The CIA Star Gate Archives

The Center Lane Project has compiled the entire content of the Central Intelligence Agency’s declassified public domain remote viewing Star Gate Archives in an easy-to-access online and searchable format for its members.

Your guide to navigating the Archives is derived from the Remote Viewing Instructional Services, Inc. (RVIS) booklet, The Guide to the Central Intelligence Agency’s Star Gate Collection Archives, authored by Center Lane Project Advisor, Paul H. Smith, Ph.D., Major US Army (ret.). The Guide has been adapted and edited for this edition by the Center Lane Project with the permission of RVIS, Inc.

A prior version of the Archive and Guide initially appeared on the International Remote Viewing Association (IRVA) website. For the first time, this newly formatted and updated edition adds a searchable database of optical character recognition (OCR) scans of the original documents, which should prove invaluable to researchers.

Introduction

Your examination of the Star Gate Archives will be a lot like a detective story. Much of the tale of what became known as Project Star Gate is here to be found, but it will take some digging and piecing together to ferret it out. But a little diligence will bring considerable reward. Among these documents are some pretty amazing things—mixed in with things more trivial and mundane. Separating the diamonds from the rough will now be much easier for you thanks to this guide, but it won’t be effortless. However, it will be worth the effort.

There is much that is informative, interesting, and even in some cases fascinating. You will find many actual remote viewing sessions here by people whose names you’ve heard—Joe McMoneagle, Mel Riley, Gabrielle Pettingell, Lyn Buchanan, and others (including many of my own). There are also interesting reports on operational projects, science papers (some quite long and exhaustive) detailing experiments and scientific discoveries, correspondence tracing the interactions of various intelligence agencies regarding remote viewing, and even reports of fact finding or skeptical investigations into various aspects of the governments programs exploring many aspects of parapsychology. You only have to find them!

Overview of the CIA Version of the Archives

1. The Central Intelligence Agency provided the Archive on 14 CD-ROM disks. As shipped, the CIA provided no instructions or guide to the Star Gate Archives. On each of the disks, however, there is a small database file. We have extracted the most useful information among the several data-fields that are included such as original document numbers, creation dates, page count, and folder and document titles, and present the information as a scrollable list of documents. Sometimes the folder and document titles are informative, sometimes they’re not. But they do at least provide a starting point for access. This guide together with the document listings should help significantly in navigating through, sorting out, and drawing understanding from the Archives.

2. Except for CIA Disk 10, each of the 14 disks themselves contain several sub-folders, each of which usually includes a large number of documents. (Disk 10 contains just one folder, containing only a few documents. Each sub-folder is labeled “Part0001,” “Part0002,” and so on. Inside each “Part . . .” folder are documents. Documents are listed by a file number such as: CIA-RDP96-00789400l60206000l-6 (each document’s number is also printed on the top and bottom of every page of the document itself). The first parts of the number remain the same in most of the sub-files (though they are different in a few). We present the lists of documents organized as originally presented by the CIA in a Disk . . . / Part . . . hierarchy.

3. The original Archives included both a TIFF image file and a text file for each document, paired next to each other. It appears that the original documents were first scanned, then processed by OCR (“optical character recognition”) software to provide the text file. We have converted the TIFF files to the more easily viewed PDF format. For the first time, this edition of the Archives makes available the contents of the OCR’d pages to be viewed or searched.

4. The documents preserved in the Archive don’t seem necessarily to be included in any particular order, though often documents pertaining to a certain project or administrative function might be grouped together. For example, memos, letters, and spread sheets having to do with the program’s budgeting process for fiscal year 1984 might be grouped together on a given disk, then be followed by a set of remote viewing sessions pertaining to the Iran hostage situation but preceded by a collection of non-disclosure statements signed by people given access to information about the program. Often, lone documents that should be grouped with others elsewhere in the Archive show up in altogether different locations.

5. A number of the documents are incomplete. This is due to any one of several reasons:

  • Portions of some documents are ruled exempt from declassification, so pages at the beginning, middle, or end have been removed or are blank. Frequently text in the middle of documents will be redacted (blanked out), with no explanation (though there are usually annotations off to the side which, if the code were available, might tell the reason for the deletion).
  • Draft copies of final documents are included in the archive, and these are sometimes incomplete.
  • Sometimes pages are simply missing, with no explanation.
  • Tabs and appendices are not always included with the base document, but in many cases do appear as separate entries in the archive – hopefully in close proximity to the base document (though not always).

Historical Background

1. The documents in this archive apparently date from 1972 through 1995, and include five main categories:

  • Research documents from the SRI-International and SAIC research programs (plus documentation provided by sub-contractors);
  • Operational documents, including reports on remote viewing projects as well as raw remote viewing sessions by the various military viewers;
  • Remote viewing training sessions performed by various viewers;
  • “Foreign assessment” documentation (articles, surveys, etc., from or about foreign experimentation in or application of parapsychology, and used to compile intelligence reports about the state of overseas involvement in the Held); and
  • Administrative documents (memoranda for record, contracts, letters (of instruction, transmittal, etc.), disposition forms, indoctrination statements, budgetary documentation, and so on) from both research and operational remote viewing activities.

2. The research program began in the summer of 1972 at SRI-International (formerly the Stanford Research Institute), and continued to 1995, by which time the program had been moved to SAIC (Science Applications International Corporation – this move took place approximately 1990). In the early-to-mid 1970s the program used the nickname “SCANATE,” which was formed from the words “scanning by coordinate.” Some of the people associated with the research program (and where available the approximate dates of their involvement) are:

NameApproximate Dates of Involvement
Harold E. Puthoff1972—1985
Ingo Swann1972—1989
Russell Targ1972—1982
Pat Price1973—1975
Hella Hammid1973—1982
Ed May1976—1995
Keith Hararyca 1976—1982
Joe McMoneagle and Ken Bell (see below) continued research work with SRI and SAIC after their respective retirements from the Army

3. The military operational RV periods that are covered are as follows:

Program Cover NameSponsoring HeadquartersApproximate Dates of Existence
Gondola WishArmy INSCOM1977 to 1979
Grill FlameArmy INSCOM (and AMSAA)1979 to 1983
Center LaneArmy INSCOM1983 to 1985
Dragoon AbsorbArmy INSCOM and DIA1985 to 1986
Sun StreakDefense Intelligence Agency (DIA)1986 to 1990
Star GateDIA1990 to 1995

Further, there is a period from about 1975 to around 1979/80 where the Air Force managed the program under the leadership of Dale Graff; and there may be documents from this period also mixed in with the rest of the archives. AMSAA was an Army organization at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD which carried on a fairly intensive remote viewing program for a short time during roughly 1978–1979.

4. Some of those assigned to the military RV unit are as follows (people are listed alphabetically, independent of program cover name they served under, and including last names only for those who are generally publicly known and, as far as I can determine, whose full names appear in the Archives; question marks [?] after viewer numbers reflect uncertainty about whether the number is correct or not):

NamePeriod of ServiceViewer
Number
MethodCRV Trainer
Linda AndersonDec 1989 – Aug 1992052*CRV (1989)Pettingell/Smith/
Buchanan/Riley
F. Holmes “Skip” AtwaterSep 1977 – Dec 198766, 051Trainer/Training Manager
Ken BellJan 1979 – May 1981(?)?GRV/ERV
Lyn BuchananApr 1984 – Dec 1991018CRV (late 1984), ERVSmith/McNear/Ray
Cavanaugh/Dames
Charlene Cavanaugh/ShufeltAug 1983 – Jul 1987021CRV (Jan–Dec 1984, 1985–86), ERVSwann/McNear/
Atwater
Rob CowartSep 1981 – Nov 1982025*CRV (1982)Swann
Robin DhalgrenMay 1988 – Jun 1995025*CRV (1988, partial), WRV, ERVDames/Buchanan
Ed DamesJan 1986 – Dec 1988
(plus ca. 20 weeks training in 1984)
099CRV (ca. 20 weeks in 1984, Stage I–III)Swann
Angela DellafioraJun 1986 – Jun 1995079WRV, ERV, CRV (partial)Dames
Fernand “Fern” GauvinJan 1978 – Dec 84 (part time viewer)
1987 – 1991 (full time admin)
072(?)GRV/ERV
Gene Lessmanearly 1986 – 1988052*ERV trainer
Joe McMoneagleDec 1978 – Jun 198401, 372GRV/ERV
Tom McNearSep 1981 – Mar 198559, 63CRV (1982 – Jul 1984)Swann
David MorehouseJun 1988 – June 1, 1990032*CRV (1988), ERVPettingell/Smith/
Dames
Gabrielle PettingellJun 1987 – Dec 1990095CRV (1987)Smith/Dames
Bill Ray3 Jan 1984 – 8 Jun 1987101CRV (Jan–Dec 1984, 1985–86), ERVSwann/McNear/
Atwater
Mel RileyDec 1978 – 1981 & Jun 1986 – June 20, 1990011GRV, CRV (1986), ERVSmith/Dames
Greg SewardNov 1989 – Jun 1995049CRV (1989), ERVPettingell/Smith
Paul H. SmithSep 1983 – Aug 1990003CRV (Jan–Dec 1984, 1985–86), ERVSwann/McNear/
Atwater
Hartleigh TrentJan 1979 – Oct 1983GRV/ERV

Sometimes the same number was re-used after a source left the unit. So 025 was used both for Rob Cowart and for Robin D., and 052 was used for Gene Lessman and for Linda A. Dave Morehouse shares 032 with an unidentified Grill Flame viewer. Dates of service should make clear which person is referred to in the Archives.

The viewer/source numbers will be helpful in sorting out who the viewers and who the monitors were on many of the various sessions. There are a number of numbers from the Grill Flame years that haven’t yet been identified as to which individuals they belong to. This is at least partly because viewers at the time were often assigned several numbers which were used interchangeably as a security measure.

Commanders of the Ft. Meade unit, and their tenures are as follows (I only include the full names of those whose full names so far as I can determine appear in the Archives):

NamePeriod of Service
Maj. (later LTC) Murray B. “Scotty” WattOct 1978 – Oct 1981
LTC (later Col.) Robert JachimOct 1981 – Jul 1983
CPT F. Holmes AtwaterJul – Aug 1983
LTC Brian BuzbyAug 1983 – mid-1985
Maj. William G. “Bill” Raymid-1985 – Jun 1987
LTC William “Bill” XenakisJun 1987 – Jan 1988
Fernand “Fern” GauvinFeb 1988 – Fall 1990
Dale GraffFall 1990 – Jun 1993
Al Girard1993 – Jun 1995
Note that three of the commanders also appear in the list of viewers. Gauvin and Ray both served as viewers (Gauvin as a “part-timer”) before they became commander (also known as “branch chief”). Atwater served as interim commander between Jachim and Buzby while simultaneously serving as operations officer and training officer.

5. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) also figured prominently in the remote viewing saga. By the late 1970s under chief scientist Jack Vorona the Agency was a major supporter of and contractor for the SRI research. This continued up to the Star Gate program’s demise in 1995. But besides the research angle, DIA absorbed the Army’s operational unit starting in 1985 (with the official transfer from Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) coming on 30 January 1986). Important figures in the DIA effort were:

  • Dr. Jack Vorona (deputy director in charge of science and technology intelligence issues)
  • Dale Graff (who transferred to DIA in about 1980 when the Air Force discontinued its program)
  • Jim Salyer (who monitored the SRI program for DIA from the 19705 through about 1990)
  • John Berberich (replaced Vorona in early 1990)

Most primary DIA-related activities took place at the Defense Intelligence Analysis Center (DIAC) located on Bolling Air Force Base, across the Anacostia River from metropolitan Washington, DC. DIA’s actual headquarters, though, were in the E-ring of the Pentagon, where the Director’s office was at the time.

6. Despite labels such as “The ClA’s ‘Star Gate’ Program,” the Central Intelligence Agency never actually ran the Star Gate program. In 1994 Congress ordered DIA to turn the Program over to the CIA. The day the CIA took control, June 30, 1995, the Agency terminated the program as a functioning element. No military remote viewers ever actually worked directly for the CIA as viewers.

7. Projects and project numbers: The operational remote viewing projects conducted at Ft. Meade were usually numbered with the year and the order in which the tasking was received. For example: 8709 (the project against the Stealth aircraft) was the ninth project received in 1987. In the Archives, unfortunately, the actual target of a given project is in most cases missing, so it is frequently difficult to know what the purpose of the sessions was. However, reports included with the sessions often give useful clues as to what the mission was, and in some cases tasking information about the targets is included as well. Fortunately, this same problem doesn’t exist for the training sessions, where the majority of them come with the feedback attached so it is possible to see how well the viewer did in describing the intended target.

Browse the Archive Contents

The following overview provides a summary paragraph of the general contents for each Part of each of the CIA disks. This summary is not exhaustive, though, and there are often many interesting documents contained in the various parts that aren’t mentioned. Included after the description of each Part is usually a list of “Highlights” that can be found there. This allows you as you peruse the Archives to quickly find some of the many interesting or significant documents included here. These are not necessarily the most interesting entries in that particular part of the collection, though they often are. Frequently, though, there are many other fascinating things to be found in the vicinity of those listed as highlights. Not every Part description has a “Highlights” section following it. This may be for one of two reasons: Either there is so much of interest in the section that it was unnecessary to single anything out; or there was very little of interest. The description paragraph should allow you to figure out which is the case.

To view a highlighted document, click on the document link to view the file.
To see all files associated with a Part click on the Part Number folder link.
When you click on a starting point document link in a description, you will be taken to that Part of the Archive.

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Glossary

  • ACSI – Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence – the senior intelligence officer (usually a two-star general) on the Army staff in the Pentagon.
  • CRV – Coordinate Remote Viewing (now called ‘Controlled’ Remote Viewing).
  • DCSINT – Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence – replaced the ‘ACSI’; term.
  • DIA – Defense Intelligence Agency.
  • ERV – Extended Remote Viewing.
  • Human Use – Rules governing experimentation on human subjects in scientific settings.
  • ITAC – A Intelligence, Threat, and Analysis Center (an Army intel analysis organization)
  • INSCOM – The U.S. Army’s Intelligence and Security Command.
  • Monitor – Assists a remote viewer during the session (sometimes referred to as “interviewer”)
  • SAIC – Science Applications International Corporation.
  • Session – The period of activity during which remote viewing is done.
  • SRI – Officially, ‘SRI-International’ – formerly the Stanford Research Institute
  • ViewerRemote viewer (sometimes also referred to as a “source.”)
  • WRV – Written Remote Viewing (an RV method mixing channeling and automatic writing).

Acknowledgement

Letter from Ingo Swann to Paul H. Smith, Oct 17, 2004

Letter from Ingo Swann to Paul H. Smith, October 17, 2004