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| Formation | January 1974 |
|---|---|
| Type | Rehabilitation for Scientology |
| Legal status | Non-profit |
| Headquarters | Hemet, California, USA |
| Chairman of Religious Technology Center | David Miscavige |
| Website | Scientology.org/ |
The Rehabilitation Project Force, or RPF, is a controversial program set up by the Church of Scientology Sea Organization, intended to "rehabilitate" members who have not lived up to the Church expectations or have violated certain policies. As part of this program, and in addition to the application of Scientology procedures, members do manual labor tasks around Sea Org bases. There have been some reports of overwork and mistreatment at RPF facilities, and the program can take years to complete.
Development
The Rehabilitation Project Force developed out of a predecessor group, the Mud Box Brigade, aboard L. Ron Hubbard's private fleet in the late 1960s. The mud box is a small perforated screening box fitted to the suction pipe in the bilge of a ship, and is designed to catch larger solid waste before it can choke the pipeline and potentially damage the pump. The Mud Box Brigade was assigned to clean out the mud box as well as fuel lines, water hues, bilges and so on. As this involved cleaning foul-smelling waste by hand, it was understandably not a popular task.
Hubbard defined the role as being essentially a punishment duty for unsatisfactory workers: "More candidates will be appointed regularly and promptly every time I find a freeloader who is loafing on post and drifting with the wind." "This group is the most downstat and one gets assigned to it by being a freeloader, invisible on post, loafing and really goofing up on one's job." J. Gordon Melton, however, suggested that "Hubbard understood it in terms of making retribution to the people who had been harmed by the nonperformance or incorrect performance of one's assigned tasks."
In 1969 Hubbard replaced the Mud Box Brigade with the Rehabilitation Unit, again intended for those removed or disciplined "as ineffective or trouble." Following an evaluation, the individual was to receive a set of "specific recommendations which if followed will rehabilitate the individual as a highly effective and worthwhile Sea Org member." Hubbard instructed that "The unit is worked hard during the day on a rigorous schedule on jobs assigned by the Review Chief handling corrective areas and jobs needing remedy and repair. The Unit itself is thus made into an effective ship's review team. It works on a one job, one time, one place formula completing each job before moving into the next. Each individual thus earns the right to the remedial services he or she will receive."
Finally, the Rehabilitation Unit was replaced in January 1974 with the Rehabilitation Project Force or RPF. According to Hubbard, "the RPF has been created by the Commodore so that redemption can occur. That is basically its only purpose." He identified four categories of people who were to be assigned to the RPF: "rockslammers" (people deemed to have hidden evil intentions, as detected by the E-meter); people who were unproductive and scored poorly on the Oxford Capacity Analysis personality test; "repeated stat crashers", people who were held responsible for declines in Scientology organizations' productivity; and "overt product makers", people who produced poor-quality work. As before, the unit was to work on "one job, one place, one time." A five-hour study period was to be implemented each day to improve the individuals' knowledge of Scientology.
The RPF was originally intended to last no more than a couple of months, where the assignee would learn Scientology auditing, if he or she was not already an auditor by the "read it, drill it, do it" method. RPF members would then co-audit each other to better themselves and make each other more ethical and productive.
A member assigned to the RPF can visit with their spouse and children during daily mealtimes and spend one night per week together for marital relations, as long as his production matches the Church's expectations, and his adherence to Scientology doctrine is improving. It has been reported that rules have been tightened and currently forbid any connection with family members.
Controversy
Critics of Scientology, including former Scientologists, frequently compare the RPF with the gulag system of the Soviet Union or the re-education camps of the People's Republic of China. One former Scientologist titled her narrative of the RPF "'The Church of Scientology' or The Guru's Gulags: Story of an Escape."
The Church of Scientology claims that no physical force is used to keep RPF members in the camps, and that RPF members always have the option of leaving Scientology entirely, and that this makes the comparison inaccurate. However, Scientology has been known to use other means of coercion to keep members in the organisation. For example, Scientology keeps records of Security checks and confessions of their members, which have been used to blackmail those who had left Scientology.
In addition, leaving the Sea Org, even from the RPF, results in what Scientology calls "freeloader debt" or a "freeloader's bill": retroactive billing for any auditing received or any Scientology training received while in the Sea Org, which can run into tens of thousands of dollars. Many former Scientologists have reported that they felt trapped by the "freeloader debt" policy.
In his book, The Complex, John Duignan provides an account of the RPF as living in a rat-infested basement, engaging in degrading jobs years at a stretch, and not being allowed to visit one's spouse or children.
Castile Canyon School
One location identified as an RPF facility was located near the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, southeast of Gold Base. This site, known as the Castile Canyon School or "Happy Valley," has since been sold by the church.
Motto
- The RPF is what you make it.
- The RPF is where you make it.
See also
References
- ^ Janet Reitman (2006). "Inside Scientology". Rolling Stone.
- Robert Vaughn Young (1994-03-09). "Declaration in the case Church of Scientology International v. Steven Fishman and Uwe Geertz". Retrieved 2007-02-09.
assigned Reynolds to the gulag known as the Rehabilitation Project Force where he worked at hard labor for over two years.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - The Church of Scientology’s Rehabilitation Project Force, CESNUR, We have found that it is an intensive programme of study, spiritual counselling and physical work that can take anywhere between one and a few years.
- ^ Pierre Collignon (2001). "Inside RPF Denmark (IV): An Offer from Scientology (convenience link, unofficial translation)". Jyllands-Posten.
- ^ Hubbard, OODs of 4 January 1968, cited in Modern Management Technology Defined, 1975
- Hubbard, "Mud Box Brigade", Flag Order 1701 of 5 January 1969
- RPF - A Sociological Study, by J. Gordon Melton
- Hubbard, "Rehabilitation Unit", Flag Order 1848 of 3 March 1969
- Hubbard, "Rehabilitation Project Force", Flag Order 3434 of 7 January 1974
- FLAG ORDER 3434RB THE REHABILITATION PROJECT FORCE
- Dr. Stephen A. Kent (1997-11-07). "Brainwashing in Scientology's Rehabilitation Force (RPF)" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-08-16.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Stacy Brooks (2000-09-13). "The Intolerance of the Church of Scientology - Interview with Syl Farrell on Pinellas Extra". Retrieved 2007-06-19.
It's something similar to a political re-education camp in China or whatever where someone is a dissident and is held against their will until they basically are broken and agree to the party line again.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - 'The Church of Scientology' or The Guru's Gulags: Story of an Escape
- Affidavit of Dennis Erlich, submitted March 1999
- Invasion of privacy, excerpts of documents compiled by scientology-lies.com
- Kent, Stephen A. (2003). "Scientology and the European Human Rights Debate: A Reply to Leisa Goodman, J. Gordon Melton, and the European Rehabilitation Project Force Study". Marburg Journal of Religion. 8 (1). Retrieved 2006-08-15.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - Sappell, Joel (1990-06-26). "Defectors Recount Lives of Hard Work, Punishment". Los Angeles Times. p. A1:1. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) Additional convenience link at . - Duignan, John (October 7, 2008). The Complex: An Insider Exposes the Covert World of the Church of Scientology. Dublin, Ireland: Merlin Publishing. ISBN 9781903582848.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - The Rehabilitation Project Force, Flag Order 3434RB, 30 May, 1977
External links
- "'What is the Rehabilitation Project Force?, Scientology FAQ". Church of Scientology International. Retrieved 2006-09-29.
- "Scientology cult unlawful imprisonment RPF order 3434RB," archived on Wikileaks
- "Brainwashing in Scientology's Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF)", a paper by Dr. Stephen A. Kent
- "The Church of Scientology’s Rehabilitation Project Force" by the Center for Studies on New Religions
- Astra Woodcraft Interview, Part Three, "Leaving the Sea Org", 2001-01-20, XenuTV
- "Missing in Happy Valley - Investigation in to Scientology's RPF Camps"
- "Missing in Happy Valley?"
- "EX-INT BASE STAFF INTERROGATORY"
- Wikileaks: Official Church of Scientology RPF guidebook