The Rehabilitation Project Force, or RPF, is the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious ...

's program for members of its

Sea Org The Sea Organization (also known as the Sea Org) is a Scientology organization, which the Church of Scientology describes as a " fraternal religious order, comprising the religion’s most dedicated members". All Scientology management organizatio ...

anization who have allegedly violated expectations or policies. This may include members who are deemed to have hidden evil intentions towards Scientology, members who are unproductive in their work or who produce poor-quality work. The program includes manual labor tasks and the study of

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored ''Dianetics ...

's works. The rehabilitation program may take more than a year to complete, and the Church has been accused of overworking and mistreating its participants. Critics have characterized the RPF as a forced labor and re-indoctrination program comparable to the Soviet

gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...

system.

Development

The Rehabilitation Project Force developed out of a predecessor group, the Mud Box Brigade, which was formed aboard

's private fleet in the late 1960s. The mud box is a small perforated screening box fitted to the suction pipe in the

bilge The bilge of a ship or boat is the part of the hull that would rest on the ground if the vessel were unsupported by water. The "turn of the bilge" is the transition from the bottom of a hull to the sides of a hull. Internally, the bilges (usu ...

of a ship, and is designed to catch larger solid waste before it can choke the pipeline and potentially damage the pump. The Mud Box Brigade was assigned to clean out the mud box as well as fuel lines, water hues, bilges and other parts of the fleet's ships.Hubbard, OODs of 4 January 1968, cited in ''Modern Management Technology Defined'', 1975 Hubbard defined the role as being essentially a punishment duty for unsatisfactory workers: "More candidates will be appointed regularly and promptly every time I find a freeloader who is loafing on post and drifting with the wind." Hubbard later clarified that "(T)his group is the most downstat nproductiveand one gets assigned to it by being a freeloader, invisible on post, loafing and really goofing up on one's job." In 1969, Hubbard replaced the Mud Box Brigade with the Rehabilitation Unit, again intended for those removed or disciplined "as ineffective or trouble." Following an evaluation, the individual was to receive a set of "specific recommendations which if followed will rehabilitate the individual as a highly effective and worthwhile Sea Org member." Hubbard instructed that "(T)he unit is

o be O, or o, is the fifteenth letter and the fourth vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''o'' (pronounced ), pl ...

worked hard during the day on a rigorous schedule on jobs assigned by the Review Chief handling corrective areas and jobs needing remedy and repair. The Unit itself is thus made into an effective ship's review team. It works on a one job, one time, one place formula completing each job before moving into the next. Each individual thus earns the right to the remedial services he or she will receive." Finally, the Rehabilitation Unit was replaced in January 1974 with the Rehabilitation Project Force, or RPF. According to Hubbard, "the RPF has been created by the Commodore ubbardso that redemption can occur. That is basically its only purpose." He identified four categories of people who were to be assigned to the RPF: "rockslammers" (people deemed to have hidden evil intentions, as detected by the

E-meter The E-meter, originally the electropsychometer, is an electronic device for displaying the electrodermal activity (EDA) of a human being. It is used for auditing in Scientology and divergent groups. The efficacy and legitimacy of Scientology's ...

); people who were unproductive and scored poorly on the

Oxford Capacity Analysis The Oxford Capacity Analysis (OCA), also known as the American Personality Analysis, is a list of questions which is advertised as being a personality test and that is administered for free by the Church of Scientology. The OCA test is offered ...

personality test; "repeated stat crashers", people who were held responsible for declines in Scientology organizations' productivity; and "overt product makers", people who produced poor-quality work. As before, the unit was to work on "one job, one place, one time." A five-hour study period was to be implemented each day to improve the individuals' knowledge of Scientology. According to

David G. Bromley David G. Bromley (born 1941) is a professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, specialized in sociology of religion and the academic study of new religious movements. ...

and Douglas E. Cowan, the RPF involves a daily regimen of five hours of auditing or studying, eight hours of work, often physical labor, such as building renovation, and at least seven hours of sleep. The RPF was originally intended to last no more than a couple of months, where the assignee would learn Scientology auditing, if he or she was not already an auditor, by the "read it, drill it, do it" method. RPF members would then co-audit each other to better themselves and make each other more ethical and productive. As punishment, RPF members are often made to wear black

boiler suits A boilersuit (or boiler suit), also known as coveralls, is a loose fitting garment covering the whole body except for the head, hands and feet. Terminology The term ''boilersuit'' is most common in the UK, where the 1989 edition of the ''Oxfo ...

Controversy

Critics of Scientology, including former Scientologists, have compared the RPF with the

system of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Leaving the

, even from the RPF, results in what Scientology calls "freeloader debt" or a "freeloader's bill": retroactive billing for any auditing received or any Scientology training received while in the Sea Org, which can run into tens of thousands of dollars. While this "freeloader debt" is not legally binding, many former Scientologists have reported that they felt trapped by the "freeloader debt" policy. In his book '' The Complex: An Insider Exposes the Covert World of the Church of Scientology'', ex-Scientologist John Duignan describes RPF members living in a rat-infested basement, engaging in degrading jobs for years at a stretch, while denied visits with

spouse A spouse is a significant other in a marriage. In certain contexts, it can also apply to a civil union or common-law marriage. Although a spouse is a form of significant other, the latter term also includes non-marital partners who play a social ...

s or children. Douglas E. Cowan and

state that various scholars and observers have come to radically different conclusions about the RPF and whether it is "voluntary or coercive, therapeutic or punitive"., p. 181

Castile Canyon School

One location, known as the Castile Canyon School or "Happy Valley", has been identified as a former RPF facility."Thurston, Susan (31 January 1999) "Bitter partings; Some former Scientologists say life at the church's Gilman Hot Springs complex resembles a slave labor camp. Church officials say its enemies are out to destroy the organizations" ''The Press Enterprise'' of Riverside, California, p. A-1, 31 January 1999 It was located east of

San Jacinto, California San Jacinto ( ; ; Spanish for " St. Hyacinth") is a city in Riverside County, California. It is located at the north end of the San Jacinto Valley, with Hemet to its south and Beaumont, California, to its north. The mountains associated with t ...

and southeast of

Gold Base Gold Base (also variously known as Gold, Golden Era Productions, Int Base, or Int) is the ''de facto'' international headquarters of the Church of Scientology, located north of San Jacinto, California, United States, about from Los Angeles. The ...

, near the reservation of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians. This site was sold by the Church in 2002 to the Soboba Band, who turned it into a resort.

Motto

:''The RPF is what you make it.'' :''The RPF is where you make it.''The Rehabilitation Project Force, Flag Order 3434RB, 30 May 1977

References

External links

The Castile Canyon School, aka Children's RPF; located two miles east of CoS headquarters in Hemet, CA
-> *

a paper by Dr.

Stephen A. Kent Stephen A. Kent is a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He researches new religious movements (NRMs), and has published research on several such groups including the Children of Go ...