Spycraft - Melton [123]
The original letters, which had been opened, photographed, and possibly subjected to TSD examination, were resealed and returned the next morning to the airport for reinsertion into the mail stream. Translations and summaries of the letters’ contents were disseminated within the Agency and to the FBI.22
As the sophistication of the technology and number of audio installations expanded, OTS developed an intense, year-long training program for the audio techs designed around the lessons and mistakes from the early years. In addition to learning the ins and outs of the technology itself, novice techs were taught the basics of building walls, mixing plaster, matching paint, restoring wallpaper, and making repairs after a device was implanted. They learned how to pick locks, make key impressions, cut keys from blanks, manipulate combination locks, and do electrical and telephone wiring.
“There was every kind of reconstruction. One of our instructors was a master plasterer who, before retiring, worked in the White House and the Capitol,” recalled one tech. “We had a dedicated facility, an old food warehouse in Alexandria, Virginia, where we’d learn how to mix mortar and lay brick. It didn’t matter if you had a college degree or not. If you wanted to be a tech, you took that training.”
For a typical lesson, the master plasterer assigned trainees to build a wall, plaster it over, then knock holes in it to simulate burying audio equipment, and replaster it. Then came the tough part. Not the least impressed by the tech’s CIA affiliation, the plasterer would shine his flashlight on the gleaming wall, silently studying the work, then invite the tech to join him as he pointed out a ripple here and another there. No ripple was acceptable. “Nope, not good enough” were dreaded words. With those, the tech knocked down his wall and started over.
The course work on walls and plastering alone lasted a month, and then came paint matching, which included training with special paints that OTS formulated to be fast-drying and odorless.
Specialized soldering courses followed along with instruction about glues, adhesives, tapes, and fasteners that hold things together. The techs had to learn how to open and close all types of materials—fabrics, leather, wood, concrete, and masonry—in preparation for burying bugs in any concealment that might be in a target environment.
The techs received training to operate laser surveillance systems that, by projecting a laser through a window, could pick up audio from minute vibrations of the windowpane in the target room. Although these officers were audio specialists, overseas stations would not hesitate to ask their help in all other disciplines of OTS, so familiarization was provided in the full range of agent communication including microdot, secret writing, photography, and short-range electronic systems.
“They didn’t skimp on training at Headquarters. It was thorough and hands-on. And in the field, every new officer got a mentor—a more senior audio officer—for their first tour,” said the tech. “You didn’t do anything on your own. You traveled with somebody else and they showed you the ropes. You drank beer together, stayed in the tech hotels, and, if you wanted to succeed, you listened to the lore, no matter how long that lasted late at night.”
These field mentors also provided valuable unofficial training. Junior techs learned how to economize on space while taking the necessary tools for jobs that were never completely predictable. One tech always carried four types of tape wrapped around a No. 2 lead pencil. Individual rolls of tape added weight, required space, and contained far more tape than was ever