111-554: The Sea Organization or Sea Org is the senior-most status of staff within the Church of Scientology network of corporations, but is not itself incorporated. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Sea Org was started as L. Ron Hubbard 's private navy, and adopted naval uniforms and ranks. Today, all Scientology management organizations are exclusively staffed with Sea Org members. The Sea Org maintains strict codes for its members, beginning with
222-402: A deferred basis. Invoices are written up for services taken, but no payment is expected while the staff member continues to work for the organization. If they complete their contract, they are pressured to re-commit for another contract term, but if they leave having fulfilled their contract term their deferred invoices are forgiven or waived. While seeming to be free services, if a staff member
333-523: A "hat writeup" ("hat" for short) which consists of Hubbard writings pertaining to that post and other writeups written by those who held the post before. Staff are recruited with promises that they are expected to train or be audited for 2.5 hours per day worked (called "enhancement"), but in reality enhancement time is usually bumped for the latest emergency—called a "flap" —or expected to be performed outside of their normal work hours. Staff receive Scientology training, and occasionally auditing , on
444-557: A 1954 lecture, Hubbard asserted that he had been sent "to Boston in the very early part of the war to take command of a corvette " and had been given a crew made up of convicts from the Portsmouth Naval Prison . Hubbard stated in another lecture that he had been posted aboard "corvettes, North Atlantic. And I went on fighting submarines in the North Atlantic and doing other things and so on. And I finally got
555-534: A 1992 memorandum by the Church of Scientology International , the following information was provided to the Internal Revenue Service with regards to the nature of the Sea Org: [The Sea Org] does not have an ecclesiastical organizing board or command channels chart or secular existence such as an incorporated or unincorporated association. [...] Although there is no such "organization" as
666-454: A Church of Scientology publication, At the end of the war, having been relegated because of his physical condition to the amphibious forces in the Pacific, he had the adventures which are reported on the screen in " Mister Roberts ". "The Bucket" of that motion picture, stage play, and the novel is actually the A.K.A. 54, the U.S.S. Algol . The captain so brutally characterized in the picture
777-440: A Class V organization, a contract may be as short as 2.5 years; extending to 5 years or more if they are sent to Flag Service Org for extensive training. Sea Org members sign billion-year contracts; effectively a perpetual contract with no expiration date. Sea Org personnel live in communal housing; Class V staff make their own living arrangements and sometimes even have second jobs. Staff hold posts where they are either given
888-424: A billion-year pledge of service to Scientology upon initiation. David Miscavige , the leader of Scientology, is the highest-ranking Sea Org officer with the rank of captain. The rank of commodore is permanently reserved for the late L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology. Some ex-members and scholars have described the Sea Org as a totalitarian organization marked by intensive surveillance and lack of freedom. In
999-708: A brief time in this nominal role with the Office of Naval Intelligence . After four months working in public relations and at the US Hydrographic Office , he spent three weeks at the Third Naval District in New York training for the role of Intelligence Officer. Hubbard's training was curtailed by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and on December 18 he was sent to
1110-561: A civilian employee in order to use what I knew of the mind to make men more suggestible. And I smiled a feline smile. And I said, "No." And he smiled like something out of Faust, and he said to me, "Well, all you have to do is say 'No' and I will call you back to active duty because you still are an officer of the United States Navy." And with that purr he exited. ... So I went down here to the Washington Navy Yard,
1221-546: A commission of 10%–15% of the amount the new person pays. The recruit is transformed from a client to a follower and from a follower to a deployable agent . Staff sign employment contracts , though in recent years these contracts label them as volunteers or "religious workers" to circumvent labor laws because staff are almost universally paid less than locally mandated minimum wage . However, all organizational policies written by L. Ron Hubbard refer to such workers as "staff". These contracts have lengthy durations. At
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#17327729695431332-418: A confidential Sea Org executive directive that claimed that governments of the world were on the verge of collapse: "The Sea Org would survive and pick up the pieces." Sea Org Day is August 12, during which ceremonies are held to commemorate the achievements and contributions of Sea Org members, and when rank and promotion ceremonies take place. High Winds is the magazine of the Sea Org. The first issue
1443-413: A curious incident occurred aboard USS Algol ; the ship's deck log records that Hubbard reported that he had discovered "an attempt at sabotage" consisting of a Coke bottle filled with gasoline with a cloth wick inserted, concealed among the ship's cargo. A few hours later Hubbard was ordered to depart the ship and proceed to Princeton. In later years, Hubbard asserted that the 1955 film Mister Roberts
1554-641: A duodenal ulcer. He reported sick with stomach pains in April 1945 and spent the remainder of the war on the sick list as a patient in Oak Knoll Naval Hospital in Oakland, California . A Church of Scientology account asserts that "eventual combat wounds would finally preclude him from serving with American occupation forces". In October 1945, a Naval Board found that he was "considered physically qualified to perform duty ashore, preferably within
1665-440: A handful of campaign medals and that he was never injured or wounded in combat and was never awarded a Purple Heart . Most of his military service was spent ashore in the continental United States on administrative or training duties. He briefly commanded two small anti-submarine vessels , USS YP-422 and USS PC-815 , in coastal waters off Massachusetts , Oregon and California in 1942 and 1943 respectively. He
1776-430: A major element of his public persona, as depicted by his Scientologist followers. The Church of Scientology presents Hubbard as a "much-decorated war hero who commanded a corvette and during hostilities was crippled and wounded". According to Scientology publications, he served as a "Commodore of Corvette squadrons" in "all five theaters of World War II" and was awarded "twenty-one medals and palms" for his service. He
1887-602: A member of the Marine Corps Reserve and, between 1941 and 1950, the Navy Reserve . He saw active service between 1941 and 1945, during World War II , as a naval lieutenant (junior grade) and later as a lieutenant . After the war he was mustered out of active service and resigned his commission in 1950. As with many other aspects of L. Ron Hubbard 's life, accounts of his military career are much disputed. His account of his military service later formed
1998-637: A new weapon... they'd bedded him down in a chain locker! They said that was the only available stateroom — Wet and miserable place." However, Hubbard fell out with a senior officer at the shipyard and sent a critical memorandum to the Vice-Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO) in Washington, D.C. The Commandant of the Navy Yard responded on September 25, 1942, by informing the VCNO that, in his view, Hubbard
2109-561: A private in the Headquarters Company of 163rd Infantry . In May 1930, at the age of 19, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve 20th Regiment, a training unit connected with George Washington University , where he was a student from 1930 to 1932. Hubbard attributed his service in the regiment to his need for "a little recreation. Life was dull. Fellow came up to me and he says, 'The Marine Reserves are organizing
2220-510: A select list of some of the current and former officials of Scientology organizations. This section contains a select list of former officials of a part of Church of Scientology who are known to have left the organization. Military career of L. Ron Hubbard The military career of L. Ron Hubbard saw the future founder of Scientology serving in the United States Armed Forces as
2331-450: A senior with "Sir". Work was hard and the schedule rigid with seven hours' sleep time from lights out to lights on, short meal breaks, no liberties and no free time ... When one young woman ordered into the RPF took the assignment too lightly, Hubbard created the RPF's RPF and assigned her to it, an even more degrading experience, cut off even from the RPF, kept under guard, forced to clean
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#17327729695432442-452: A set of orders for the ship. By that time I had the squadron." Biographical accounts published by the Church of Scientology have described Hubbard as commanding the "Fourth British Corvette Squadron" and Hubbard himself stated that he "was running British corvettes during the war". A biographical interview with Hubbard published in 1956 speaks of him commanding "the former British corvette,
2553-447: A ship's ladder. Hubbard's war medals have also been an issue of contention. Although the Church of Scientology has stated that Hubbard was "highly decorated for duties under fire", the actual number of decorations said to have been awarded to Hubbard has varied considerably over the years. In a 1968 interview with British journalists, Hubbard showed his visitors sixteen war medals that he claimed to have been awarded. A few months later,
2664-610: A ship, La Bohème , which they renamed Freewinds . OT VIII , the highest auditing level of Scientology currently available, is exclusive to the Freewinds and can only be undertaken there. The ship also hosts various courses, seminars, conventions and events throughout the year, including the annual Maiden Voyage celebration. According to Hubbard, the Sea Org's mission is "an exploration into both time and space". Sea Org members act as goodwill representatives and administrators of Scientology; all policy and administrative posts in
2775-555: A small fixed allowance (Sea Org) or are paid based on a share-percentage of the organization's weekly gross receipts. Occasionally, those who work in sales or fundraising posts may have a chance for bonuses . Sea Org members who work for one of the for-profit corporations in the network are paid a minimum wage, reduced by deductions for housing and other expenses, bringing their pay back in line with other Sea Org allowances. The employees of Hubbard's Org are not merely officials, but also disciples . Hence commitment of staff to
2886-403: A small weekly allowance. Sea Org members agree to strict codes of discipline, such as disavowing premarital sex , working long hours (on average at least 100 hours per week) and living in communal housing called berthing . They are allowed to marry, but must leave the Sea Org if they have or want to raise children. According to Hubbard, much of the galaxy, including Earth (known as "Teegeeack"),
2997-531: A spiritual commitment that is factually beyond the full understanding of the [Internal Revenue] Service or any other but a trained and audited Scientologist. The Sea Org was established on August 12, 1967, by L. Ron Hubbard , the founder of Dianetics and Scientology , initially on board three ships, the Avon River , the Enchanter , and HMS Royal Scotsman . Hubbard later rechristened the three vessels to
3108-402: A submarine and do not think a submarine was in the area." Fletcher also noted that there was a "known magnetic deposit in the area in which depth charges were dropped". The clear implication was that Hubbard had been targeting the deposit all along. Hubbard nonetheless continued to claim that he had sunk at least one Japanese submarine. Years later, in 1956, he told Scientologists: I dropped
3219-422: A subsequent investigation. He was hospitalized for the last seven months of his active service, not with injuries but with an acute duodenal ulcer . The Church of Scientology rejects the official record and insists that Hubbard had a second set of records that the U.S. Navy has concealed. According to the Church's chief spokesman, if it was true that Hubbard had not been injured, "the injuries that he handled by
3330-491: A telephone, called the Secretary of [the] Navy. See, and I said, "I'm tired of this place. I'd like to leave." And he said, "Yeah." I said, "Yeah, I've got some important despatches. As a matter of fact, we've got enough despatches here to practically sink the Japanese navy if they had to carry them. There's a lot of traffic and stuff like that, and so forth." So he sent his plane down and picked me up and flew me home. Hubbard
3441-645: A three-month training course in military administration at the School of Military Government , a faculty that had been established on the campus of Princeton University , but was not part of the University itself, although Hubbard later asserted that he had been a Princeton student. His commanding officer approved the detachment and gave Hubbard a generally good fitness report, rating him to be "of excellent personal and military character" though he "is very temperamental and often has his feelings hurt". On September 27,
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3552-467: A twentieth regiment. Why don't you come down?'" He made the dubious claim of being rapidly promoted to the rank of First Sergeant ; Hubbard later explained his unusually rapid promotion as being due to his unit being newly formed and his superiors being unable to "find anyone else who could drill". He stated that he was rated 'excellent' for military efficiency, obedience and sobriety. On October 22, 1931, Hubbard received an honorable discharge along with
3663-454: A verified Japanese submarine attack against Fort Stevens about 50 miles (80 km) further north in June 1942 and there had been an invasion scare in southern California earlier in 1942. Hubbard claimed to have "definitely sunk, beyond doubt" one submarine and critically damaged another. His view was not shared by his superiors. After reviewing the action reports and interviewing Hubbard and
3774-566: A week, such as painting, plumbing, and upkeep of grounds. The work may involve teaching the member a skill such as carpentry. Members also spend five hours a day studying with an auditing partner. Former Scientologist Jon Atack argued, in A Piece of Blue Sky (1990), that treatment of Sea Org members in the RPF was a "careful imitation of techniques long-used by the military to obtain unquestioning obedience and immediate compliance to orders, or more simply to break men's spirits ..." One former member, Gerry Armstrong , said that during his time in
3885-811: Is a pure invention."" The novel was reportedly "loosely based on [Heggen's] service on the USS ; Virgo ". At the conclusion of his course at the School of Military Government, Hubbard failed to pass his examinations – finishing only mid-way down the class list – and did not qualify for an overseas posting. He was posted in January 1945 to the Naval Civil Affairs Staging Area in Monterey, California , for further training but, as he later acknowledged, he became depressed and fell ill with
3996-407: Is actually Lieutenant Commander Axton P. [ sic ] Jones. L. Ron Hubbard as "Mister Roberts" was with the ship less than a year, however, and contrary to the script, was not killed at Okinawa. George Malko comments that "this [claim] has never been substantiated" and notes that the author of the original novel, Thomas Heggen , "would only say about Roberts: "He is too good to be true, he
4107-470: Is believed to have been sincere in his efforts to make his ship efficient and ready. Not considered qualified for command or promotion at this time. Recommend duty on a large vessel where he can be properly supervised." On the same day that Hubbard was sent a formal letter of admonition, he reported sick with complaints of epigastric pains and possible malaria . In his Affirmations , Hubbard later recorded: "Your stomach trouble you used as an excuse to keep
4218-590: Is offloaded (fired) or breaks their contract by leaving before its term completion, they are immediately invoiced for all services rendered during their employment. Since Sea Org members sign perpetual contracts, their invoice—called a "freeloader bill"—can be quite high; no waivers or reductions being given for years of service rendered. If a person leaves before their contract termination date without performing specific steps for leaving (called "routing out" ), they are considered "blown" and such individuals will often be declared suppressive . This section contains
4329-435: Is the matter of wounds or injuries suffered on active service." Hubbard asserted after the war that he had been "blinded with injured optic nerves, and lame with physical injuries to hip and back... Yet I worked my way back to fitness and strength in less than two years, using only what I knew about Man and his relationship to the universe." Accounts published by the Church of Scientology asserted that he had been "flown home in
4440-407: Is widely recognized as the effective head of the church. Church of Scientology personnel are bound by policy as written by L. Ron Hubbard and by orders from any senior. Each staff member is junior to those above them on the organizational chart (called an "org board" ) and is senior to those under them. Scientology members (also called "public" ) are those individuals who are not on staff, who pay
4551-661: The I-76 or the Imperial Japanese Navy Trans-Pacific Submarine down into the mouth of the Columbia River, dead duck. And it went down with a resounding furor. And that was that. In another lecture, he commented: I know one officer that was reprimanded for taking on a submarine three times the size of his ship and sinking it – a Japanese submarine. And he was called in and reprimanded. That doesn't sound possible, does it? After
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4662-557: The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission in 2022, the Church of Scientology Religious Education College Incorporated, Scientology's UK arm, claimed to have a total of 700 "volunteers" (including Sea Org) across Saint Hill, London, Manchester, Birmingham and other UK organizations. According to scholar Susan Raine, Hubbard created the Sea Org as a "kind of space navy, melding [sci-fi] space ideas with Earthbound naval ones." Hubbard biographer Jon Atack recalled
4773-562: The Caribbean ; he was sent instead to the shipyard of George Lawley & Son of Neponset, Massachusetts , where the fishing trawler MV Mist was being converted for military use as a naval yard patrol (YP) vessel. The navy commandeered numerous fishing vessels and redesignated them as YP boats, tasked with defending coastal waters against enemy submarines and delivering food and equipment to military personnel offshore; they were particularly prized for having refrigeration units. The vessel
4884-703: The Diana , the Athena , and the Apollo . The Apollo served as the flagship, or simply called "Flag", and Hubbard was referred to as Commodore. In 1971, the Sea Org assumed responsibility for the delivery of the upper levels of its auditing and training, known as the Operating Thetan or "OT" levels. In 1981, under the aegis of the Commodore's Messenger Organization led by David Miscavige, Sea Org members dissolved
4995-525: The Guardian's Office (GO) and assumed full responsibility for the church's international management, later reassigning the GO's duties to the Office of Special Affairs in 1983 during the corporate restructuring of the Church. It moved to land-based organizations in 1975, though maritime customs persist, with many members wearing naval-style uniforms and addressing both male and female officers as "sir". In 1985,
5106-589: The Internal Revenue Service , as well as from the governments of the United Kingdom , Australia , and Rhodesia . Sailing on the high seas meant the church could escape their attention. In 2000 the number of Sea Org members was listed at around 5,800. Most Sea Org members reside in church complexes in Los Angeles, Clearwater, Copenhagen, London, Saint Hill, and Sydney, with some at smaller centers or on assignment elsewhere. According to reports filed with
5217-601: The Mist ". (The only British naval vessel named Mist was an Admiralty drifter , one of a number of small wooden vessels constructed for the Royal Navy in 1918. ) Hubbard also asserted that he had sustained wounds "aboard a corvette in the North Atlantic". A biographical profile published in 2008 by the Scientology-related imprint Galaxy Press asserts that Hubbard "served with distinction in four theaters and
5328-463: The PC-815 . Hubbard stated in his 18-page after-action report that he had intended to force the submarine to surface so that it could be attacked by the surface vessels' guns. He reported that his vessel had seen oil on the surface, though PC-815 took no samples, and asserted that the blimps had seen air bubbles, oil and a periscope, though the blimps' own reports did not corroborate this. No wreckage
5439-806: The Philippines via Australia . He was put ashore in Brisbane in January 1942 when his ship was re-routed. In 1963, Hubbard told Australian journalists that he had been "the only anti-aircraft battery in Australia in 1941–42... There was me and a Thompson submachine gun ... I was a mail officer and I was replaced, I think, by a Captain, a couple of commanders and about 15 junior officers." Another Church of Scientology account describes Hubbard as "Senior Officer Present Ashore in Brisbane, Australia" and asserts that "his duties included counter-intelligence and
5550-558: The Sea Org , staff are routinely removed from post and reassigned to the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF), a forced labor and re-indoctrination program. Removing a staff members completely from the organization is called "offloading". Sea Org members are heavily discouraged from engaging in any family activities such as the raising of children, and are expected to spend their entire waking hours in service to
5661-545: The US Coast Guard patrol boats Bonham and 78302 , and the subchasers USS SC-536 and USS SC-537, to assist it in the search for the suspected enemy vessels. Hubbard was given temporary command of the vessels on the afternoon of May 19. The larger subchaser PC-778 also joined the submarine search, though it found no indication of submarines and its commander was subsequently castigated by Hubbard for his refusal to lay its own larger stock of depth charges or resupply
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#17327729695435772-648: The Church of Scientology purchased HMS Royal Scotsman which they renamed the Apollo , which was used as the Sea Org's flagship . In 1975, the church sold the Sea Org's ships and moved the organization to land bases around the world, which as of 2003, were operating in Clearwater, Copenhagen, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Saint Hill Manor in the UK, and Sydney, with smaller offices in Budapest, Johannesburg, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, and Toronto. In 1987, they purchased
5883-680: The Church of Scientology. Further paralleling the institutional order of developed societies, ... Hubbard has strategically used that authority to establish Scientology upon the legal-rational basis of an almost ideal-typical bureaucracy. This social world is run along formal lines defined by "Policy"—the stream of bulletins and material written or authorized by Hubbard, periodically compiled into thick volumes and treated for all intents and purposes as law. Policy specifies every aspect of organizational life. Though formal training courses are available for all posts, staff members are expected to be proficient at all times, whether trained or not. All posts have
5994-467: The EPF as soon as all the required courses have been completed and upon successfully undergoing a mandatory "7A Security Check", they are then allowed to join the Sea Org as full members. Sea Org recruits verbally agree to an 18-point code or pledge as part of a swearing in ceremony. Members formally reaffirm their acceptance of this code annually on August 12, the day when the organization was founded. In 1967,
6105-679: The Navy from punishing you." After 77 days on the sick list, it was finally determined that he was suffering from a duodenal ulcer . In October 1943, he asked to be transferred to landing craft and was sent on a six-week training course at the Naval Small Craft Training Center in San Pedro, California . He was then ordered in December 1943 to join the crew of USS Algol , an attack cargo ship, to assist with
6216-429: The Navy had hushed up the incident, fearing that the presence of Japanese submarines so close to the Pacific coast might cause panic. Following its return to Astoria, USS PC-815 was ordered to escort a new aircraft carrier to San Diego, where the subchaser was to participate in exercises. On June 28, 1943, Hubbard ordered his crew to fire four shells from the ship's 3-inch gun and a number of rifle and pistol shots in
6327-519: The Org is secured by ideological means, replacing the need for the attractions of tenure, secure salary and orderly promotion through a work hierarchy. Staff are required to keep " stats " (short for "statistics")—a count of their production. They perform weekly evaluations of their own stats and are required to chart the stats on a graph, declare their " ethics condition " for last week's production, and write up their "ethics formula", laying out their plans for
6438-553: The Potomac River Naval Command, and I got my resignation accepted. According to the US Navy, "There is no evidence on record of an attempt to recall him to active duty." As the psychologist and computer scientist Christopher Evans has noted, "One aspect of [Hubbard's] war record that is particularly confused, and again typical of the mixture of glamour and obscurantism which surrounds Hubbard and his past,
6549-557: The Sea Org called the "SEALs", named after the United States Navy SEALs , who receive better lodging, sustenance, and uniforms than other Sea Org members. Lawrence Wright wrote in The New Yorker in 2011 that the Sea Org used small children drawn from Scientology families for what the article described as forced child labor. The article described extremely inhumane conditions, with children spending years in
6660-428: The Sea Org in the 1970s he spent over two years banished to the RPF as a punishment: It was essentially a prison to which crew who were considered nonproducers, security risks, or just wanted to leave the Sea Org, were assigned. Hubbard's RPF policies established the conditions. RPF members were segregated and not allowed to communicate to anyone else. They had their own spaces and were not allowed in normal crew areas of
6771-546: The Sea Org is reminiscent of the "Soldiers of Light" in Hubbard's science fiction story collection Ole Doc Methuselah . The publicized goal of the Sea Org is to "get ethics in on the planet". Academic Stephen A. Kent has argued that at least part of the reason for the establishment of the Sea Org was that the Church of Scientology's practices encountered resistance from the American Food and Drug Administration and
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#17327729695436882-433: The Sea Org on weekends or about an hour a day. Children of members have themselves joined the Sea Org when they came of age. Several former members have said they were advised (or even forced) to have an abortion when they became pregnant to avoid being sent to lower organizations. Scientology presents itself as opposed to abortion and actively speaks out against it in its publications. The Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF)
6993-488: The Sea Org, sequestered from mainstream life. Scientology officials The Church of Scientology network operates as a multinational conglomerate of companies with personnel, executives , organizational charts , chains of command , policies and orders. Religious Technology Center is the most powerful executive organization within the Scientology empire, and its current chairman, David Miscavige ,
7104-488: The Sea Organization, the term Sea Org has a colloquial usage which implies that there is. There are general recruitment posters and literature for "The Sea Org" which implies that people will be employed by the Sea Org when in reality they will join, making the billion year commitment, at some church that is staffed by Sea Org members and become employees of that church corporation. [...] The Sea Org exists as
7215-617: The USA on December 8, 1941, arriving in Brisbane via USS President Polk , and was ordered back to the USA in February 1942 via the USS Chaumont . However, the Church of Scientology asserts Hubbard landed in Java in late February 1942 and the raft story followed when Hubbard had "missed the last departing allied aircraft on March 6th". In a 1956 lecture to Scientologists, Hubbard said: I
7326-660: The VA was also included, including letters in which he requested psychiatric treatment to address his "long periods of moroseness" and "suicidal inclinations". He continued to complain to the VA about various physical ailments into the 1950s, well after he had founded Dianetics . The Times noted that Hubbard had promised that Dianetics would provide "a cure for the very ailments that plagued the author himself then and throughout his life, including allergies, arthritis, ulcers and heart problems". Other documents on Hubbard's medical file stated that he had injured his back in 1942 after falling off
7437-850: The annotation "not to be re-enlisted". Hubbard joined the United States Navy during the summer of 1941, a few months before the United States entered the Second World War. He applied in March 1941 and was commissioned as a lieutenant, junior grade in the Naval Reserve on July 19, 1941. Hubbard was called to active duty in November. He specifically volunteered for "Special Service (intelligence duties)", an assignation recorded on his commission papers. He spent only
7548-540: The area so the danger was over, so I went home. I wrote myself some orders and reported back to the US." According to the Church of Scientology, Hubbard was landed on the island of Java "in the closing days of February 1942" to search for "stockpiled weapons and fast, shallow-draft vessels". He was cut off by invading Japanese "and was only able to escape the island after scrambling into a rubber raft and paddling out to meet an Australian destroyer". Another officer's testimony in
7659-531: The church purchased a 440-foot (130 m) motor vessel , the Freewinds , which docks in Curaçao in the southern Caribbean and is used as a religious retreat and training center, staffed entirely by Sea Org members. Sea Org members make a lifetime commitment to Scientology by signing a billion-year contract officially described as a symbolic pledge. In exchange, members are given free room and board, as well as
7770-461: The church's key organizations are held by Sea Org members. Sea Org are housed in communal housing, which they call berthing , and receive a basic allowance of about $ 50 per week. In accordance with Scientology beliefs , members are expected to return to the Sea Org when they are reborn; the Sea Org's motto is Revenimus , ("We Come Back"). Members must therefore sign a symbolic billion-year commitment, pledging to "get ethics in on this planet and
7881-437: The commitment and attending the induction. Once induction is completed, the final decision to join is made. Members who leave the Sea Org are issued a "freeloader's bill", retroactively billing them for any auditing or training they have received. Although the bill is not legally enforceable, these Scientologists may not receive services at any Scientology organization until they pay the bill and perform an amends program. From
7992-454: The continental United States", in reflection of his chronic ulcer. He was discharged from the hospital and mustered out of active service on December 6, 1945. He resigned his commission in October 1950. According to the Church of Scientology, he quit because the US Navy had "attempted to monopolize all his researches and force him to work on a project "to make man more suggestible" and when he
8103-568: The direction of the Coronado Islands , off which the ship anchored for the night. He did not realize that the islands belonged to Mexico , an ally, nor that he had taken USS PC-815 into Mexican territorial waters. The islands were garrisoned by a small detachment of Mexican Navy personnel during the war. The Mexican government complained and two days later, Hubbard found himself before a naval Board of Investigation in San Diego. He
8214-408: The duration of the EPF and are not allowed to have private or intimate contact with each other. While on the EPF, recruits are assigned an intensive daily regimen divided between five hours of manual labor and five hours of study and indoctrination known as "Product Zero". Scientology courses that are required to complete the EPF include: The EPF does not have a definite schedule. A recruit graduates
8325-525: The early 1970s to the start of the 21st century, the children of Sea Org members were often placed in the Cadet Org . Sea Org members may marry one another but are not permitted to marry outside the organization; extra-marital sex is also prohibited. Couples with children must leave the Sea Org and return to other staff positions within the church until the child is six years old; thereafter the children are raised communally and allowed to visit their parents in
8436-425: The early hours of May 19, PC-815 ' s sonar detected what the crew believed to be an enemy submarine off Cape Lookout , about 10 to 12 miles offshore. Over the next two and a half days, Hubbard ordered his crew to fire a total of 35 depth charges and a number of gun rounds to target what Hubbard believed to be two Imperial Japanese Navy submarines . PC-815 was joined by the US Navy blimps K-39 and K-33 ,
8547-421: The flash of a large-caliber gun. Hubbard himself told Scientologists in a taped lecture that he had suffered eye injuries after having had "a bomb go off in my face." He told Robert Heinlein , the science fiction writer, that "both of his feet had been broken ... when his last ship was bombed". According to Heinlein, Hubbard said that he "had had a busy war – sunk four times and wounded again and again". Hubbard
8658-535: The guys that were shipped out of there who had been wounded, were shipped out by slow boat. And I didn't, I wasn't that seriously done in. I hooked a ride on the Secretary of the Navy 's plane; produced the right set of orders (I hope nobody ever kept them on file) and got flown home. In another lecture of the same year, Hubbard provided an alternative version of his return to the United States: I picked up
8769-598: The late spring of 1942 in the secretary of the Navy's private plane as the first U.S.-returned casualty from the Far East". The Church of Scientology goes further, describing him as "the first American casualty of South Pacific combat". Thomas Moulton, Hubbard's executive officer on USS PC-815 , testified in 1984 that Hubbard had said that he had been shot in the Dutch East Indies , and that on another occasion Hubbard had told him that his eyes had been damaged by
8880-500: The later Armstrong cases , based on what Hubbard had told him , was that after Hubbard was wounded in the back by machine gun fire, he and another man sailed a life raft over 700 miles from Java to 75 miles off the coast of West Australia where they were picked up by a British or Australian destroyer. US Navy records do not show Hubbard spent any time on Java, and do not show any evidence of wounds or injuries sustained in combat. Naval documents presented in court show that Hubbard left
8991-481: The next two or three years I'd run into officers, and they would say "Hubbard? Hubbard? Hubbard? Are you the Hubbard that was in Australia?" And I'd say "Yes." And they's say "Oh!" Kind of, you know, horrified, like they didn't know whether they should quite talk to me or not, you know? Terrible man". Hubbard stated on another occasion that he had been "one of the first officers back from the upper battle areas" and when "Melbourne found out ... there were enough troops in
9102-414: The next week. Personnel whose production stats were lower than the prior week, or whose graph shows a general downtrending pattern, are dealt with by the " ethics officer ", often with harsh penalties. For example, certain conditions below "Normal" may preclude getting paid at all. Staff may be punished, though usually for lack of production or insubordination; not usually for basic behavioral matters. In
9213-565: The organization for training or auditing services, and who live and work separately from the Church of Scientology. Members defer to all staff personnel, who are seen as their seniors. All members and staff defer to Sea Org staff. Even though at-large members are not part of the organization proper, they are ranked within the entire chain of command and are frequently pressed into service for clerical or promotional tasks or recruiting new members. Members who recruit people for Scientology services are called "field staff members" (FSM) and are paid
9324-488: The organization of relief for beleaguered American forces on Bataan ." Hubbard would claim that he had "sent on my own authority, four cargo ships loaded to the gunwales with machine gun ammunition, rifle ammunition and quinine up to MacArthur ." Col. Merle-Smith, the US Naval Attaché to Australia, subsequently accused Hubbard of sending blockade-runner Don Isidro "three thousand miles out of her way". Hubbard
9435-438: The other commanders present, Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher noted: "An analysis of all reports convinces me that there was no submarine in the area. Lieutenant Commander Sullivan states that he was unable to obtain any evidence of a submarine except one bubble of air which is unexplained except by turbulence of water due to a depth charge explosion. The commanding officers of all ships except the PC-815 state they had no evidence of
9546-541: The service of the United States Navy'." Sixteen years later, the Los Angeles Times obtained Hubbard's medical records through the Freedom of Information Act . The records stated that Hubbard had told doctors that he had been "lamed" by a chronic hip infection, and that his eye problems were the result of conjunctivitis caused by exposure to "excessive tropical sunlight". Hubbard's post-war correspondence with
9657-488: The ship's bilges , and allowed even less sleep. Several scholars, writers and former members have compared the Sea Org to a paramilitary group. In Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography (2008), Andrew Morton described it as a "fraternal paramilitary organization", and wrote that members are instructed to read The Art of War by General Sun Tzu , and On War by General Carl von Clausewitz . He wrote that Scientology leader David Miscavige created an elite unit within
9768-597: The ship's fitting out and crew training in Portland, Oregon. The vessel was commissioned in July 1944 with Hubbard aboard in the role of Navigation and Training Officer. The next two months were occupied with training exercises off the California coast, but when the ship departed Oakland on October 4 for the western Pacific theater of operations, Hubbard was no longer aboard. Hubbard, however, applied instead to undertake
9879-417: The ship. They ate after normal crew had eaten, and only whatever was left over from the crew meal. Their berthing was the worst on board, in a roach-infested, filthy and unventilated cargo hold. They wore black boilersuits, even in the hottest weather. They were required to run everywhere. Discipline was harsh and bizarre, with running laps of the ship assigned for the slightest infraction like failing to address
9990-484: The universe". The church contends that the agreement is not a legally binding contract and is merely a symbolic demonstration of the dedication members are expected to give to the organization, and that they are free to leave if they wish. After signing, members report to the Estates Project Force, the Sea Org's induction program; J. Gordon Melton writes that members may take several years between signing
10101-593: The use of Dianetics procedures were never handled, because they were injuries that never existed; therefore, Dianetics is based on a lie; therefore, Scientology is based on a lie." Hubbard's first military service was with the Montana Army National Guard , which he joined at the age of 16 in October 1927 while still at school, falsely stating that his age was 18. Enlisting at the State Armory in his home town of Helena, Montana , he served as
10212-707: The war, the British Admiralty and the US Navy analysed the captured records of the Japanese navy to account for all of its vessels. Their reports do not list any Japanese submarine losses off the coast of the contiguous United States during the whole of the war. According to military records, I-76 was destroyed off Buka Island in the western Pacific by the destroyers USS Franks , USS Haggard and USS Johnston on May 16, 1944. Hubbard's crew however, who were very loyal to him, shared his conviction that they had engaged an enemy submarine. His second-in-command, Thomas Moulton, later asserted that
10323-624: Was "not temperamentally fitted for independent command" and requesting that Hubbard be removed and ordered to "other duty under immediate supervision of a more senior officer". Hubbard duly lost his command on October 1, 1942, and was ordered to New York, ending his service in the Atlantic. Various accounts of Hubbard's service in the North Atlantic have been put forward by the Church of Scientology and Hubbard himself. The Church of Scientology states in one publication that Hubbard "took command of an antisubmarine escort vessel with Atlantic convoys". In
10434-409: Was "severely wounded and was taken crippled and blinded" to a military hospital, where he "worked his way back to fitness, strength and full perception in less than two years, using only what he knew and could determine about Man and his relationship to the universe." However, his official Navy service records indicate that "his military performance was, at times, substandard", that he was only awarded
10545-411: Was based on his service aboard USS Algol with Henry Fonda 's eponymous character being based on Hubbard himself and James Cagney 's tyrannical character based on the commander of Algol . In a February 1956 lecture, Hubbard told Scientologists: "There was a story made about that vessel [ Algol ], by the way. It was called Mister Roberts . You may have seen this picture or read the book." According to
10656-684: Was challenged by a series of writers and journalists from the mid-1970s onwards. Writing in 1974, Evans noted that the Veterans Administration had confirmed that (even at that late stage in his life) Hubbard "receives $ 160 a month in compensation for disabilities incurred during the Second World War. However the conditions listed as being '40% disabling' are: duodenal ulcer, bursitis (right shoulder), arthritis , and blepharoconjunctivitis ." Evans noted: "a Navy Department spokesman has stated that 'an examination of Mr Hubbard's record does not reveal any evidence of injuries suffered while in
10767-519: Was commissioned as USS YP-422 on July 28, 1942, having been refitted as a freighter armed with a 3-inch deck gun and two .30-caliber machine guns . In August, YP-422 put to sea from the Boston Navy Yard to carry out a 27-hour training exercise. In 1954, Hubbard claimed that the crew had been prisoners who had been released to serve about the vessel. "This crew almost starved an officer to death one day... we were going out to test
10878-560: Was commissioned on April 21, 1943, with Hubbard in command and Lt (jg) Thomas Moulton, an officer with whom he had studied in Florida, as the ship's executive officer . The ship left Portland on May 18 to travel down the Columbia River to Astoria, Oregon , where she took on ammunition. After participating for a day in an air-sea rescue operation, USS PC-815 was ordered to sail to San Diego to commence its shakedown cruise. In
10989-447: Was created in January 1974 as a system of work camps set up by the Sea Org, intended to isolate and rehabilitate members who have not lived up to the church's expectations, have failed security checks , or have violated certain policies. RPF groups are located within Sea Org facilities, and there are no locks on the doors. Many ex-Sea Org members have reported gruelling treatment. On the RPF, one works eight hours of physical work six days
11100-580: Was flown in from the South Pacific as the first casualty to be shipped out of the South Pacific war back to the States. The war had been started in Pearl Harbor, and I'd been down in the South Pacific and – a lot of things happened down there. And the outfits down there were pretty well wiped out, as you can remember before the US and Great Britain started to fight and go back in. All right. Most of
11211-508: Was found to have disregarded orders by carrying out an unsanctioned gunnery practice and violating Mexican waters. He was reprimanded and removed from command, effective July 7. Rear Admiral Frank A. Braisted commented, in a fitness report written shortly after the Coronado incident, that he "consider[ed] this officer lacking in the essential qualities of judgment, leadership and cooperation. He acts without forethought as to probable results. He
11322-769: Was highly decorated for commanding corvettes in the North Pacific. He was also grievously wounded in combat [and] lost many a close friend and colleague ..." In November 1942, Hubbard was sent to the Submarine Chaser Training Center in Miami, Florida , for training on submarine chaser vessels. He subsequently undertook a 10-day anti-submarine warfare training course at the Fleet Sound School in Key West and on January 17, 1943, he
11433-672: Was ordered back to the United States at the instigation of the Attaché, who cabled Washington to complain about Hubbard: By assuming unauthorized authority and attempting to perform duties for which he has no qualifications, he became the source of much trouble... This officer is not satisfactory for independent duty assignment. He is garrulous and tries to give impressions of his importance. He also seems to think he has unusual ability in most lines. These characteristics indicate that he will require close supervision for satisfactory performance of any intelligence duty. Hubbard would later recall: "for
11544-637: Was posted to the Albina Engine & Machine Works in Portland, Oregon , where he was to take command of the subchaser USS PC-815 when she was commissioned. When Hubbard arrived in Portland, USS PC-815 was in the last stages of its construction. The ship, a 173 ft (53 m) steel-hulled subchaser of the PC-461 class, had been laid down on October 10, 1942, at the Albina shipworks. She
11655-651: Was posted to the Office of the Cable Censor in New York City after returning to the US at the end of March 1942. As the office had recently ceased to be an organ of Naval Intelligence, his status was amended to deck officer. He was also promoted (as part of a batch of other officers of the same grade) on June 15, 1942, to lieutenant, senior grade, the highest rank he was to hold during his active service. In June 1942 he requested that he be assigned to sea duty in
11766-454: Was released on Sea Org Day 1980. All new recruits are required to complete compulsory novitiate before they are allowed to join the Sea Org, which has been described as a boot camp . During this phase, known as the Estates Project Force (EPF), recruits are not considered to be full Sea Org members. They are required to address all members as "sir", regardless of rank, and must run everywhere instead of walking. Married couples are separated for
11877-484: Was removed from command of both vessels and rated by his superiors as being unsuitable for independent duties and "lacking in the essential qualities of judgment, leadership and cooperation". Although Hubbard asserted that he had attacked and crippled or sunk two Japanese submarines off Oregon while in command of USS PC-815 , his claim was rejected by the commander of the Northwest Sea Frontier after
11988-561: Was ruled tens of millions of years ago by the Galactic Confederacy. The confederacy was controlled by a tyrant named Xenu , who was eventually overthrown by a group within the Galactic Confederacy known as the "Loyal Officers". Religious scholar Hugh Urban writes that the Sea Org is modeled after these Loyal Officers. Urban also describes the Sea Org, with the naval uniforms and ranks, as an idealized re-creation of Hubbard's own World War II military career . He also states that
12099-514: Was said to have "twice been pronounced dead" and to have spent a year in a naval hospital which he "utilized in the study of endocrine substances and protein". The techniques that he developed "made possible not only his own recovery from injury, but helped other servicemen to regain their health". On another occasion, Hubbard said that he had been hospitalized because "I was utterly exhausted. I'd just been in combat theater after combat theater, you see, with no rest, no nothing between." This account
12210-435: Was seen, despite the heavy depth-charging. PC-815 sustained some minor damage and three crew were injured during the incident when the ship's radio antenna was accidentally hit by gunfire. At midnight on 21 May, with depth charges exhausted and the presence of a submarine still unconfirmed by any other ship, PC-815 was ordered back to Astoria. The incident attracted the attention of the naval high command, as there had been
12321-547: Was unwilling, tried to blackmail him by ordering him back to active duty to perform this function. Having many friends he was able to instantly resign from the Navy and escape this trap." Hubbard himself told Scientologists: [T]he Office of Naval Intelligence right here in Washington, DC, threatened to call me to active duty to use what I knew about the mind. ... [T]his officer from the Office of Naval Research came to see me right here in Washington and he wanted me to go on as
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