Post by Anonymous on Feb 6, 2012 16:56:04 GMT
Village Voice: Scientology's Secret Vaults: A Rare Interview With a Former Member of Hush-Hush "CST"
Over the years, we've talked to a lot of former Scientologists, many of whom worked at the church's secretive desert headquarters in Southern California, "Int Base." They were cut off from their families and the outside world, and became accustomed to living in secrecy.
But even these people adopt a somewhat hushed tone when they tell me about the most secret organization in all of Scientology, the Church of Spiritual Technology. Mention CST, and even longtime former members of the church admit that they knew almost nothing about it, or even where CST's own super-secret headquarters was located.
"I was in international management and the Watchdog Committee for 20 years, and I never knew where CST was, the whole time," says Amy Scobee, a former high-ranking church official.
"CST was very hush-hush. Even among the Int staff, it wasn't well known. Anyone coming from CST, it was very sensitive," says Gary Morehead, who was chief of security at Int Base and oversaw the interrogation of executives who had gone awry. He had to sign a bond promising that he'd keep confidential anything that came out in those interrogations, which are known as "sec-checking." When it came to CST executives, however, Morehead says he had to sign a second bond.
"Sec-checking them, you had to sign a special bond that you would keep things secret. You were 'bonded for CST'," he says.
Over the years, information has leaked out about CST and its extremely odd work -- building underground vaults to ensure that the words of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard survive a nuclear holocaust. It's still rare, however, to have a press interview with a former CST employee.
But Dylan Gill, who helped build vaults in California and New Mexico...[continued]
Over the years, we've talked to a lot of former Scientologists, many of whom worked at the church's secretive desert headquarters in Southern California, "Int Base." They were cut off from their families and the outside world, and became accustomed to living in secrecy.
But even these people adopt a somewhat hushed tone when they tell me about the most secret organization in all of Scientology, the Church of Spiritual Technology. Mention CST, and even longtime former members of the church admit that they knew almost nothing about it, or even where CST's own super-secret headquarters was located.
"I was in international management and the Watchdog Committee for 20 years, and I never knew where CST was, the whole time," says Amy Scobee, a former high-ranking church official.
"CST was very hush-hush. Even among the Int staff, it wasn't well known. Anyone coming from CST, it was very sensitive," says Gary Morehead, who was chief of security at Int Base and oversaw the interrogation of executives who had gone awry. He had to sign a bond promising that he'd keep confidential anything that came out in those interrogations, which are known as "sec-checking." When it came to CST executives, however, Morehead says he had to sign a second bond.
"Sec-checking them, you had to sign a special bond that you would keep things secret. You were 'bonded for CST'," he says.
Over the years, information has leaked out about CST and its extremely odd work -- building underground vaults to ensure that the words of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard survive a nuclear holocaust. It's still rare, however, to have a press interview with a former CST employee.
But Dylan Gill, who helped build vaults in California and New Mexico...[continued]
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