Inside Scientology - Janet Reitman [220]
[>] the St. Petersburg Timeshad dubbed: Robert Farley, "Scientology's Town," St. Petersburg Times, July 18, 2004.
[>] as "opinion leaders": Hubbard, "Celebrities," HCO Policy Letter, May 23, 1976.
[>] what Hubbard called the "labyrinth": Hubbard, "Keeping Scientology Working Series 4: Safeguarding Technology," HCO Policy Letter, February 14, 1965.
16. Int
The main sources for this chapter were Marc and Claire Headley, Tanja and Stefan Castle, Jeff Hawkins, Tom De Vocht, Steve Hall, Dan Koon, Amy Scobee, Jason Knapmeyer, Maureen Bolstad, Marty Rathbun, Chuck Beatty, and numerous other former Scientologists whom I interviewed personally, with the exception of Rathbun. Because of the contentiousness of many claims contained in this chapter, all of these sources were interviewed separately, in some cases numerous times, and their allegations were triple-checked against one another. Joe Childs and Thomas Tobin of the St. Petersburg Times further confirmed stories I'd long heard through their in-depth reporting on Scientology and the abuses within the upper echelon of the Sea Organization. Of specific note are "Ecclesiastical Justice" (St. Petersburg Times, June 23, 2009), "Chased by Their Church" (St. Petersburg Times, November 1, 2009), and "No Kids Allowed" (St. Petersburg Times, June 13, 2010).
Physical descriptions of the Int Base come from my own observations while touring the property in February 2006 and from accounts from others. Jeff Hawkins and Marc Headley supplied details about the appearance of the base during the 1990s and 2000s.
[>] they decided to get married: Teen marriages were, for many years, widespread in the Sea Org, as were quickie divorces. Virtually all of the second-generation Sea Org members I interviewed told me they'd been married in their teens, if only so they could have sex. One of these former staffers, Jeffrey Aylor, who began work on the PAC Base when he was fourteen and left the Sea Org five years later, reported knowing at least a hundred people who married in their teens, half of whom were divorced and remarried by the age of twenty. Like the Headleys, many of these kids were married in Las Vegas. "It's common knowledge in the Sea Org," said Aylor, "that the fastest place to get married is Vegas and the quickest place to get divorced is Mexico."
[>] Electric fences ringed: According to Marty Rathbun, from the mid-1990s forward, "The entire organization of RTC had taken on the first and foremost job of protecting and forwarding the image and power of David Miscavige." A top priority for the RTC was making sure there were no staff departures from the base, he said in a sworn statement in July 2010. Those who did succeed in "blowing" were to be immediately returned, by force if necessary. This policy was to be strictly enforced, Rathbun said, with regard to anyone who worked closely with Miscavige. "The Miscaviges made it very clear that if anyone posed a heightened security threat to Miscavige personally, by virtue of having close working contact with him over time, such persons were to be returned to the Int Base by any means necessary."
[>] "a distinctive SO attribute": Hubbard, "Toughness," Flag Order 2802, April 9, 1971.
[>] On its website, the church: "What Is the Rehabilitation Project Force?" The Church of Scientology International, faq.scientology.org/rpf.htm.
[>] Rinder began to berate her: Since leaving Scientology, Tanja has reflected on what happened between her and Mike Rinder, and in 2009, agreed to speak with him on the phone. Rinder, having left Scientology by that time, apologized for his behavior and, according to Tanja, asked her forgiveness.
17. Exodus
Marc Headley first described the musical chairs game to me during several in-depth interviews I conducted with him and his wife in 2007; Amy Scobee also provided an account. Headley later sent me a written version, which he ultimately published in his memoir, Blown for Good. Tom De