PROPOSED ORGANIZATIONAL CONCEPT FOR AQUATONE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP62B00844R000200190017-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 27, 2004
• Sequence Number: 17
• Publication Date: March 8, 1955
• Content Type: MFR

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8 March liS
A ce Planningt AltboutJt the earliest operations
balile. not be mounted from overseas bases, until
some urgency attaches to the development of
tional structure which will then be required*
f all from the need to select well en advance
the individuate who are to be assigned to the
will be nee d in the subsequent operational
hen the aircraft are being tested and pilot*
in which the operational organization itself
ent of activities overseas* rinatiere it
ng out of organizational details can be a
e basic concept has been determined*
light of these consederations, to
ept.
2.
These are,
render overflight p b
reaction lei the eneey after his discovery
tad so threatening or carrying such menace to
e United States as to result in a political
decision to *1t o ihte. The probability of one or the other or both
of these responses * with the passaee of time after operations
have commenced. Accordingly, itis assumed in general that operations will
not be undertaken until a considerable capability (in the form of both
aircraft and pilots) has been accumnlated and that once undertaken, nissions
will be flown with the greatest feasible frequency at least until high
priority targets have been covered. The following are a number of more
specific assumptions which depend in part on this one;
a. Operations will be conducted from two to four rear
at
at each of which there will have to be provision for maintenance of
aircraft and of photoeraphic and electronic egelpoent, bee of
personnel, flight planning and possihty other functions.
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n as
neat
undet
could adduce to support a.
Imervations of its own radar ar
Lal will still be feasible. Accord,
ret
a. That neither 8fl?2 &etta no mutboried GOp1ein: thfrd
untriss should acquit's env evidence w3i?h waAd ind sate from what
bases missions were being flown or which i,ou1d demonstrate *AV kini
of official V. S. oupport, and*
b. Theta in the event of the ion of in aircraft over enemr
territory* enemy authorities should be unable to OTC11. S. official
support for the operation*
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of this fact, the
ed to be necesry
structereo Accordla
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*sztion
a. Airframes* i,photographie reconnaissance equipment* and
electronic ete together with spares are tel procured and
financed ter the CIA. OPE including especially -.lines* spare parte
therefor* and certain standard photographic reconnaissance/ equipment
(shish wi11 be modified for use in this project) is beine procured
V* the Air Force.
b. Tim CIA will procure err will reimburse tor) specialised
supplies such Ai "4tographie film and electronic tape. The CI & is
also procuring specialised field maintenance equipment from the
suppliers.
es All primmer sized recrtod
sal eapicered by? the CIA.
d. Personnel for the imintensuace or primary miseion aircraft
and of *graphic' and electronic equipamt will be reereited and
teethed * the suppliers. In the fields, they will be contract
eniloyeee of the CIA
Operational s ot,4aircrafte/p/tr, ed for toeing er
asring and for transportation of person/eel "-iquipeent* and-primary
?IffitIttereffikgrstiPe to end from staging bases will be provided and
amintained by the Air Force.
f. Air crews for such operatoal support aircraft, and any
maintenence personnel aspect/41,y Assigned to them will be U. S. Air
Force personnel.
S. The Air Force will supply supporting technical and legit,-
tical serviness where it can do so more readily than the ciA in
Accordance with detailed plans to be developed.
eeeeke,*,(.
h. Sispensibility for the procures/x:4 of current non-epecialised
aupplies* notably fuel and amintertanceJ 1$ will be divided *
the Air Force and the CIA on the of convenience and security.
The costs of thee* supplies will be borne as aw be agreed.
le The CIA will secure and equip special lehoratoz7 facilities
25X1 in the ?I to process all photographic
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a.
dependent
and terminate a
to be maintained at a central pro
rteteseitr will he buttresSed 4 the
policy control over the project by
Government. Both convidsrations po
inhin,;ton. This would in egy case,
as the MA is concerned. In the event
iv that of paralleling but not completely'
organisations, it will be osnend1s1 that '44
charge of Air Force partiCipation be stationed in
he have adequate authority to deal direct:L./with the
3overnmeat agencies) on the project*
b, la the interest both of
*1 of overflight activities, lines
the joint, or the two paralleling, projec
operational units in the field. It wall presume
ablish liaison 'with theater commanders but the anti
atoll are peacetime clandestine irdealigence gathering 0
e not subject to theater commanders' diroction and contr
idorations of policy involved extend far beyond the scope
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and have little relevance to, eny single theater. Apart trona
liaison relationship with theater cemmanders? security censiderations
will prebehly forbid the use of established commend channels in either
the C/A or the Air Force. /twill be necessary to limit to only raw
or two *elected individuals 'within each organisation unit from which
the project draws support, knowledge or its nature and purpose.
8,
this
di and there will presumably be a eial Activit
Group ostatUshed in the Air reeve, either within oneof the operational
commeade or reporting directly to the air staff, to conduct, or as apo-
priate to armee for, all Air Force, activities on the project. Specialised
personnel in such field* as aeromedicel and meteorology who can best be
furnished by the Air Force for service both in the ZI and at 0110110411 bases
can either be assigned to the CIA for the duration f the project and eerve
in the CIA project organisation or be assiipted to the Air Fort* Special
Activities Croup and work in cooperation with parallel CIA mite.
a, The CIA anization will consist of a project headquarters
in Washington together. with initially bee and later three Air Sections
in the field, each assigned to a particular rear bee.. The organisation
will have its own Tic smart tr011t the operating divisions at CIA head-
25X1 quarters The line of *mood will
be direcrAy from project headquarters to tine Special Air Sections
25X1
(I) The project headquarters' will have general control
over the project and will be responsible Specifically for
continuing liaison with other departments, for the clearance
as appropriate of operational planet for the direction or
continuing CIA procurement and recruitment, and, in conjunction
with the Air Force, for operational planning. The headquarters
will have three major sectional
will perform its major functions jointly with
a of the Air Force Special Activities Group,
valent section of which it will constitute a
group. It will halte responsibilite for opera-
planning, weather, intelligence, targets, end dical
The senior CIA officer will also be responsible (outside of
the Joint naming Group) for personnel functions with respect
to civilian pilots.
including deal e. and d elopnt, procurement,
financial functions with respect to procurement.
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(a)
Stlet
who will also serve as
will have respoteability
aircraft* operational ecattmaxiato, and
7oc Special night* mission planning and
'1 aud A
rAii
The
ations
th the
b.
Group in
leadquarters
three Special fl
Clk kir Beetles. is I
assigned to the S
partic
and will
signed to
d. All Air Force
Activities Group
p will
AQUATME.
bases
task,
of
tical
c'
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d at each base. It
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C. Th. MA
Air Force Special Activities
together, Tim' should* in any a
provide unified direction of all phase*
purposes; alnamoiste individuals in the two
plearaing veto, In the field, too, certain act
perforated jointly. The Operations Section of each A Air 3.ct
Air Force Special Flight would in fact have to establish a *Iasi
pluming group nate up of the two operation* officio. and including
perhaps a weather officer from the Special Flight and an intelligence
officer fro* the Air section. On the administrative side; joint action
would eitaller4 be required on aullay. netters.
d. Detailed supply and logistic procedures sill be developed
as mquired, In general,however* they should be alma the following
bleat
d the he
Afr elation will requisition directly on the
for supplies, personnel, and services to
A. This Section will* however* requis
flight assigned to the, ewe fiel
,red equipent, specialised personnel
rtation.
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at present) for procurement to be performed
r the account o the other. The distribetion
teeen, the CIA and the Air Force and the appro.-
priate reiebursereent by one to the other to achieve that
dietri'hution will be arranged by the. two headquetrtere on the
basis of Ishatever =lee are Agreed.
Under this
to and initially
0,E* d at each active base,
ed in par It personnel (including
igneent to the CIA) and :in part with Air Force
on active dity with the Air Force. It will premizably be necessary
Air Force to constitute a Special aotivities hop as a =tit to which
r ores project person/ma can be assiened, but this unit will have no
separate ozi.eanization and will in fact be merely a designation for Air Force
persemnel serving in the joint organizatiee. In general, the reactions of
timo- project headquarters and the detachsenta in the field will be Amply a
?combination of those are* listed for the paralleling units that, under
the alternative conoepts woad smeee up the tem noneinte ated organisations.
a, The joint headquarters will control all project activities
and will be resportsibie epecificelly for eentinuing liaison with other
departments, tor the clearance SE appropriate of operational plans,
for the direction of centinuing proevrements recruitment and deveopeent,
and for eperetial pluming, It will. 114SNPE three major sections:
( ) .*rations including operational plarinines weather,
intelligence, e.t-4 operational comeuenicatione and personnel
functions with respect to civilian pilots.
(2) Ala
end legal
(3)
security*
all regular
maintenance
time,
e I including design and developeents procurements
ial functions with respect to procurement.
including organizational planning,
?ree, personnel functions with respect to
CIA and Air Force personnel and civilise contract
employees, and headquartere-toedetachemnt ceestuniese
b. Inch field detachment will be organized in roughly parallel
fashieet with an officer in charge, a general depute, who could also be
operations officer, and a third senior officer in charge of advdnietrae
tion and materiel. The Offierationa Officer will be in charge of air
crew*, mission planning, itea 7,77:edicel (specialized), intelligence
and targets, and eosounications (operational). The Materiel and
Administration Officer will be in eharee Antateroanm
conitinieationi ittestrige Center), personnel, secarity, a:ijutant activities,
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and housekeeping as needed.
With a joint organization, it should still be possible
for each Detachment to requisition locally from Air Force installa
tions for items available in the field, Presumably, requisitions for
all items to be supplied from the ZI would be drawn on the joint
project headquarters which would arrange for procurement (or supply)
by CIA or the Air Force as appropriate.
d, Financial procedures would have to be developed. Probably
the pay of personnel and virtually all other disbursements would be
made by either the CIA or the Air Force, although small joint cash
accounts might be useful for certain local expenses overseas, There
could, however, be centralized accounting for expenditures made on
project account by both agencies so as to permit proper budgetary
control and distribution of costs on whatever basis is agreed.
10.--Phaai Development, procurement, recruitment, and training
for AQUATO proceeding satisfactorily at the present time with no
forma organisation in the Air Force and none in the CIA other than a
centralization of responsibility for project activities. Although some
similar centralization of responsibility will very soon be needed in the
Air Force, it is probably unnecessary to establish separate project organisa?
tions with their awn T/Os (or a joint project organization with its awn T/0)
for several more months. The timing of this step will be determined largely
by the desirability of bringing into the project well before tests start in
August 1955 most of the individuals who will occupy senior positions when
the organization is fully established. On the other hand, an organization
built along the lines of either of the two alternative concepts outlined
above will not need to be fully staffed with three (or more) detachments
in being for about eighteen months, that is, until at least twelve recon?
naiesance aircraft are operational (in addition to ally held in the ZI for
testing: training or modification.) Within these limits, the following
tentative phasing is proposeds
a. Centralization of responsibility within the Air For
I April l955.
by
1:14 Actition of CIA and Air Force Headquarters units, or of
a joint Headquarters unit, with definitions of functions of head?
quarters sections and assignnent of specific individuals by 2 May
1955.
Completion of organizational plans for overseas detachments
on and assignment of three senior officers for each of the
detachnents by 1 July 1955,
d. Majority of personnel of first two detachments to be recruited,
assembled and trained at test site by 1 December 1955.
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e. First detachnnt to be activated
1 February 1956 with operations to begin 1 March 1F5b.
f. The second detachment to be activated overseas 1 April
1956, to begin operations 1 May 1956.
g. The third detachment to be activated overseas by 1 August
19562 to begin operations 1 September 1956.
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