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 religiou ...

's program for members of its Sea Organization 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'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. Scholars, journalists, and former scientologists have characterized the RPF as a forced labor and re-indoctrination program comparable to the Soviet

gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

system.

Development

The Rehabilitation Project Force developed out of a predecessor group, the Mud Box Brigade, which was formed aboard L. Ron Hubbard's private fleet in the late 1960s. The mud box is a small perforated screening box fitted to the suction pipe in the

bilge 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 (us ...

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 lines, bilges and other parts of the fleet's ships. 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 beworked 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." In January 1974, the Rehabilitation Unit was replaced 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 (also electropsychometer and Hubbard Electrometer) is an electronic device used in Scientology that allegedly "registers emotional reactions". After claims by L. Ron Hubbard that the procedures of Auditing (Scientology), auditing, w ...

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

Description

According to David G. Bromley and Douglas E. Cowan, the RPF involves a daily regimen of five hours of

auditing An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

or studying, eight hours of work, often physical labor, such as building renovation, and at least seven hours of sleep. Mike Rinder wrote that the RPF is a "program for Sea Org members who are troublesome or failures. They are segregated from the rest of the group, undergo security checks, and perform manual labor all day. They may not speak to others." The uniform of RPF members is a black

boilersuit 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 2023 edition of the ''Oxfo ...

. RPF members work hard manual labor, which is called MEST work in Scientology parlance, often without the proper tools or safety equipment. They must run (not walk) everywhere they go, are restricted to base, have no liberties, eat leftovers from the crew mess hall, do the dirtiest jobs, and receive only one quarter of regular pay. RPFers receive no training for the types of construction jobs they frequently do, and must learn on the job. 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, it was claimed to better themselves and make each other more ethical and productive. Former Sea Org members who've been through the program charge that it is a form of re-indoctrination, one stating the "twin", or auditing partner he was given was actually "responsible for making sure he didn't escape."

RPF's RPF

Sea Org members newly assigned to the RPF who do not want to be on the RPF are first assigned to the RPF's RPF until they choose to join the RPF. When an RPFer messes up, they are assigned to the RPF's RPF, formerly called the "Bilge Brigade". Such members are segregated from other RPFers, get a maximum of six hours sleep per day, receive no pay, no training, no auditing, and may only work on the dirtiest and most demeaning jobs until they make amends or decide to join the RPF. Usual tasks were cleaning sludge and oil from a ship's bilge, or cleaning out the grease traps under the

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

Controversy

Scholars, journalists, and former scientologists have called the RPF an "unusually brutal prison" and an "Orwellian prison", and have compared it to the

system of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and the Chinese re-education camps. Leaving the Sea Org, even from the RPF, results in what Scientology calls "freeloader debt" or a "freeloader's bill": retroactive billing for any auditing received or any Scientology training received while in the Sea Org, which can run into tens of thousands of dollars. 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 their spouses or children. Douglas E. Cowan and David G. Bromley 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 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 h ...

, 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 casino resort.Fetbrandt, Steve (30 July 2006) "Soboba Band: Tribal Chairman Invests in Semi-pro Football Team; Game Plan; Part-owner Wants Players To Be Role Models, Draw Youths" ''The Press Enterprise'' of Riverside, California, p. B-1, 30 July 2006

Motto

: ''The RPF is what you make it. The RPF is where you make it.''

Notes

References

External links

* Astra Woodcraft interview: Part three, "Leaving the Sea Org", January 20, 2001, XenuTV
Video of full interview

Ex-Int Base Staff Interrogatory
December 6, 2004 {{Scientology Scientology-related controversies Scientology organizations Scientology in Riverside County, California Hemet, California