johnAnchovie
Still raging
Hello you all, I trust all are well?
I was invited to a conference on the role of education in the prevention of violent radicalisation organised by the European Commission. While the main focus was on radical elements in Islam, and the cross discipline work that has being going on throughout Europe, I was invited due my own ‘radicalisation’ experience, being inducted in the Scientology’s own ‘jihadic’ training camp, the EPF in PAC during the fall of 1985.
The conference was attended by a wide variety of academics, anti-terror professionals from the Home Office in England, Holland, Germany, Italy and Spain; representatives from a number European legislative departments, theologians and moderate Islamic teachers.
I did not speak at the conference, the focus being radical Islam, but was invited to present a written submission that could be used for a broader look at such issues.
I was flown out of Cork on the 15th or October, a chilly Monday evening, dashed through Schiphol in Amsterdam to catch my connecting flight to Brussels on an old Fokker 70 – the Fokker was parked miles away from the terminal – (always wanted to say that
). I was put up in the plush Crown Plaza on Rue De Loi, a mere hundred yards from the Scientology disinformation Office on the same street. I walked by that evening, for old times’ sake, I had done some pr work there as a fanatical cult member two years before, interesting and bittersweet memories. I must say, like Saint Hill was a few months ago, it looked very quiet. I went by again in the morning, same thing. Could be that everybody is over setting up the IAS rip off – sorry - event, for the 26th to 29th Oct?
Anyway, I thought the good people on ESMB would be interested in the written anecdotal briefing that was submitted to a multidisciplinary body, advising the European Parliament on legislation for 2008. This the briefing in full:
Journey into radicalisation: The Sea Organisation experience
One enters into Scientology in the main through a personality test, this test isolates for the staff concerned a number of key vulnerabilities in the person, these points are pounced upon with considerable effect by the front line staff concerned.
The test measures the prospects current mental state, all questions are answered in the ‘now’ the present tense; how one is dealing with life at this time.
People with high profiles on test are labelled ‘thetee-weetie; - disconnected with reality - the cult does not want these people, and staff are trained to spot them and get rid of them with no further action. High profile people are stable, certain, happy and well balanced, they lack neurosis and thus the cult cannot use them.
I displayed several traits that included high levels of empathy, low confidence, loneliness and a sense of not ‘belonging’. This was at a time when I was living in Germany, far away from home, had broken up with my girlfriend and the loss of my parents at the age of ten was beginning to manifest itself, impinging on my consciousness, looking for outlet, looking for healing.
I was ‘Hard Sold’ to buy a communication course, this is a fairly innocuous entry level item, taken I understand from standard methodology in the field, edited to appear as an original work by Hubbard. Once on the course I was ‘hard sold’ to purchase books, attend briefings, and within two weeks to join staff.
Over a very short period of time my whole life was revolving around the cult and its activities, I had no social life outside of the cult, I was encouraged to drop contact with my close friends who were alarmed at my involvement with the cult, and I was gradually inculcated prosetylise on their behalf.
With two months I had been recruited to join the Sea Organisation, the cult’s militant and fanatical inner core. I signed a one billion year contract, filled out an extensive ‘life history’ form’; this include names, addresses and telephone numbers of every family member, every friend, every teacher I had ever had. It included intrusive questions of political affiliation, sexual experiences, - with who, what was done and so on... questions probed my earlier involvement with the US military, Christian groups and collages; everything I had ever done, everyone I had ever know, any misdeeds that I thought I may have committed were all disclosed at this time. I was then shipped out to Los Angeles.
As is the case with all new recruits to the Sea Org, I had to pay my own travel costs from Stuttgart to Los Angeles, I paid for my own taxi from LAX to the HQ on Fountain Avenue, and was dropped off at a huge, ugly, blue, former hospital. Blankets could be seen covering some windows, in lieu of curtains or blinds. Built in the the1930’s, the sprawling Cedars Complex had been sold to this cult in 1976. it was to be my prison for the next fourteen months, and actual base for the next twenty years. I was surprised at how dirty and dingy the whole place looked, when I was shown to my sleeping quarters, I was shocked; a former maternity ward, packed with old metal bunk beds stacked four high; the room slept twenty men, the smell of stale sweat and dirty clothes offending my senses. I wanted to turn around and go home right there and then. But I had been told to buy a one-way ticket, and I had no money left.
I found myself in an uncomfortable place, I did not like the feel, the people seemed strange, throngs of pale, drawn, tired folks; dressed in frayed, quasi-naval uniforms rushing back and forth, ominous looking security guards, armed with batons seemed to block both exit and egress, CCTV cameras were in sight everywhere I looked. I had arrived at the core of the cult, the place from where a new civil order was being pushed out onto an unsuspecting world. In every room hung a portrait of the grinning Founder, Hubbard, in naval uniform surrounded by similarly attired, but less ostentatious, junior officers.
‘Boot camp’: The training program for the Sea Org was described as the ‘Decks Project Force’ or ‘Estates project force’, depending on who was running it at the time. Things are done at a considerable pace, there little time for contemplation. I was rapidly divested of my passport, driving licence and travel documents. I was routed to a scruffy room next to the kitchens, given a boiler suit, assigned to a ‘unit’ – a team of five or so new recruits, and put to work. I worked with my team on cleaning floors for the next ten hours.
Mandatory indoctrination was carried out for three to five hours daily. I was given a check sheet covering a mass of courses: ‘How to study Scientology’ ‘Scientology Ethics and discipline’ ‘Basic Sea Org Member Hat’, ‘Keeping Scientology working’. I was given a target date for completion, and targets to attain daily. The courses educated one to fear the outside world, to follow exactly and precisely the words and dictates of the founder L. Ron Hubbard. Much of material dealt with how the worlds’ governments were seeking to attack and bring down church, backed by ‘The psyches’, how the FBI, KGB, CIA, MI6 and even SMERSH, were all trying to get their hands on Hubbard’s writings and use them to enslave man. We were taught that we were the ‘last bastion of freedom for mankind’, and that our billion year service to Hubbard’s goals would turn the whole universe back to its native state, they way it was before the psyches began their evil plan to overthrow the free being. We were taught that in our past lives, we had all worked with Hubbard in many parts of the galaxy to fight for freedom, were very likely part of an eternal galactic force called ‘The Brigade’ and were here on earth to regroup with our commander -Hubbard – and bring the fight back to the psyches who had won a coup against us some ten thousand years ago.
Our day started at seven in the morning, we were rolled out of our bunks in a grotty storefront on Wilton Street in Hollywood, with fifteen minutes to get out of bed, tidy up, dress, pack our gear and move out to the yellow school bus that took us to ‘The Complex’ for a breakfast of scrambled eggs, a meal shared with around four hundred Sea Org members in a huge hall on Catalina Street.
We had fifteen minute meals, and then had to partake in military drills; marching, saluting, close order drilling and everything else a typical military recruit would do, aside from weapons training.
We then were put onto work details, run by often screaming ‘corporals’ or I/Cs as they were know in Sea Org speak. It was intense. We had two more short meal breaks, and at around six pm, were allowed to shower and go on ‘study’ for the allotted hours. We were bussed back to our grotty store front at eleven pm.
This went on for three months without respite. I graduated, and was considered a Sea Org Member, albeit with the demeaning rank of ‘swamper’, a least it was better than my former lower rank of ‘EPFer’. I was elated to be free from that harsh regime; the only slightly less harsh ‘swamper’ regime seemed like heaven by comparison. My task was to carry out my assigned duties in an exemplary fashion, continue my studies of Hubbard’s voluminous, and often incoherent, writings and advance myself up the ranks from swamper, to Petty Officer 3rd class – one stripe and a metal chain lanyard – through to Petty Officer Third Class – three stripes and the same chain – then I could, with considerable difficulty, start on the Officer ratings.
Critical thinking faculties had been completely subverted by this time, and I was only too happy to go along with the standard procedure of any mail I received from friends and family being first opened and reviewed by ‘Ethics’ Officers’ before being forwarded to me. Twenty years later I discovered that much of the mail sent to me by family members had been withheld and destroyed due to the letters having contained comments critical of the regime and advising to me to come home. I also learned that money had been sent, and this too had been withheld.
By the end of 1987 I was a fanatical member, I was willing to anything asked of me, the world outside was evil, I was one of the few enlightened ones, I was special, I had been selected.
I was later given intelligence training; this included weaponry, though only at an introductory level, how to recognise different fire arms, how to load them and how to hold them properly. I was moved to a different stream, one that taught me to infiltrate ‘enemy’ organisations.
John Duignan 15 October 2007
I was invited to a conference on the role of education in the prevention of violent radicalisation organised by the European Commission. While the main focus was on radical elements in Islam, and the cross discipline work that has being going on throughout Europe, I was invited due my own ‘radicalisation’ experience, being inducted in the Scientology’s own ‘jihadic’ training camp, the EPF in PAC during the fall of 1985.
The conference was attended by a wide variety of academics, anti-terror professionals from the Home Office in England, Holland, Germany, Italy and Spain; representatives from a number European legislative departments, theologians and moderate Islamic teachers.
I did not speak at the conference, the focus being radical Islam, but was invited to present a written submission that could be used for a broader look at such issues.
I was flown out of Cork on the 15th or October, a chilly Monday evening, dashed through Schiphol in Amsterdam to catch my connecting flight to Brussels on an old Fokker 70 – the Fokker was parked miles away from the terminal – (always wanted to say that
). I was put up in the plush Crown Plaza on Rue De Loi, a mere hundred yards from the Scientology disinformation Office on the same street. I walked by that evening, for old times’ sake, I had done some pr work there as a fanatical cult member two years before, interesting and bittersweet memories. I must say, like Saint Hill was a few months ago, it looked very quiet. I went by again in the morning, same thing. Could be that everybody is over setting up the IAS rip off – sorry - event, for the 26th to 29th Oct? Anyway, I thought the good people on ESMB would be interested in the written anecdotal briefing that was submitted to a multidisciplinary body, advising the European Parliament on legislation for 2008. This the briefing in full:
Journey into radicalisation: The Sea Organisation experience
One enters into Scientology in the main through a personality test, this test isolates for the staff concerned a number of key vulnerabilities in the person, these points are pounced upon with considerable effect by the front line staff concerned.
The test measures the prospects current mental state, all questions are answered in the ‘now’ the present tense; how one is dealing with life at this time.
People with high profiles on test are labelled ‘thetee-weetie; - disconnected with reality - the cult does not want these people, and staff are trained to spot them and get rid of them with no further action. High profile people are stable, certain, happy and well balanced, they lack neurosis and thus the cult cannot use them.
I displayed several traits that included high levels of empathy, low confidence, loneliness and a sense of not ‘belonging’. This was at a time when I was living in Germany, far away from home, had broken up with my girlfriend and the loss of my parents at the age of ten was beginning to manifest itself, impinging on my consciousness, looking for outlet, looking for healing.
I was ‘Hard Sold’ to buy a communication course, this is a fairly innocuous entry level item, taken I understand from standard methodology in the field, edited to appear as an original work by Hubbard. Once on the course I was ‘hard sold’ to purchase books, attend briefings, and within two weeks to join staff.
Over a very short period of time my whole life was revolving around the cult and its activities, I had no social life outside of the cult, I was encouraged to drop contact with my close friends who were alarmed at my involvement with the cult, and I was gradually inculcated prosetylise on their behalf.
With two months I had been recruited to join the Sea Organisation, the cult’s militant and fanatical inner core. I signed a one billion year contract, filled out an extensive ‘life history’ form’; this include names, addresses and telephone numbers of every family member, every friend, every teacher I had ever had. It included intrusive questions of political affiliation, sexual experiences, - with who, what was done and so on... questions probed my earlier involvement with the US military, Christian groups and collages; everything I had ever done, everyone I had ever know, any misdeeds that I thought I may have committed were all disclosed at this time. I was then shipped out to Los Angeles.
As is the case with all new recruits to the Sea Org, I had to pay my own travel costs from Stuttgart to Los Angeles, I paid for my own taxi from LAX to the HQ on Fountain Avenue, and was dropped off at a huge, ugly, blue, former hospital. Blankets could be seen covering some windows, in lieu of curtains or blinds. Built in the the1930’s, the sprawling Cedars Complex had been sold to this cult in 1976. it was to be my prison for the next fourteen months, and actual base for the next twenty years. I was surprised at how dirty and dingy the whole place looked, when I was shown to my sleeping quarters, I was shocked; a former maternity ward, packed with old metal bunk beds stacked four high; the room slept twenty men, the smell of stale sweat and dirty clothes offending my senses. I wanted to turn around and go home right there and then. But I had been told to buy a one-way ticket, and I had no money left.
I found myself in an uncomfortable place, I did not like the feel, the people seemed strange, throngs of pale, drawn, tired folks; dressed in frayed, quasi-naval uniforms rushing back and forth, ominous looking security guards, armed with batons seemed to block both exit and egress, CCTV cameras were in sight everywhere I looked. I had arrived at the core of the cult, the place from where a new civil order was being pushed out onto an unsuspecting world. In every room hung a portrait of the grinning Founder, Hubbard, in naval uniform surrounded by similarly attired, but less ostentatious, junior officers.
‘Boot camp’: The training program for the Sea Org was described as the ‘Decks Project Force’ or ‘Estates project force’, depending on who was running it at the time. Things are done at a considerable pace, there little time for contemplation. I was rapidly divested of my passport, driving licence and travel documents. I was routed to a scruffy room next to the kitchens, given a boiler suit, assigned to a ‘unit’ – a team of five or so new recruits, and put to work. I worked with my team on cleaning floors for the next ten hours.
Mandatory indoctrination was carried out for three to five hours daily. I was given a check sheet covering a mass of courses: ‘How to study Scientology’ ‘Scientology Ethics and discipline’ ‘Basic Sea Org Member Hat’, ‘Keeping Scientology working’. I was given a target date for completion, and targets to attain daily. The courses educated one to fear the outside world, to follow exactly and precisely the words and dictates of the founder L. Ron Hubbard. Much of material dealt with how the worlds’ governments were seeking to attack and bring down church, backed by ‘The psyches’, how the FBI, KGB, CIA, MI6 and even SMERSH, were all trying to get their hands on Hubbard’s writings and use them to enslave man. We were taught that we were the ‘last bastion of freedom for mankind’, and that our billion year service to Hubbard’s goals would turn the whole universe back to its native state, they way it was before the psyches began their evil plan to overthrow the free being. We were taught that in our past lives, we had all worked with Hubbard in many parts of the galaxy to fight for freedom, were very likely part of an eternal galactic force called ‘The Brigade’ and were here on earth to regroup with our commander -Hubbard – and bring the fight back to the psyches who had won a coup against us some ten thousand years ago.
Our day started at seven in the morning, we were rolled out of our bunks in a grotty storefront on Wilton Street in Hollywood, with fifteen minutes to get out of bed, tidy up, dress, pack our gear and move out to the yellow school bus that took us to ‘The Complex’ for a breakfast of scrambled eggs, a meal shared with around four hundred Sea Org members in a huge hall on Catalina Street.
We had fifteen minute meals, and then had to partake in military drills; marching, saluting, close order drilling and everything else a typical military recruit would do, aside from weapons training.
We then were put onto work details, run by often screaming ‘corporals’ or I/Cs as they were know in Sea Org speak. It was intense. We had two more short meal breaks, and at around six pm, were allowed to shower and go on ‘study’ for the allotted hours. We were bussed back to our grotty store front at eleven pm.
This went on for three months without respite. I graduated, and was considered a Sea Org Member, albeit with the demeaning rank of ‘swamper’, a least it was better than my former lower rank of ‘EPFer’. I was elated to be free from that harsh regime; the only slightly less harsh ‘swamper’ regime seemed like heaven by comparison. My task was to carry out my assigned duties in an exemplary fashion, continue my studies of Hubbard’s voluminous, and often incoherent, writings and advance myself up the ranks from swamper, to Petty Officer 3rd class – one stripe and a metal chain lanyard – through to Petty Officer Third Class – three stripes and the same chain – then I could, with considerable difficulty, start on the Officer ratings.
Critical thinking faculties had been completely subverted by this time, and I was only too happy to go along with the standard procedure of any mail I received from friends and family being first opened and reviewed by ‘Ethics’ Officers’ before being forwarded to me. Twenty years later I discovered that much of the mail sent to me by family members had been withheld and destroyed due to the letters having contained comments critical of the regime and advising to me to come home. I also learned that money had been sent, and this too had been withheld.
By the end of 1987 I was a fanatical member, I was willing to anything asked of me, the world outside was evil, I was one of the few enlightened ones, I was special, I had been selected.
I was later given intelligence training; this included weaponry, though only at an introductory level, how to recognise different fire arms, how to load them and how to hold them properly. I was moved to a different stream, one that taught me to infiltrate ‘enemy’ organisations.
John Duignan 15 October 2007
