Scientology Glossary

If you have read stories on this site or talked to people that have escaped, chances are that they used a few words that you did not totally understand.  We have provided a Glossary here that while it may not be complete, it is a start.

BLOWN FOR GOOD – GLOSSASRY

ABLE Int – Association for Better Living and Education. The Association for Better Living and Education International, a California non-profit corporation, which controls and directs the “continental” ABLE offices and directs four other non-profit corporations Narconon International, Applied Scholastics International, Criminon International and the Way To Happiness Foundation International. These are all organizations that propagate Scientology’s anti-drug, morality and literacy programs.

AC – Advisory Council. Every Scientology organization has an Advisory Council which is comprised of the heads of each of their organization’s major divisions.

Academy Levels – The Academy Levels are the training courses offered to teach a person the basic procedures of Scientology auditing.

AOLA – Advanced Organization of Los Angeles. Advanced Organizations are called that because they deliver the upper OT Levels of Scientology, up to OT V.

AOSH EU – Advanced Organization & Saint Hill of Europe. An organization called a Saint Hill refers to the fact that they deliver the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course, one of the more advanced levels of auditor training (referred to as a Class VI).

AOSH UK – Advanced Organization & Saint Hill of United Kingdom

Apple School – A school located in Los Feliz, California during the 1970’s through early 1980’s that used some of the study technology devised by L. Ron Hubbard. The school administration refused to cooperate with demands that they pay licensing fees and follow the strict rules of Scientology and the heads of the school were declared Suppressive Persons and all Scientologists with kids going to the school were directed to take them out of the school.

Applied Scholastics – Applied Scholastics is the organization that owns the copyrights to the secularized materials of L. Ron Hubbard that deal with studying. In order to use this “study technology” in schools, it must first be approved by Applied Scholastics and properly licensed.

ASHO – American Saint Hill Organization located in Los Angeles. Pronounced Ash-Ho.
ASI – Authored Services Incorporated. This is the organization to whom L. Ron Hubbard signed over all of his literary works. ASI is paid royalties for all of the books and materials that are sold by Scientology.

A/V – Audio Visual.

AVC – Authorization Verification and Correction. This is the Sea Organization unit which approves any and all locally written issues or directives concerning Scientology or its management. AVC International was located in Religious Technology Center until 2004 when David Miscavige transferred the unit and all of its functions and staff into CMO International.

Backflash – Backflash is when a Sea Org member or Scientologist gives an unnecessary response to an order.  Anything besides “Yes Sir” is effectively defined as Backflash. In the Sea Org, backflash is strictly prohibited.

BI – Bad Indicators. Anything non optimum is considered a BI.

Battle Plan or BP – This is a daily to do list compiled. It is firm policy in all Scientology organizations that every single staff member write up a battleplan every single day.

Berthing – This is where the Sea Org members of Scientology organizations are housed. In most instances this is dorm like housing with multiple staff staying in bunk beds or cramped quarters.

Berthing Buildings – These are the buildings that were erected at the Scientology Int Base to house all of the staff working there. Each one of the buildings is named after a Scottish family and each building has its own family crest and it is called the “______(family name) Hall”.

Black PR – Black Propaganda (also commonly referred to as BPR). Any person who engages in criticizing or questioning Scientology, its staff, members or principles is said to have Black PR. Conversely, any so called “critics” are usually silenced or intimidated by digging up any and all Black PR (whether real but more often imagined) and spreading this to “Dead Agent” the person – ie. try to render their opinion meaningless so they will no longer be listened to.

Blow – This is any unauthorized departure from any Scientology organization.

Blow Drill – Similar to a fire drill, a blow drill is called when someone leaves the Int Base without authorization. This could be from someone escaping over the perimeter fence or found to be missing at one of the regular musters or roll calls that are held throughout the day to account for all staff. Several staff are dispatched to bus stations, airports, local hotels, etc. to locate the person. Major airline flight records are searched for tickets being purchased under the staff member’s name and the person is generally hunted down until “recovered” or they have been declared officially blown and not able to be found. Blow drills have taken anywhere from 3 hours to 3 weeks, and involves anywhere from 20 to 50 staff. Mostly this depends on how and why the person blew and what the risk is to let them leave versus their necessity to be gotten back to the property.

Blown – Anyone who has left a scientology organization without proper authorization is considered “Blown”

The Bridge – This is the progressive steps one is required to take to further his or her knowledge in Scientology. Also called the Bridge to Total Freedom.  It includes both training and processing (or auditing).

Bridge Publications – This is the Los Angeles based publications organization that produces all of the printed materials of Scientology in the United States. All of the employees of Bridge Publications are Sea Org members.

BTB – Board Technical Bulletin. These are technical issues that were written in the 1970’s through 1980’s. While some of these were written by L Ron Hubbard, most were written by others based on directions from L. Ron Hubbard. In the 1990’s David Miscavige had nearly all BTB’s cancelled.

Building 36: Building 36 is the brand new state of the art Manufacturing building that was built in the early 1990s for Golden Era Productions that houses production facilities for HEM (Hubbard E-Meter Manufacturing) and both 16MM and Cassette Tape Production. Building 36 also houses the Executive, HCO, Dissemination, Treasury, and Port Captain Division offices of Golden Era Productions.

BV: Bonnie View or Beautiful View – This is LRH’s house that sits at the highest elevation of the Int Base property and has a beautiful view of the property.  The house was built from the ground up based on LRH advices. The entire house has different furnishings for each season that are routinely swapped out. Furniture, drapes, beds sheets etc. are all custom designed to match each season of the year.

CAN – Canada.

Canteen – Most Sea Organizations have a canteen which serves as the commissary or single location where snacks and personal hygiene supplies can be purchased. According to L. Ron Hubbard policy, canteens are supposed to operate at a profit to fund upgrades to the local facilities.

Car School – At Sea Org bases where staff are required to drive vehicles as part of their functions, a course is required to be completed before one can drive a car. This is regardless of already having a license or how many years of experience one has driving a car. In order to drive any sort of motorized vehicle, Car school is required. If a Sea Org member gets a traffic citation of any kind, the appropriate section of the course must be restudied. If multiple traffic citations are collected or the Sea Org member gets into an accident of any kind, their privilege to drive is revoked and they are taken “off the road” and not allowed to drive anymore. One staff member at the Int base who got into an accident was not allowed to drive again until she had retrained on Car School and reached the level of OT 3 (as ordered by David Miscavige).

Case Gain – In order to progress up auditing levels, one must make gains on their “case”. People that are SPs (Suppressive Person) or PTS (Potential Trouble Source) cannot make case gain. If a person does well after auditing or has personal wins he is said to have made case gain.

CC – Celebrity Center. There are several celebrity centers located all around the world. These centers are specifically for the recruitment and training of local celebrities into Scientology.

CC INT – This is Celebrity Center International and is located in Hollywood, California. It is located in a historic building that was purchased by Scientology in the 1970’s.

Checkout – This is a required step in Scientology training where a student quizzes another student on the materials they have studied. If the person does not pass the quiz, they are required to restudy the materials and find out what they did not understand and get another quiz until they pass.

Chinese School – This is a memorization technique which involves a group of people chanting a specific phrase or paragraph of written material over and over off of a huge board or paper scroll until they can read it back verbatim without the use of the written aid.

CIC – Control Information Center. This is the department in CMO units which has all of the pertinent information regarding its subordinate organizations that it’s responsible for. They have statistics graphed weekly for all the lower organizations as well as maps and binders containing any and all facts about the organizations and their operations.

Complex – This is the large hospital complex that was purchased by Scientology in the 1970’s. The buildings were all painted blue and this is where several Los Angeles based organizations are located. Bridge Publications, AOLA, ASHO and LA DAY, CLO WUS, CMO PAC, INCOMM, PBC, are all located at “The Complex”. This area is sometimes referred to as “Big Blue” or “PAC”.

Comm Ev – Committee of Evidence. This is a disciplinary or justice procedure that takes place within Scientology. It consists of a minimum of four staff members, named at random – a Chairman, a Secretary and two members whose duty it is to interview, review evidence and determine if a staff member is guilty or not guilty of listed Scientology crimes they are being accused of.

Conditions – These are states of existence that have been laid out by L. Ron Hubbard. In order to progress into better states of Existence, one must follow the exact steps of a “formula” and once completed, one should rise up into the next condition.

Class V Org – This is a local Scientology organization that is staffed by local Scientologists. They can only deliver Scientology auditing and training materials up to Class V (generally known as Clears), thus they are called Class V orgs. In order to get further training and auditing, local Scientologists must go to their continental Advanced Organization or the Flag Land Base, which is where they will go on to the OT Levels.

Clearance Unit – This is the CMO unit in Los Angeles that handles the “clearance” of individuals that are slated to work at the Int Base or any other high level Scientology organizations that require a special security clearance.  ASI, CMO INT, CMO Gold, CST, Exec Strata, GOLD, INCOMM and RTC all require special extensive security clearances and get approved by RTC before a staff member is even allowed to travel to them for placement.

Cleaning Station – Each and every Sea Org or staff member is required to clean a specific portion of the organization they are employed at daily. This is their “cleaning station”.

CLO – Continental Liaison Office. This is the local Sea Org unit that is responsible for reporting up on and managing the Scientology organizations in its continent.  These units are located in Canada (CAN), Eastern United States (EUS), Western United States (WUS), Europe (EU), United Kingdom (UK), Africa (AF), Australia, New Zealand and Oceania (ANZO), Latin America (LATAM), and more recently the Commonwealth of Independent States in Russia (CIS).

CMO – This is the Commodore’s Messenger Organization. This is an organization that was formed specifically by and for L. Ron Hubbard to manage all of the operations of the Sea Org and Organizations all over the world. After the Sea Organization was formed in the 70s, Hubbard referred to himself as Commodore. And staff recruited into the CMO, were said to be his messengers. Thus the name. They oversee the execution of any and all programs and expansion plans written by L. Ron Hubbard and enforce compliance to these. CMO International or CMO INT located at the Int Base in Gilman Hot Springs, California, runs all of the individual units around the world. There are CMO units located in Canada (CAN), Clearwater (CW), Eastern United States (EUS), Golden Era Productions (GOLD), Hollywood (IXU), Western United States (PAC), Europe (EU), United Kingdom (UK), Africa (AF), Australia, New Zealand and Oceania (ANZO), Freewinds (SHIP) Latin America (LATAM), and more recently the Commonwealth of Independent States in Russia (CIS).

CMU – Central Marketing Unit. This is the marketing unit located at the Int Base that provides all of the central promotion and advertising for Scientology around the world.

COB RTC – Chairman of the Board, Religious Technology Center. Currently this position is held by David Miscavige. He took over this position in 1986, shortly after the death of L. Ron Hubbard.

CO CMO INT – Commanding Officer Commodore’s Messenger Org International. This post has been held by many people over the past 20 years but mainly by Marc Yager. Both Marc Yager and Dave Miscavige started in the CMO together in the 1970’s and eventually worked together shooting Scientology Technical Training films for L. Ron Hubbard and then occupied the two top management positions in Scientology Internationally.

CO GOLD – Commanding Officer Golden Era Productions.

Course – A series of steps that one does in Scientology on a given subject. Also within Scientology, when one regularly attends daily classes, this is commonly referred to as being “on course”.

Criminon – This is the organization that uses materials written by L. Ron Hubbard to attempt to rehabilitate convicted criminals.

Cross Order – In Scientology this is when a senior gives an order that either disagrees or crosses another senior order or policy that has already been laid out.

C/S – Case Supervisor. This is the staff member that reviews a person’s auditing and determines the next step they must do. Whatever the C/S directs, the auditor (person who delivers Scientology auditing to its members) must follow exactly.

CSI – Church of Scientology International. CSI includes four of the five organizations housed at the Int Base in Gilman Hot Springs – CMO Int, Exec Strata, CMO Gold and Gold.

CST – Church of Spiritual Technology. Also called “Archives”. This is the Sea Organization that is responsible for archiving all of L. Ron Hubbard’s materials on special archival materials that can withstand a nuclear war so that they will be available to future races on Earth.

CSW – Completed Staff Work. This is a regularly used request form used in all Scientology organizations that requires an employee to list out the situation, data and solution to the thing that they are trying to do. In order to purchase something, take a day off, visit one’s dying Grandmother or even request the smallest of items not commonly required by one’s post functions requires getting a CSW approved by one’s seniors and sometimes many other senior staff members.

CTO – Continental Training Organization. These are the local Sea Org training facilities that are located wherever there is a CLO.

CW – Clearwater. Location of the Flag Land Base.

D/CO I – Deputy Commanding Officer for Internal. This is a post that is usually located only in Sea Org Units. This post usually deals with internal issues such as personnel and local flaps that require internal organization handlings. This includes running the “internal” divisions of the organization – Executive, HCO, Dissemination and Treasury.

Declared – When someone is deemed a Suppressive Person, most Scientologists refer to this person as being “declared”. This is from the fact that when a person is considered a Suppressive Person, a written issue on goldenrod paper usually comes out  and is posted on all public notice boards that is called a “SUPPRESSIVE PERSON DECLARE”. Thousands and thousands of people have been declared SP’s by Scientology. When someone is declared a Suppressive Person, no Scientologists (family, friends or otherwise) are allowed to have any contact with them of any kind or form. The only way to be “undeclared” is to follow a lengthy program that includes and mandates getting back “in good” as a Scientologist, and often involves paying large sums of money to Scientology.

Delphi – This is a Scientology run school that has several locations around the United States. The school not only uses Scientology materials in the teachings of its students, but in most cases the teachers and administrative staff are Scientologists and the entire school is managed with L. Ron Hubbard administrative technology as well.

Del Sol: One of the buildings on the Int Base in Gilman Hot Springs, California. This is where the Commodores’ Messenger Org International, WDC (Watch Dog Committee) and Executive Strata International and were located. Del Sol used to be the main hotel unit for the Gilman Hot Springs Resort. It has since been converted into the staff auditing facility for the Int Base.

Dept Head – Department Head. In both Sea Org and Scientology organizations, each leader of a Department is called the Dept Head. Each organization in Scientology generally has seven divisions. Each division consists of three departments. The Department heads report to their direct senior, the Division Head.

Div Head – In both Sea Org and Scientology organizations, each leader of a Division is called the Div Head. The Div Heads report to their direct senior, the Executive Secs who in turn report to the Commanding Officer (or head) of their organization.

Drug Rundown – A Scientology auditing procedure that is meant to handle a person’s past use of drugs.

Eagle – This is a security lookout location that is cut into the side of the mountain that overlooks the Int Base in Gilman Hot Springs, California. Not only can the entire Int Base property be viewed from this location, but also, any and all roads leading to or away from the property in all directions. Since the property was first purchased, security guards were posted at this location all day and all night to keep watch over the property and ensure that anyone coming or going was kept track of. High powered binoculars and firearms were on hand at this location. More recently high powered, remote controlled, infrared cameras have been installed at Eagle to watch over the Int Base from this location.

EC – Executive Council. This is the Executive Secretaries from an organization – who are to meet daily and discuss production of their organization. EC is run by the Commanding Officer (head) of the organization.

ED INT – Executive Director International. This is the head of the Executive Strata International, the Scientology organization responsible for providing bright ideas to Scientology organizations all over the world.  This post has been held by Guillaume Lesevre since 1982.

E-Meter – Electro-psychometer. An E-meter is a device that is made by Golden Era Productions and is used in Scientology counseling (also referred to as auditing or processing). Only an E-Meter produced and approved by Scientology can be used in counseling. As part of counseling policies put in place by L. Ron Hubbard, every single counselor in Scientology is required to have two E-meters on hand at any time so that if one breaks, a spare can be used. As of 2009 approximately 30,000 E-Meters had been produced for all of Scientology internationally.

EPF – Estates Project Force. This is the indoctrination procedure that all new Sea Org recruits are put through to ensure that they will be able to perform up to standard within the Sea Org. A new recruit is not considered to have arrived in the Sea Org until they have completed and passed this program. A strict schedule of heavy labor and training courses are done over a period of weeks. It is very similar to a boot camp or military or armed forces entry training program.

ESI – Executive Strata International. The Scientology organization responsible for providing bright ideas for Scientology organizations all over the world. ESI is composed of International Executives (Exec Ints) responsible for all of the areas that L. Ron Hubbard attributed to expansion. These are: Establishment Exec Int (EEI), Books Exec Int (BEI), Marketing Exec Int (MEI), Materials Exec Int (MATEI), Division Six International Exec Int (DSIEI), Gross Income Exec Int (GIEI), Fields Exec Int (FEI), Services Exec Int (SEI), Quality Exec Int (QEI), Audio Visual Exec Int (AVEI) and Call-In Exec Int (CIEI).

Estates – This is the division in all Sea Org units that is responsible for the upkeep and renovation of buildings and facilities.
Estates Sec – The Division head over Estates.

Ethics Officer – This is the staff member within a Scientology organization that is responsible for ensuring that both staff and members are following the ethics and justice procedures laid out by L. Ron Hubbard.

External Facing – Any post in a Scientology organization that has to deal with people outside of the organization – generally considered to be a production area of the organization as opposed to internal.

FBO – Flag Banking Officer. This is the Chief Financial Officer in any Scientology Organization.

F&E: This is where the Film & Equipment branch of CMO Gold is housed. F&E is the CMO personnel responsible for maintaining LRH’s wealth of personal photography equipment and all of his photos, including having them ready and in perfect order for use at any time. They also oversee any CMO programs being run in the Cine Division of Gold.

Fitness Board – This is a procedure where new Sea Org members are judged to be either fit or unfit for the Sea Org and given recommendations as to what they need to do to become fit, if deemed unqualified.

Flag – Originally this was used to describe the ship that LRH used within the fleet of Sea Org vessels that were operating in the 1970’s, when the Sea Organization was first established. Later on when the Sea Org moved to land, Flag was relocated to Daytona Beach and then later to Clearwater, Florida, where it remains today.

Flag Orders – These are the Sea Org policy written by LRH or the International Officer’s Board. They cover everything from how to wear and clean a Sea Org uniform to how to remove Suppressive Persons from Scientology Organizations.

FLB – Flag Land Base. This refers to the plethora of properties owned by Scientology in Clearwater Florida.

FPRD – False Purpose RunDown.  This is a counseling procedure that takes place in Scientology where a person’s crimes are thought to be from evil or false purposes that were implanted by psychiatrists many lifetimes ago. At the Int Base, any staff member that questions David Miscavige or vocally speaks out against him is said to have Black PR, Overts and Evil Purposes on Dave and FPRD style auditing is a regular handling used for this.

Freewinds – The Sea Org cruise ship that is used to deliver the highest level of Scientology auditing currently released (OT VIII). The Freewinds holds approximately 360 passengers and crew. The Freewinds regularly frequents the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles.

Garage: At the Int Base, the garage used to be a public gas station that was converted into the maintenance facility for the entire property. Motor Pool Gold is located here as well as the entire Estates Division – which includes Grounds, Electrical, Construction, Engineering & Building Maintenance Departments.   Cine’s Set & Props Departments took up the west half of the building, until the Cine Castle was built in the late 90s.

GAT – Golden Age of Tech. This is generally referred to as the new training technology that was developed and instituted in all organizations by COB RTC, David Miscavige in 1996. GAT requires that all students learn Scientology materials verbatim and pass a series of quizzes for each training level that they train on. As of this writing, Scientology training statistics internationally have been continually down trending since the release of the Golden Age of Tech.

G.O. – The Guardians Office. Established in 1966, this organization was the legal and public relations arm of Scientology.   After several of its staff were convicted and sent to prison for carrying out what is said to have been the largest infiltration of the United State Government, the GO was renamed the Office of Special Affairs (OSA) and largely carries out the same functions today that the old GO did. Even some of the former GO staff are still employed by the new OSA.

Golden Era Productions – Also called Gold, this is the Audio Visual headquarters for Scientology located at the Int Base in Gilman Hot Springs, California. All of the sales and training films, videos and audio lectures for Scientology internationally are produced here.

Gold Musicians – The group of musicians that produce all of the music for the soundtracks for Scientology films, videos and materials. This same musical group often performs live at Scientology conventions held throughout each year.

Golf Course: This was the public golf course that was located to the east of the main Golden Era property.

Graduation – In some Scientology organizations, each week anyone who completed a training or counseling step in Scientology is announced and is expected to give a speech promoting the level to others at a local group gathering called Graduation.

Greens Keeper House or GK: This house was used for crew berthing. It used to belong to the Greens keeper that maintained the property in Gilman Hot Springs, California for Old Man Gilman and his family. (This building was later demolished).

G Units or G’s: These are houses that were converted to luxury accommodations for VIP guests that stay at the Int Base.  This is where Tom Cruise stayed while coming to the property in the 1990’s.

Cine Gym: At the Int Base, this is the building where the Cine Division had their shooting stage, until the Cine Castle was built in the late 90s. Originally called the gym because the activities of the base were originally confidential to even the local residents, so the permit to build the studio was applied for under the guise of a “Basketball Gym”. Any and all references to the building were to be as the “Gym”.   The Gym also housed the Make-Up, Costumes, Camera, Lighting, and Set Sound department of the Cine Main Unit Film Shoot Team.

Happy Valley – This is what the large ranch property located in Castile Canyon, California was called. It not only housed the RPF for the Int Base, but was also used as a schooling and housing facility for the young children of Int Base staff members. This property was sold to the Soboba Indian Tribe in 2003. Also called HV, the Ranch, Int Ranch or Int RPF.

Hat write up – This is a write up that one is required to do on a post that one is assigned to. In case the staff member leaves and is not there to tell another how to do the post, a hat write up would be used to train a new person on the post.

HCOB – Hubbard Communications Office Bulletin. This is a technical issue written by L. Ron Hubbard that details out technical procedures and is printed in red ink on white paper.

HCO Cope Officer – This is the person that works in the Hubbard Communications Office division in a Scientology organization. This person mostly deals with the flaps that occur daily and is there to do exactly what the post title implies – cope with it.

HCO PL – Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letter. This is an administrative issue written by L. Ron Hubbard that details out administrative procedures and is printed in green ink on white paper.

HES – HCO Executive Secretary. In a Scientology organization, this is the executive position that is over the first four divisions of the organization: Exec, HCO, Dissemination and the Treasury divisions.  In Sea Organizations this same post is called the Supercargo.

HFA – Held From Above. This is how any empty posts in a Scientology organization are referred to. If you have a post that is empty and it is below you on the organizing board, you hold it HFA.

HGB – Hollywood Guaranty Building. Located in Hollywood, California. This is the building that houses most of Scientology upper and middle management organization as well as OSA Int.

Horwich House: This is where Jon Horwich and his daughter Roanne live on the Int Base in Gilman Hot Springs, California. Roanne is LRH’s granddaughter and lives on the property.

HV – Happy Valley.

IAS – International Association of Scientologists. In order to participate in any major Scientology training or auditing services, one must purchase a yearly or lifetime membership with the IAS. This is separate to any fees paid directly to the organization delivering the services.

IAS 1993 – This signifies the large convention that was held in Los Angeles, California on the 8^th of October 1993. At this convention COB RTC, David Miscavige, announced that the 50 year war waged with the IRS (United States Internal Revenue Service) had ended with Scientology organizations being granted tax exempt status within the US.

I/C – In Charge.

IG Admin – Inspector General for Administration. In the 1990’s, this was a post located in RTC directly under COB RTC. This post was held by Marc Yager until the post was abolished and he was demoted back to his old post of CO CMO Int. The “Inspector General” post titles come from the same used to describe investigators of government and military organizations whose job is to ensure the respective organizations are operating in compliance with general established policies and to discover misconduct, waste, fraud, theft or certain types of criminal activity by staff within these agencies.

IG Ethics – Inspector General for Ethics. In the 1990’s, this was a post located in RTC directly under COB RTC.

IG Tech – Inspector General for Technical. In the 1990’s, this was a post located in RTC directly under COB RTC. This post was held by Ray Mithoff until the post was abolished and Ray was demoted back to his old post of SNR C/S Int.

IG MAA RTC – Inspector General Master At Arms. This is a post that is located in RTC and its sole purpose is to locate and eliminate distractions to production at the Int Base and make sure that Int Base staff are on post working when they should be.

IMPR – International Management Public Relations. This is the unit that is responsible for putting on large conventions for Scientologists to increase the public relations value of International Management and their actions. This unit, along with Golden Era Productions, produces these conventions under the direction and heavy scrutiny of COB RTC, David Miscavige.

INCOMM – International Network of Computerized Org Management, The network of Scientology computer based programs and computer systems used by management to send messages to each other and catalog, create and maintain a database of all critics and former members of Scientology.

Int Base – This refers to the large property located in Gilman Hot Springs, California that houses all of the international management organizations of Scientology. RTC, CMO INT, AVC, RTRC, CMO GOLD, WDC, R/COMPS, Translations Unit International, Int Landlord, Exec Strata, SNR C/S INT Office, IMPR, CMU, and Golden Era Productions are all located at this facility. All of the staff that work here are also housed on the property and seldom leave for any reason.

Int – Int Base.

Internal Facing – Any posts with a Scientology organization that deal with activities local to the organization and do not have to do with anything outside of the org.

Int Landlord – The international unit located at the Int Base that buys buildings for Scientology organizations internationally and then renovates them and charges the local organization rents for these properties.

Int Rundown – Introspection Rundown. A series of counseling procedures done within scientology that address the subject of introspection. This rundown is regularly used to handle someone who has had a psychotic break or some sort of mental breakdown. As part of this rundown, a person is often isolated and not allowed to talk to others and those who do come in contact with the person are instructed to not answer the person under any circumstance but to only note down what the person has said and send this information to the person’s Case supervisor. This rundown was heavily publicized in 1995 after it was administered to Lisa McPherson before her untimely death.

IHQ – Int Head Quarters. Also called Int or Int Base.

ISO – Isolation: At the Int Base, this building was right next to OGH. This is where you went if you were sick. Isolation. There was a men’s section and a women’s section. If you had a cold or got sick, you would have to stay here until you recovered. You could not go back home or be with the general crew as then you might get more people sick. The smell that came from this place alone was enough to keep most people from ever getting sick.

KTL – Key To Life. This is a basic course in Scientology that is a glorified course in grammar and communication. The idea is that if you can communicate well then you have the “Key to Life”.

KSW #1 – Keeping Scientology Working #1. This is the overriding HCO Policy Letter that exists in Scientology. It appears at the beginning of every single training course in all of Scientology.   In this policy letter written by L. Ron Hubbard he writes, “we would rather have you dead than incapable”.

LA DAY – Los Angeles Day Organization. This is a lower level Scientology organization located within the “Complex” in Los Angeles. The staff of this organization are not Sea Org members, they are on 2 ½ or 5 year staff contracts.

The Lake: At the Int Base, the lake was a huge man-made lake just east of Building 36. It even had fish in it. It was very nasty though, and had dead animals and pretty much several feet of sludgy muck beneath the few feet of water. There was a small island at one end of it that had a stone veneer bridge that allowed access to the island which had a huge cottonwood tree on it.

Learning Book – This was a children’s book that covered study technology as laid out by L. Ron Hubbard in an easy to understand format for young children, including extensive illustrations. It was published by Heron Books.

Lecture Mix: This is where all LRH’s lectures are restored, mixed and made ready for high speed duplication using Clearsound technology.

LRH – L. Ron Hubbard. Founder of Scientology. Commodore of the Sea Organization. Original Executive Director International of Scientology Worldwide.

LRH PPRO – L. Ron Hubbard Personal Public Relations Officer.

LRH Biographer – Danny Sherman. This is the individual who has been writing LRH’s biography for nearly 15 years.

LOC – Life Orientation Course. A Scientology course where one finds out what his hat in life is. The course was found to be faulty in that most people discover that their hat in life is whatever hat they are doing at the time. The course has known faults that have needed to be corrected since shortly after its release over 15 years ago.

Lower Lodges: This is where Pre Production areas of the Cine Division are housed. Logistics, Art Dept, Research & Assembly, Scriptwriting, Casting, and Pre Prod Dir are all located here.

Lower RAV: This is the mixing studio that RAV uses to mix special edition products.

MAA – Master at Arms. This is a post in Scientology organizations that is supposed to remove any type of “distractions” from the organization. This person is usually the person that does one on one Scientology based ethics or justice handlings with members or staff of the organization. This person is usually called on to be the “Scientology police officer” – inspect periodically throughout the day to make sure staff haven’t blown and are doing what they are supposed to be doing. If a staff member wants to talk to a family member or anyone not at the Int Base, they are required to get approval from the MAA, and this person then listens to the phone call as it is happening on a phone with two headsets, set up specifically for that purpose.

Mad Hatter Studios – A studio originally owned and operated by jazz musician Chick Corea. In 2003, David Miscavige instructed that the studio be purchased by the Golden Era Productions and turned into an extension studio that could be used by Golden Era Productions in Los Angeles.

MCI: Massacre Canyon Inn or MCI is the dining facility for the entire Int Base. Originally the inn located in Gilman Hot Springs was where dances and local banquets were held. It has both crew and officer dining halls that service all of the Int Base orgs. It also houses the offices for all of Gold’s Domestic Services Division staff.

Medical Officer (also MLO or MO): This is the Qualifications division staff member that is responsible for giving medical treatment to the crew and bringing them to a hospital if needed.
MEST – Matter, Energy, Space and Time. Any time hard labor is done, it is usually called MEST work. Apparently because one has to confront all of the components of MEST.

MEST work – See MEST above.

MFG – Manufacturing. A division of Golden Era Productions responsible for the mass production of Cassette tapes, CDs, DVDs, films, and audio visual presentation systems for Scientology organizations around the world as well as Scientology broad public promotion and sales items.

MFG SEC – Manufacturing Secretary. The division head over the Manufacturing division of Golden Era Productions located at the Int Base.

Midrats – Midnight rations. The meal served at midnight in Sea Org installations, usually consisting of the prior days leftover meals.

M&M or Maintenance Man House: This house was originally the house that the maintenance man for the Gilman Hot Springs resort used to live in. It is now used for staff berthing.

Motor Pool – The vehicle maintenance facility located in the Garage at the Int Base.

Music Rehearsal: This is the building at the Int Base where the Gold Musicians rehearse for upcoming concerts and performances.

Narconon – A drug rehabilitation program based on L. Ron Hubbard writings that employs the use of heavy amounts of vitamins, sauna use and Scientology counseling to get a person off drugs. While Narconon itself often boasts high success rates, independent studies have shown the success rate to be as low as 25%.

Narconon Chiloco – A Narconon facility located in Oklahoma that was later shut down for failing to get proper authorization and accreditation from local authorities. The facility was later moved to another Indian reservation in Oklahoma.

NY 2000 – Often referred to as NY 2000 or New Years 2000 or Y2K event, this was the New Year’s event that was held at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in late December 1999.

OGH: Old Gilman House is the house that the family that owned and ran the property for most of the early and mid 1900’s lived in. This house is used for temporary staff berthing.

119 & 40’s House: This is where CMO Gold is located at the Int Base. CMO Gold is the CMO unit directly responsible for making sure that WDC Programs get done in Golden Era Productions.

Org Board – Organizing Board or Organization Board. Every group, business or organization affiliated or run by Scientologists has an Org Board. It is a large chart that has every post or possible position listed with the person’s name right below it. This board shows the chain of command and who is responsible for what.

OSA – Office of Special Affairs. Formerly known as the Guardian’s Office, OSA is the public relations and legal arm of Scientology.

OT levels – Operating Thetan Levels. These are listed out on the Bridge to Total freedom and are considered the highly confidential scriptures by Scientology. To get through all of the currently released OT levels, one could spend up to $300,000 USD. Although over the past decade, Scientology has denied reports and accusations about these materials being released on the Internet, in more recent times, they have acknowledged the contents of these materials as accurate and consider discussing them an attack on their beliefs.

OT 8 – The highest Scientology counseling level released as of 2009. The official Scientology printed chart of levels list OT 9 to 15 as “Not yet released.”

Overt – Something considered bad in Scientology. Also referred to as an Overt Act.
O/Ws – Overts and Withholds.  These are acts of commission or omission that are contrary to the survival of Scientology. Members are required to routinely write up any and all O/Ws and submit these for review in order to be upgraded from lower conditions or to become a member of the group again. Also, as a requirement to begin routine counseling sessions, members are required to explain in detail any O/W’s that they might have committed since their last counseling session. When, why, how and any other pertinent details are required before the counseling session can be started.

Overt Product or OP – This is any product produced that is not acceptable. Usually referring to something produced within an organization. At Golden Era in 1990, several hundred thousand cassette tapes were deemed OPs by Dave Miscavige. Sea Org members that produce OPs routinely are sent to the RPF or are subject to justice actions or both.

PAC – Pacifica Area Command. This consists of most of the organizations located at “The Complex” in Los Angeles, California. Located between Sunset Blvd and Fountain Ave, this area is most often referred to as PAC.

PAC RPF – This is the RPF located in PAC. In 2004, the PAC RPF numbered in the hundreds, and had more staff than any other Scientology organization in the Western United States.

Pancake – A large reel of audio cassette tape specially manufactured for use on high speed mass production reel to reel cassette machines.

PC – Preclear. In the early days of Scientology a Pre-Clear was someone who in Scientology was not yet Clear. Later on it just came to mean any person receiving Scientology counseling.

PC Folder – Preclear Folder or folder. This is a folder where all records relating to all counseling of a person is kept. Each time a person receives counseling, notes are taken of what the person says and what counseling was done. These items are placed in the person’s PC folder.  Each time a folder is filled, a new one is created. Someone who has been in Scientology for years could have anywhere from 25-100 folders or more, depending on how much counseling they have had.

PDO – Planetary Dissemination Org. This was what CMU was called for a brief time in the 1990’s. It is now generally referred to as CMU and is a division within Golden Era Productions.

Perimeter Council – At the Int Base, this is a council at the Int Base that is generally responsible for handlings being done on staff that have either voiced having thoughts of leaving or who have tried to leave and were caught. People who have tried to escape are put on detailed correction or handling programs (often including heavy manual labor for weeks or months and sometimes years and assignment of a buddy until the staff member says they no longer want to leave) and progress on these handling programs is discussed and coordinated at Perimeter Council. A list is made of all of these staff who have tried to leave or had thoughts about leaving and most on the list are restricted to the base at all times (meaning they are watched closely and are not allowed to go home but must sleep on the Base). They are not allowed to go beyond the perimeter of the property, thus the term Perimeter Council. Those that are allowed to go off base for any reason must be escorted and other staff are alerted to keep an eye out for these people. Perimeter Council is made up of the Security Chief Int Base, Port Captain Office, Staff Chaplain, HCO and Qualifications Division posts in Gold as well as the HCO Chiefs of all Int Base Orgs. Conversely, most of the staff that make up the perimeter council are also part of the blow drill called when someone blows from the Int Base.

Pink House: At the Int Base, this house is used for crew berthing. It is called the pink house based on its exterior color – pink. It was located on the south side of the property. (This building was later demolished.)

Port Captain – The Public Relations head in Sea Org orgs. Originally from the maritime post that was responsible for all relations with the local port that Sea Org ships were stationed in.

PTS – Potential Trouble Source – This would be any person that is connected to an SP or any person that is against Scientology. In order for a person to not be PTS, they must either handle the person they are connected to or disconnect. In most cases, this involves families and friends of Scientologists.

QC – Quality Control.

QC GOLD – Quality Control Gold. The post at Golden Era Productions that is responsible for spot checking the technical quality of products mass produced.

QM – Quarter Master. Originally the person that was stationed on the gangway of a ship, the QM system was put in place at the Int Base to watch staff during the night to make sure that they did not blow. Two male staff members were stationed at each location where staff berthed and would stand watch during the night to make sure no-one blew.

Qual – Qualifications Division. The Division that is responsible for training staff and reviewing and correcting them as necessary. Most RPFs are located under Senior Qual of the local management organization (CLO).

Qual Sec – The Qualifications Secretary. The division Head over the Qualifications Division.

Ranch – This is the large ranch property located in Castile Canyon, California. It not only housed the RPF for the Int Base, but was as well used as a schooling and housing facility for the young children of Int Base staff members. This property was sold to the Soboba Indian Tribe in 2003. Also called Happy Valley or Int Ranch or Int RPF.

Ranchos: This is where both the TU or Translations Unit and the RCOMPS (Ron’s Compilations) were located on the Int Base. They took approved manuscripts from RTRC and turned these into courses and books for Scientology organizations around the world.   They had typesetting, book design and even did glossaries and other book items here.

Routing Form – A form used in most Scientology orgs to route a person from one place to another. When one finishes a course or counseling action in Scientology, one is given a routing form that has one see a series of people – end result is that one is signed up for the next course or action. Until you finish the routing form, one is usually not allowed to leave or do anything else.

RPF – Rehabilitation Project Force. A program that is done by Sea Org members only. It is for those who have performed badly or who have upset seniors. Sometimes the RPF program can be assigned as part of a Sea Org justice action. The RPF mainly consists of a person working long hours and doing at least 5 hours of Scientology counseling each day, seven days a week with no days off. The counseling they receive is to find their crimes and evil purposes (FPRD).There are several rules specific only to the RPF, such as a person on the RPF is not allowed to speak unless spoken to. People have been known to spend anywhere from a few years to over a decade on the RPF program. There used to be RPFs at every Sea Org continental installation. Former members who have done the RPF have claimed them to be comparable to prison camps or gulags.

RTC – Religious Technology Center. RTC owns the Scientology religious trademarks and advanced technology. It licenses the marks to CSI for sublicense to subordinate organizations and directly licenses the advanced technology to appropriate Advanced organizations. Through this structure RTC assures that practice of the Scientology religion within the ecclesiastical hierarchy under CSI’s authority as “Mother Church” remains strictly orthodox, in accordance with the Scientology Scriptures. RTC is located at the Int Base and COB RTC, David Miscavige, micromanages all aspects of anything that occurs at the Int base through this position in RTC.

RTC Rep – RTC Representative. With the advent of the Golden Age of Tech, RTC representatives were assigned to all major continents to oversee the application and adherence to the new standards laid out for training and counseling.

RTRC, LRH Technical Research & Compilations – The unit in CMO Int that compiles and/or issues revisions to existing LRH Bulletins and Policy Letters. They compile all checksheets and courses in Scientology. They did the revisions to all Scientology training materials in 1996 for the “Golden Age of Tech”, under the close direction of Dave Miscavige.

Sandcastle –  A hotel located in Clearwater that was converted to being used for auditing rooms for Scientology and rooms for Scientologists to stay in while getting services or counseling at the Flag Land Base.

Sea Org – The Sea Organization, Sea Org or SO is an association of Scientologists established in 1968 by L. Ron Hubbard, the science fiction writer and founder of Scientology. Its members are found in the central management organizations of  Scientology as well as in individual organizations. While it was initially created around maritime customs and traditions while at sea, those customs and traditions persist today even in the land-based branches of the organization.

Sec Check – Security Check.  Security checking has the purpose of “remedying the compulsion or obsession to commit actions which” the person then feels must be kept secret. They are given to all Scientologists on the Bridge, every six months to all OTs, according to officials, “to make sure they’re using the tech correctly “, and to members who are leaving staff.

As with traditional auditing or counseling, the subject holds the cans of the E-Meter as a drill of questions are posed.

Shore Story – This is a story that is usually made up to explain away some flap that has happened that locals might find out about. Originally the term came from when the Sea Org was ship based and a story was needed to tell people at shore to explain something that had happened aboard one of its vessels. When someone was injured or any accidents happened at the Int Base,  a shore story was usually decided upon and all involved were told to make sure that all their stories matched. Also the shore story for what we did at the Int base was always “make movies for Scientology” even though it was the International Headquarters for Scientology and making movies was a tiny portion of what was done there.

SMI – Scientology Missions International. This is the group which collects tithes from missions all over the world and is charged with the creation and establishment of new missions.

SNR C/S Int – Senior Case Supervisor International. This is the senior most technical post in Scientology. Since the inception of the post there have been at least four known incumbents. All but one has been declared a Suppressive Person.

S.O. – Sea Organization.

Soboba – The tribe of Native American Indians that are located near the Int base and eventually bought the Int Ranch property from Scientology.

The Spa: The Spa is now the location of the Qualifications Division of Gold. The Spa used to be the main location on the property where the hot springs would surface and several large steam bath facilities were located here. After the United States Government drilled a large underground tunnel though the back side of the mountain, they hit the underground river that fed the hot springs and the springs dried up. Old Man Gilman, who ran the hot springs resort since 1913, had several boilers set up beneath the Spa, and continued to run the hot springs resort for several years before finally retiring in 1978 and selling the property.

Star Rate – See checkout.

Star of California Clipper Ship: The Star of California is a giant clipper ship that was built into the property to be used as a local attraction for people from nearby Hemet and San Jacinto. Promoted as a movie set, local residents are given Public tours on Sundays to see how a real movie set looks. The Star of California also has an Olympic size swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and other facilities that can be used for entertaining and local events. Sometimes referred to as the Ship on the Int Base. The Freewinds cruise ship is sometimes also referred to as “The Ship” while off the Int base.

Station One – The main security booth on the Int Base. This is where the security chief or watch chief usually sits and controls the security of the entire Int base from this location. This is also command central for any drills that are called on the base such as fire or blow drills. Also called the Main Booth.

Studio One: This is the LRH Music Studio Complex. It has a state-of-the-art music studio that was built based on LRH Advices and is one of the most advanced music studios in the world. Adjacent to the main studio are music scoring, and storage for all of the Golden Era Musician’s equipment. Also in this same building are very upscale conference and dining facilities for visiting musicians that are brought up to the Studio for recordings.

Studio Two or Upper Res: This is the Studio where all Film Mix downs are done by the Audio Division of Gold. There is also a PLS (Post Lip Sync) studio located in this same building, as well as the film sound transfer facilities used by Manufacturing.  This building is sometimes also referred to as the “Upper Res” as it was a reservoir for the entire property before being made into a building.

Study Technology – Study technology, or study tech, is a methodology for learning developed by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology. Hubbard’s “Study Tech” is used by Scientology members as part of their training, and is also promoted outside Scientology by the affiliated corporation known as Applied Scholastics, which presents study tech as a universally applicable method to enhance the comprehension of any student, studying any topic.

Sublet Road: This is the public road that was adjacent to the main property and ran along the golf course. Several houses were located along this road. Some of the houses were purchased and used as staff berthing while others had local residents living in them that had nothing to do with the Int Base or Scientology.

Supercargo – A borrowed term from maritime law, in Sea Org organizations, this is the executive position that is over the first four divisions of the organization: Exec, HCO, Dissemination and Treasury divisions.  In Scientology organization this same post is called the HES or HCO Exec Sec.

Super Power – The Super Power Rundowns were described by Scientology’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard, as: “A super fantastic, but confidential series of rundowns that can be done on anybody whether Dn [Dianetics] Clear or not that puts the person into fantastic shape, unleashing Super Power of a thetan. This means that it puts Scientologists into a new realm of ability enabling them to create a new world.

Super Power Building – The Super Power Building is an edifice in Clearwater, Florida that will be Scientology’s largest property in the city when completed. The huge high-rise complex, which occupies an entire block at 215 S Fort Harrison Ave, will be topped by a 15-story tower surmounted with a bronze Scientology cross that will be visible over a wide area of Clearwater. Construction began in 1998 but was halted in 2003 and has yet to resume.

Tavern: The tavern is a VIP facility where actors brought to the Int Base for Cine or Audio productions can be serviced. It is done up in the motif of the Knights of the Round Table replete with a large sword embedded in a stone as you enter the building.

Team Share Cards – At the Int Base, team share cards are given out to each staff member. There are a series of five cards. Each one of them entitles its holder to privileges only available to those that have the applicable cards. There is a social card that allows one to take part in any social events taking place or liberties (a day off every two weeks if approved). There is a Bonus card that would allow one to receive bonuses if they were being handed out. There is a pay card that allows one to pick up his weekly allowance. There is a chow card that allows one to be able to eat.  Then the last card is a berthing card that allows one access to a place to sleep. If one’s weekly production were to be less than the prior week, a card would be revoked. This would continue week after week until one’s stats went back up. Upon having up statistics, one could request that a card be returned. If one upset one’s senior or the senior was displeased with the staff member or he broke any one of the hundreds of Sea Org regulations, a card could be revoked at any point. It would not be uncommon for Int Base staff members that were having troubles to have zero Team Share cards in their possession.  When you lost your last card, the berthing card, you were to be assigned to “pig’s berthing”. While the original purpose of the Team Share system devised by LRH was supposedly to increase production, the system was uniformly abused by seniors all the way up the line since its inception, the system was eventually dropped out of use completely in the early 2000s when most all Int Base staff were assigned lower conditions by COB RTC and all privileges to do anything were pretty much cancelled on a widespread basis.

Thetan – In Scientology, the concept of thetan (pronounced THAY-tan, /’θeɪtən/) is similar to the concept of spirit or soul found in other belief systems. The term is derived from the Greek letter theta, which in Scientology represents “the source of life, or life itself.”

Tone Scale – In Scientology, the tone scale or emotional tone scale is a characterization of human behavior. It is based on the idea that some people appear to be more lively and alive than other people. Author L. Ron Hubbard spelled the idea out saying, “just draw a horizontal line on the page. Put the people who are less alive on the bottom and the people who are more alive on the top.”

Trailers: The trailers are a collection of temporary buildings that were set up to accommodate the addition of CMU (Central Marketing Unit) as well as the Tape Editing and Technician Departments of Audio. They later housed RTRC & SNR C/S Int Staff and offices.

Treas Sec – Treasury Secretary. This is the division head over the accounts department of a Scientology organization.

TRs – The Training Routines are introductory services used in Scientology as well as affiliated programs Narconon, Criminon and WISE. They are described as a way of learning to communicate effectively and to control situations. According to investigators and former Scientologists, the training routines have a strong hypnotic effect, causing hallucinations and an out-of-body experience known as exteriorization.

The 200’s: The 200’s are where network heads for several CMO units are housed. SNR C/S (Senior Case Supervisor International), LRH PPRO INT (LRH Public Personal Relations Office International, RTRC (LRH Technical Research Compilations)

12 Mic: This is the recording room located in Lower RAV. It is called the 12 mic as it has 12 separate microphones that are used to get the most realistic recording possible.

Ultra Barrier – A brand name of barbed stainless steel spikes that are often installed atop fences and walls at the Int Base to prevent climbing over. Touted by the company that makes it as the “ultimate physical & psychological barrier for commercial/residential fences.” These exact type of metal spikes are installed on most of the fences at the Int Base. While the shore story is that these are to keep intruders out, most of the spikes are installed with the spikes facing inwards, preventing someone from getting out not into the property.

Uniform K – The Sea Org uniform classification given to normal civilian street clothes or “civvies” as they are sometimes also called.

Upper Lodges: This is where all of Gold’s Film Editing department are housed. There is a large 35MM film theatre in this building where the Cine division watches all their daily footage as well as feature films.

Upper RAV: This is where LRH’s Audio Visual Unit or RAV is located. This is the unit that is responsible for maintaining all of LRH’s arsenal of personal audio equipment. They are also responsible for running all of the programs that are being done in the Audio Division of Golden Era Productions. They are the unit that produces any LRH special edition audio releases that Gold is not allowed to produce.

VAX/VMS – A type of computer system made by the Digital Equipment Corporation. The majority of Scientology INCOMM computer systems were VAX/VMS based until more recent years when the VAX/VMS systems were no longer made and use of them dwindled.

Villas: This is where RTC is located. There are three Villa buildings, the Upper, Middle and Lower Villas. Not only is RTC located here, but some top RTC executives also lived here, including Dave Miscavige until recent years. Marc Yager and Guillaume Lesevre live here as well.

WDC – WatchDog Committee. This is the group of Sea Org members located at the Int Base that are responsible for overseeing the strategic progress of various groups of Scientology. WDC Chairman also happens to be the CO CMO Int. There are WDC members for the following areas. WDC OSA, WDC RESERVES, WDC FLB, WDC FSSO, WDC CC, WDC SMI, WDC WISE,  WDC ABLE, WDC GOLD, WDC I HELP, WDC SCN, WDC SO, WDC PROGRAMS and WDC PUBS.

White Glove Inspections – an inspection that is done in the Sea Org where a white glove is worn by the person doing the cleaning inspection. If the person inspecting wipes his hand across any surface that produces any sort of blemish on the glove, the area has to be re-cleaned and re-inspected until the glove comes up white every time.

Word Clear – This is a type of action in Scientology where various methods are used to clear up the definitions of words. Most usually it involves a dictionary or the person having to fully define a word while another person verifies he has it correct.

WQSB – Watch Quarter Station Bill. This is a large chart that is located in Sea Orgs that lists out where each person lives, what their cleaning station is, whether they are on port or starboard watch, and any number of other details about the person.

WUS – Western United States.