Senator JACKSON. I should like to ask another broad question. What steps do you suggest whereby the Foreign Service could produce a larger number of senior officers of first-rate quality to fill the posts of great responsibility in the State Department and to become Ambassadors?

Ambassador KOHLER. Senator, I could write a book about this.

Of course, I think the fundamental is the selection of the proper personnel at the start, and giving them both training and responsibility. I personally would like to see, and feel myself fortunate to have had, an experience that included the Information Agency, that included ICA and the administration of fairly large offices. I think this has helped in my own development.

I think we would have to keep our eye on precisely this question, and improve our personnel management, so that more people have experience with running fairly large operations before they are called upon to take the responsibility for running a big embassy, so that we develop a real executive type.

Now, beyond that, whether that man is specialized in one function or another does not matter too much, if he knows what the overall picture is and where his specialty fits.

But you cannot take a man who has been a staff officer and put him in charge of a big going operation overnight and expect him to produce satisfactorily. He just does not know how to operate it.

But the possibility, with effective career management, of developing good executives inside the State Department, and particularly if you are willing to have State Department personnel serve in some of the operating agencies for a while, exists, and I think could be more effectively utilized than it has been in the past.

Senator JACKSON. Mr. Engberg?

Mr. ENGBERG. I realize the Moscow embassy is something of a streamlined affair, so this is probably more in the area of general information.

Since your office and all embassies are so dependent on the information that comes up from your staff, have you any suggestion on how the personnel might be improved on the lower levels in your staff to bring to you pertinent information, immediate information, as to what is going on in the country that you are assigned to?

Ambassador KOHLER. Well, I would have to except Moscow from this, because this is a topnotch staff.

Senator JACKSON. I take it, as you said earlier, that you feel your operation is something of a showcase, and you would hope that gradually this sort of operation would be extended to the Foreign Service in general.

Ambassador KOHLER. I think this is true, although I will say, in terms of operating offices, that the effectiveness of the staff depends in great measure on the effectiveness of the boss. You can stimulate and provoke work and suggestions coming to you from your own staff. Again, if you have the right people, and if they are able and ambitious, they will see to it that they get their ideas into the hopper, and I think it is your job, on the top, to see that they are encouraged to do so. It is a general question that it is hard to make more than a superficial answer to.

Senator JACKSON. Would you develop somewhat further your point about the possible use of computers in making available to you, in time, information that is necessary to do a better job?

Ambassador KOHLER. Well, it seems to me that we have modern techniques now that ought to be applied to the diplomatic process.

The simplest kind of illustration would be quick availability of research material on a problem that comes up unexpectedly. I personally have seen research analysts around the Department spend days looking through archives, trying to find pertinent information to a problem that comes up.

It seems to me that much of this information should be tabulated on IBM machines, so that you could really pull it out at the drop of a hat.

Frequently, an officer like myself, for example, will remember that many years ago a leading political figure with whom we are dealing today said something, but you want to have for your purpose, if you are talking with him, the precise quote, and say, "Why did you say this then, and why do you say this now?" And frequently, it is an impossible task to find the exact quote.

Mr. ENGBERG. That would apply, of course, to information that comes up from the lower level of an embassy, also, if you wanted to fall back on this material.

Ambassador KOHLER. That is right. And I just think that we should have more efficient methods of getting into the archives and getting them at your disposition today for dealing with the problem which faces you today, but which has a long, long tail back into history, perhaps.

Senator JACKSON. For example, such simple things as biographic information on key foreign diplomats and members of delegations to regional and international meetings could be provided almost instantly.

Ambassador KOHLER. And why we should have to do this laboriously with people trying to remember what someone said at some time, instead of having it at our fingertips with the modern methods that are today available, I do not understand.

Senator JACKSON. Mr. Ambassador, we want to express to you on behalf of the committee our deep appreciation for your fine cooperation here this morning. We wish you well in your assignment, and we want to compliment you on your long and distinguished career. Ambassador KOHLER. Mr. Chairman, it is a great pleasure to be with you, and I thank you for the reception, and I thank you for the work that you are doing that will help us improve the Department and the Foreign Service.

Senator JACKSON. We will hold this hearing record open for a paper on communications which we expect to receive from the State Department.

(Whereupon, at 10:30 a.m., the subcommittee recessed, to reconvene at the call of the Chair.)

DEPARTMENT OF STATE COMMUNICATIONS

(Comment by the Department, transmitted to the subcommittee, April 20, 1964)

A. Prior to World War II the Department of State met its communications requirements by a pouch "system," by a few more formal designated official Couriers, and by relatively infrequent telegrams transmitted by commercial telegraphic companies. American ship captains, Foreign Service officers, and American travelers were given sealed packages of mail with instructions as to delivery on arrival at destination. These individuals were called "Bearers of Dispatches." They were not paid for these services but were accorded special passports which at that time were much sought after. The number of Couriers as distinguished from "Bearers of Dispatches" varied widely in the years between World Wars I and II with the high point occurring in 1918-19 when 70 men were engaged in this activity. Financial considerations forced steady cutbacks and the service was terminated at the end of fiscal year 1933. In fiscal year 1935, it was reinitiated with a budget of $24,000-the staff consisted of three couriers based in Paris. In those instances where the telegram contained secret or classified information, the text was encoded utilizing codebooks which were widely held throughout the Foreign Service posts. The telegraphic workload for the whole of 1930 amounted to approximately 2,200,000 words. The staff at Department Headquarters consisted of 144 for all functions; coding, telegraphers, pouch and records personnel.

B. During World War II, the military requirements for rapid communications produced major advances in transmission techniques and in coding methods. The Department of State benefited directly from these advances during the war and the years following its termínation. Machines emerged as prime means of accomplishing necessary protection for secret or confidential information, although the brevity and economy codebooks were still used. Radio came into its own as the transmission means for huge volumes of traffic. The advantages of teletypewriter machines were adapted to use on radio circuits with the result of extending the capacity of transmission systems severalfold. The Courier System exploded during this period-for example, the 1943 budget was $335,000. The Courier System moved directly with or immediately behind the military forces, setting up service as territory was "liberated." In 1945, the first regional office in the Far East was established in Shanghai.

C. As the interests and representation of the United States grew so rapidly during the period following World War II, the demands for communications improvements also grew. It became increasingly important for the Secretary of State to be in frequent and rapid contact with the Ambassadors abroad. It also became important for him to have available coding systems which facilitated rather than hamstrung his communications with these representatives abroad. Vol

umes of work also heightened the need for mechanical and electromechanical means for dealing with it and for increases in the technical staff to guarantee effective handling. Much of the equipment in use by the Department during the post-World War II period was furnished by U.S. military authorities. At its inception, transmission facilities to most posts were provided by commercial communications carriers.

D. The acquisition of a new headquarters building in 1947 permitted the creation of a new and modern communications center where telegrams and other official correspondence were processed in more satisfactory surroundings and with comparatively modern facilities. Relatively few changes were made, however, in the backbone equipment utilized at the field posts and the companion equipment items used at the Department. The present New State headquarters building again afforded an opportunity for some plant improvements and the Department was able to install a number of telegram-handling features which increased the capacity of its main communications center. Most equipment continued to be of World War II vintage, subject to the mechanical problems of age and with some types suspect from security viewpoints due to rapid advances in technical fields. At present, the Department utilizes the telephone, messengers, couriers, accompanied and unaccompanied pouches, and classified and unclassified telegrams in its communications system.

E. Where time factors are not completely controlling and/or where bulky materials are involved, the mail, pouch, and courier facilities are employed. These operations are managed from Washington; the mail operation as such is serving Washington area "customers" exclusively. The Diplomatic Pouch and Courier Service is responsible for the movement of official mail to and from oversea posts. International protocol and precedent have for many years permitted governments, through their Foreign Offices, to transmit correspondence under sealed conditions to and from their accredited diplomatic missions. abroad. Properly sealed and documented, the diplomatic pouches are passed through normal governmental controls without inspection. The Department of State, as the "Foreign Office" of the U.S. Government is the only Federal department or agency which can prepare and receive sealed diplomatic pouches within this accepted usage. It falls to the Department, therefore, to provide this facility for all other U.S. Government departments and agencies.

F. Security considerations separate the sealed containers or pouches into two categories. Unclassified official correspondence and urgent related material is sent unaccompanied, generally as air cargo aboard commercial aircraft. (Airmail is used only to a small degree as airmail rates are considerably more expensive than air cargo.) Classified material must be afforded the additional protection of being in the personal custody of a properly documented and authenticated courier. The Department of State's Diplomatic Courier Service now operates from regional offices located in three major transportation centers overseas, each capable of servicing wide geographic regions. There are now 83 Diplomatic Couriers making scheduled deliveries to 108 diplomatic posts throughout the world, covering annually a total of nearly 11 million miles. All but 24 of the 108 posts receive courier service twice weekly with delivery times from Washington varying

from an average of 2 days for Paris to 11 days for Wellington, New Zealand. The couriers carry annually over 1 million pounds of classified materials for all U.S. Government departments and agencies.

G. The Department of Defense operates what is known as the Armed Forces Courier Service (ARFCOS). Although ARFCOS does provide part of its total service to oversea locations, it is designed to provide protection for DOD materials between military installations and bases. Its couriers do not enjoy diplomatic immunity but enter and exit U.S. bases in foreign countries under provisions of treaties or agreements worked out with the host governments. ARFCOS facilities are used extensively by the Department of State; in fact, all Department of State transatlantic and transpacific materials are transported by ARFCOS. Upon arrival at military installations abroad, however, all classified material destined for onward transportation is transferred to the regional office of the Diplomatic Courier Service.

H. In the main headquarters of the Department, a staff of approximately 100 maintains a 6-day-per-week, 16-hour-per-day mail operation. Sunday and holiday coverage for essential services is also provided. These personnel are engaged not only with the preparation, dispatch, and receipt of the official diplomatic pouches; they are also responsible for the dispatch and receipt of all mail for the Department and for the internal delivery within and among the Department's Washington elements. This is accomplished through the operation of 9 mailrooms providing central service on each floor of the building and through the operation of a pneumatic tube system which now has 52 active stations operated by personnel assigned to other organizational units. The floor mailroom operations per se are augmented by an 18man messenger service which fans mail out to customer-operated message centers within the Department and which effects deliveries to other principal addressees and distributees including the White House and the Pentagon. During a typical day, this domestic function will sort and distribute approximately 90,000 separate pieces of mail. By and large, it is considered that the mail service in Washington and the oversea Diplomatic Courier and Pouch services function satisfactorily. I. The telephone is used more and more widely in the conduct of official business within the United States, in oversea areas, and between the United States and Foreign Service posts. Service within the United States is commercially provided. Economies, especially in long-distance calls, are being achieved from participation in and use of the centralized facilities of the General Services Administration's Federal Telecommunications System.

J. A further and pressing problem is the operation of Embassy telephone facilities. Over 200 posts have their own systems, a majority of which are owned outright. Many are antiquated or severely limited by the technical skills available locally. Subpar service by U.S. standards is general and severe restrictions in facilities are widely encountered. For example, Monrovia, capital of Liberia, has a population of approximately 80,000 but the local telephone system can accommodate only 1,500 subscribers. In all but two oversea areas the Department has no telephone specialists.

K. The Department authorizes the use of telegrams when timeliness of delivery and action are important. Each of 268 oversea