John L. LaMothe

Captain John L. LaMothe was an author and military intelligence officer with the Medical Intelligence Office of the U.S. Army, Office of the Surgeon General. He was tasked with conducting a joint intelligence assessment of the "Soviet psychoenergetic threat," a term coined by the Pentagon to include all matters related to Soviet anomalous mental phenomena research and electromagnetic weapons programs¹.

His two-year effort resulted in a 174-page classified report titled Controlled Offensive Behavior—USSR, published in 1972. The report aimed to aid in the development of countermeasures for the protection of U.S. or allied personnel, concluding that the Soviets were rapidly developing "methods of controlling or manipulating human behavior through subtle, non-identifiable means," including psychopharmacology, subliminal messaging, and electromagnetic weapons¹.

LaMothe's report highlighted the "unusual, disproportionate interest" of Communist state authorities, the military, and the KGB in parapsychology, confirming military involvement in Psi research. He broke down the danger into four categories of existential threat posed by Soviet agents with psychoenergetic abilities¹:

1. "Disable, at a distance, US military equipment of all types, including space craft."
2. "Know the contents of top secret US documents, the movements of our troops and ships and the location and nature of our military installations."
3. "Mold the thoughts of key US military and civilian leaders, at a distance."
4. "Cause the instant death of any US official, at a distance."

In essence, LaMothe argued that a Soviet agent could disrupt military technology, access state secrets, influence national leaders, and assassinate U.S. officials through targeted ESP and PK¹.

Citing scientists and experts like Oliver J. Caldwell and Sybil Leek, LaMothe saw an immediate need for the U.S. to create a program to mirror the Soviets' psychic warfare undertakings. However, the alarmist nature of his text limited its distribution, and those in the know considered LaMothe's sources biased in favor of ESP research programs¹.

Despite the controversy, LaMothe's report circulated through the military and intelligence communities, prompting the Central Intelligence Agency to take action and escalate its own psychic research programs¹.

Publications

• Controlled Offensive Behavior—USSR (1972)