must try
to draw conclusions from a gallimaufry of factors ranging from religious
and ethnic to socio-economic, generational and institutional. The
problem of collecting this kind of raw intelligence demands not only a
heightened sensitivity to subtle clues, but often new techniques, both
human and technological.
The Community is further challenged today by the greatly expanded
range of issues with which intelligence must deal. Not only must we
continue to study Soviet military capabilities, but more and more atten-
tion must focus on other areas which have the potential to disrupt
international stability. The growing commerce in narcotics, the spread
of terrorism, population growth, famine, disease, and the accessability
of goods and raw materials are but a few.
While the Intelligence Community's plate is full and the task may
seem overwhelming, I have every confidence that we wild" be able to
continue providing the best quality of intelligence to the policymaker.
But to do that, every intelligence organization, along with the business
community, which has for so many years brilliantly provided us with the
technological means to do our work, must play an important part.
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The functions of individual intelligence services were
reasonably distinguishable at one time. Today they are much less so.
Despite E.O. 12036, the structure of the Intelligence Community and
its sometimes divergent interests understandably still tend to
encourage competition for functions and resources. Competition in
the analysis we do is healthy and to be sought. Competition in
system development or collection wastes resources and risks limiting
our capabilities unnecessarily. Within the Community we must work to
prevent the destructive fractionalizing of the intelligence budget, or
the building of new structures to circumvent it, which will only result
in increased costs without commensurate return.
American business can help by recognizing that while we all would
hope to remain on the frontiers of technological innovation, that is
not always financially possible. The Intelligence Community, the
United States, and the interests of business are better served when
marginal gains at great cost are identified for what they are and funds
as well as creative effort are directed toward areas where there is
greater confidence in and need for the gains to be achieved.
None of these problems can be solved overnight, nor goals reached
by a single effort. But as T.S, Eliot said, "History is now," What.we
do today to capitalize on the formidable capabilities we have and to solve
the problems we can identify will strengthen our contribution to a history
we can all be proud of. It will require open minds, an uncommon willingness
to subordinate parochial interests to measures which are more in the long
term good of the country and frequent checking to ensure we are all looking
through the right end of the telescope. None of that is easy, but we will
not succeed without it.
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PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Phone: [phone]
1 July 1980
Dr. Jon L. Boyes
Vice Admiral, USN (Ret)
President, AFCEA
5205 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 22041
Dear Admiral Boyes:
Admiral Turner will be happy to provide a statement for
the October issue of SIGNAL Magazine. It will be in your
hands no later than 11 August 1980. Enclosed is the photograph
and biography you requested.
We very much appreciate your giving the Director an
opportunity to contribute to SIGNAL Magazine.
er er Hen
D/PA/HEHetu/ks/1 Jul 80
Distribution:
Orig --Addressee
1 - ER (80-1555)
UPA-
STAT
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