Anonymous asked about financing agent operations.

Q. Thank you for your insights regarding the Box and it's effectiveness. I'm curious if you can discuss financing of your operations. In the Human Factor by Ishmael Jones, Jones states that many times he wouldn't wait for monies from DC. Instead, he would basically fund an operation, trip, payment, etc with the appreciation that the Company would reimburse him in due course. At a couple points in his career he was owed back payments that equaled multiples of his annual salary. I'm guessing this might have happened as Jones was reasonably well off and felt comfortable with the financial risks. I'm wondering if you ever felt, as a NOC, that a decent percentage of your operations wouldn't have materialized or happened the way you wanted them to because of difficulties getting adequate funding in time? Any thoughts about what type a financial position a NOC should be in to execute the job successfully (if applicable)?

A. I am not familiar with Ishmael Jones and cannot relate to the situation discussed in your comment/question. First, for NOC’s in the field their operating funds do not come from CIA Headquarters. All operating funds are advanced to the NOC by the Station as a revolving fund usually on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. All fund recipients are required to do a monthly or in rare cases a bi-monthly accounting to the Station on all funds expended at which time their revolving fund will be replenished. If any NOC Case Officer finds him/herself short of operating funds, it is entirely their own fault.

The amount each NOC receives as a revolving fund is decided on a NOC by NOC basis and will vary depending on a number of factors, such as agent case-load and the salaries and operational budget for each agent. Also taken into consideration are such factors as the operating directives that the NOC is tasked to undertake and the Station allocation of funds for each directive. NOC’s are thoroughly briefed on Station policy for such factors as operational and administrative travel expenses, discretionary entertainment expenses for meetings with agents, targets of opportunity cold contacts, etc. and such funds are included in the revolving fund. NOCs provide input to the Station on the amount of revolving funds they may require each month based on their own anticipated needs, so again, if the NOC finds him/herself short of funds and must temporarily reach into pocket, it is not the fault of the Station.

There may be rare occasions when unanticipated needs may arise where the NOC may find him/herself out of pocket. NOCs are encouraged not to dip into personal funds and all Stations will go out of their way to accommodate and advance additional funds. The way NOCs communicate with the Stations today are real-time so a cash replenishment turnaround by dead drop of brush-pass can be done in a matter of hours. Even in my day of the 1970s and 1980s an emergency turnaround of 24 hours was not unheard of.

As for my own experience, I never felt for a lack of funds to administer my agent operations or for conducting agent development or making cold calls. Funding for agent operations is an annual bureaucratic event at each Station. It is the responsibility of each Case Officer to prepare the “annual review” of his/her agents, both recruited and developmental cases, that includes all anticipated financial needs. This annual review projects anticipated funds requirements five years forward. Stations encourage Case Officers to over-anticipate the budget just to make sure there is a buffer available for unanticipated opportunities. Headquarters usually pretty much rubber-stamps these annual reviews and thus the Station’s budget is allocated. I never had an agent case that exceeded the approved budget. If I had, it would have been my own fault.

As for targets of opportunity for which there are no “approved” budgets, all Case Officers work within Station funding policy. Some targets have a higher collection priority than others and the funding policy so reflects. Even here, the NOC has great personal discretion how he/she expends operating funds to develop a target and the Station usually will not object as long as results in the form of Field Information Reports and operational cables reflect intelligence or operational value. A NOC may request that his/her monthly revolving fund be increased based on new target opportunities and it would be rare for a Station to refuse such a request.

This was a very insightful question, very appreciated. I am surprised at Mr. Jones’ experience as described above. I am sure it is the exception and not the rule. I’ll try to read his book in the near future and may have further comment at that time.