Sunday, 31st March, 2002 10:13:50am

Name or Alias: Chip Gallo
Training and/or processing level: Clear, Staff Status II, fully hatted Executive Director, PTS/SP Course, Key to Life, Life Orientation Course, other admin training
Org or location: FCDC
Time involved in the Church of Scientology: 1978-1990
Recommended Website - Lermanet Exposing the Con

1. How did you first become acquainted with the Church of Scientology?

a friend from high school told me to read the DIANETICS book. Went to the local org with her, saw some lectures, did a Comm Course.

2. What initially appealed to you about scientology?

Getting rid of engrams as described in the book. People were pleasant at the org.

3. Were there problems in your life that you thought scientology would address?

Was interested in positive gains, meaning improved ability; not solving personal problems.

4. Did you see, experience, or hear about things that didn't seem right while you were in the Church of Scientology? What were they, and what convinced you to set aside your feelings?

The organization was paranoid about many things. It seemed odd that they had so many enemies. Staff conditions were generally poor. The recruiting of public to be on staff was coercive and created tension. Flag missions were a constant fear, because staff would somehow create a livable situation and a mission could show up and wreck their arrangement (sending people away for long periods of training, etc.) People seemed to hang on for any personal gains they thought they could get, putting up with bizarre and burdensome treatment for years at a time. The Bill Franks regime (mid 1970's) at FCDC was a case in point. Bill was abusive of staff, cut off their communication with upper management, but people stayed on staff for some reason, no matter what he did to them.

5. Why did you choose to stay in the Church of Scientology?

I purposefully suspended disbelief in the beginning. Once you make that concession, it is a hard road to go back to critical (in the positive sense) thinking and analysis. I believe a person must either suspend disbelief or be in some kind of shock that prevents them from applying normal mental processes to what they encounter in Scn. Or else they are consistently lied to and never figure it out, perhaps. Hubbard was apparently a master hypnotist and working magician.

6. Were you staff or public? If staff, was it at a mission or an org? Were you ever in the Sea Org or OSA? Which unit? If not on staff, did you ever volunteer to 'help out'?

Staff, in HCO at FCDC (DC Org). Executive Director/Mission Holder of the DC Mission (formerly Mass Ave. Mission) Outgualled for Sea Org. Never in OSA but volunteered with CCHR a bit, doing a couple of call-in radio shows. Trained as a 'Psych Buster' at Flag with Dennis Clark (1982).

7. Why did you leave the Church of Scientology? Was there a "final straw"?

I started 'blowing' (leaving without authorization) early in my staff tenure. Probably blew staff 10 times before finally leaving for good. Just couldn't accept the restrictions on personal freedoms, lack of peronal finance, and so on. Even did the Key to Life Course in 1990 hoping it would change me or show me what I was missing but it didn't.

8. Do you think the Church of Scientology needs to change some of its practices? If so, what should be changed? How did those practices affect your life?

Where to start with this? I can't see a way that the existing management and policy can be reformed. It has too much of Hubbard's personality and traits in it to clean up in any useful way. Since no functional records of supposed 'research' were kept, everything he wrote would need to be cross checked by others for truthfulness. The effect on my life was simply to waste years of it, because it doesn't transfer to normal life. I think I am much less tolerant of liers, scams and bogus organizations now.

9. If the items you listed in the previous question were changed, would you consider rejoining or staying in the Church of Scientology? If so, why?

No. Too many other disciplines in life are useful to me without the risks and downside of a cult (even a former cult) knowledge base. I'd much rather spend time at a good college or reputable technical school.

10. Any additional comments you would like to make?

Thanks to Arnie, Tory, Stacy, Mark and all the others who keep getting the word out. You too Ethercat! Thanks especially to the folks at the Defense Department who spent all that tax money figuring out the internet. There are no secrets any more due to this amazing series of inventions!