THE NEW OPERATIONS CENTER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00472A000100010002-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 1, 2001
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: March 22, 1965
• Content Type: MF

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22 March 1.965
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director (Intelligence)
SUBJECT
The New Operations Center
1. [laving merged the Watch Office and CGS
Operations Center on paper, we are now prepared to
take the next step in creating a genuine Operations
Center for CIA. This step is the reorganization
of the combined apparatus and the provision of the
personnel and physical facilities necessary for
the Operations Center to fulfill its mission.
2. Our purpose in these proposals is to pro-
vide the framework for meeting the objectives laid
out in Paul Borel's memorandum to you of 3 Novem-
ber: to assemble all the incoming information avail
able to the Agency in one place, to provide a single
point of contact in CIA for other Operations Centers
in Washington, and to provide a single coordinated
alerting operation for all senior CIA officials.
I stress, however, that the facilities and staffing
envisaged herein do not in themselves meet these
objectives. They do put us in a position to seek
the necessary arrangements with the other Directo-
rates. Specifically, they provide an approximation
of the physical set-up proposed in Borel's paper
and a manning table consistent with the requirements
of an aggressive and responsible 24-hour organiza-
tion.
3. Our proposed arrangement provides facil-
ities to meet the responsibilities of the Operations
Center as they have expanded since its present space
was designed during the Eisenhower administration.
It provides also a limited amount of growing room,
specifically space and privacy for future DD/P par-
ticipation. The redesigned Watch Office will be
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about SO percent larger than at present, 11
the Communications Center. In addition, space will
be provided for the enciphered facsimile system.
Around this core will be grouped support elements,
a situation room to be used either for briefing or
for task force operations, task force office space,
and two closely related OCI elements, the President
Brief group and the Indications group.
4. The Center will be staffed around the clock
by a Senior Duty officer, three Watch Officers, and
clerical support, as well as communications, dis-
semination and task force personnel. When regular
OCI production personnel are not on duty, the Center
staff will provide an Assistant Senior Duty Officer
for Production. In addition, the Center will have
a complement of staff officers who also serve as
substitute duty officers. It will be responsible
for providing CIA representation in the NMCC and
in the State Operations Center during crises.
S. In making these plans, we have striven
o hold costs in people, space, and money to a min-
imum. Nonetheless, an organization capable of doing
what you have asked will be moderately expensive,
and will require certain things which are beyond my
present resources. In personnel, it will cost three
new positions plus regularization of nine others
which we have already been forced to staff without
an allocation of positions. In space, it will cost
an additional 1000-1600 square feet. In money, we
estimate it will cost upwards of $115,000 for one-
time Dying and construction expenses.
a. Personnel. The Table of Organization
attached as Tat A provides for
three more than the present onigRIFIRIMP
of the OCI SIDO/Watch and the CGS Operations
Center. These three represent the production
officers called for in Borel's plan to free
the Senior Duty Officer from the distractions
of routine production. The total of is,
however, 12 more than the established TiO's
for the two parent organizations. The addi-
tional nine represent the six OCT hatch Officers
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now assigned to the White House international
Situation Room and three additional Watch Offi
cers who were assigned to the OCT Watch when
the pressures of the Cuban crisis made it
clear that the normal on-duty shift had to be
raised from two ;latch Officers to three.
Although OCT has repeatedly requested addi-
tional positions to cover these nine officers,
it has never received them.
b. Space Our plan is to assign the
entire south side of Wing 7F to the Operations
Center and related OCT functions. This space
meets the criteria of Borel's memoranda, since
it lies on the boundary between the Special
Center and the rest of the building. it pro-
vides an extremely austere allocation of space
for an organization as complex as that we
plan. This area is now occupied by Presenta-
tion Staff, OCT, and CGS Headquarters. The
former can be squeezed into the present Watch
Office space; what is required is space to
relocate the latter.
c. Money. The Building Architect has
estimated our moving and construction costs
at $90,000 plus or minus ten percent. The
bulk of this will go for the movement of com-
munications facilities and their related power
supply, security shielding and Sir condition-
ing. This figure does not include construc-
tion of a moderately plush Situation Room,
for which we have an estimate of about *15,000.
I believe the latter is justified, not by our
present requirements, but by the probability
that a future DCI MT DDCI will want to do his
business through formal briefings. Our esti-
mate of $115,000 therefore includes this
figure and the high side of the architect's
estimate. Given the complexities of the com-
munications problems involved and knowing that
some changes in plans will probably be neces-
sary before construction starts, I believe
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we must anticipate that this total will be
exceeded before the project is completed.
You should note that our estimates are for
one-time expenses only, and do not include
such related projects as the development of
enciphered facsimile, which is separately
budgeted.
6. If you approve the allocation of the nec-
essary resources, we will start work immediately,
and would hope to be in operation by mid-summer.
R. J. SMITH
Assistant Director
Current Intelligence
Attachment: ais
Distribution:
Orig & 1 - Addressee w/att
- AD/CI w/att
1 - ASP/CI w/att
1 - EXEC w/att
1 - CGS Ops Cen w/o att
STATINTL ASP/CI411111111:yd/7424(22 Mar 65)
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