Editing Scientology (section)

=== Internal organization ===

{{main|Office of Special Affairs|Guardian's Office}}

[[File:Church of Spiritual Technology ranch Creston.jpg|thumb|The [[Church of Spiritual Technology]] (CST) ranch in Creston, California, where Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard spent his last days. The CST symbol is visible within a racetrack.]]
The Sea Org is the organization's primary management unit,{{sfn|Bromley|2009|p=99}} containing the highest ranks in its hierarchy.<ref name="GA180">{{harvnb|Cowan|Bromley|2006|p=180}}</ref> Its members are often recruited from the children of existing Scientologists,{{sfn|Westbrook|2019|p=42}} and sign up to a "billion-year contract" to serve the organization.{{sfnm|1a1=Kent|1y=1999a|1p=7|2a1=Bromley|2y=2009|2p=99|3a1=Urban|3y=2011|3p=36|4a1=Halupka|4y=2014|4p=618}} Kent described that for adult Sea Org members with minor children, their work obligations took priority, damaged parent-child relations, and has led to cases of severe child neglect and endangerment.{{sfn|Kent|1999a|pp=7–11}}

The [[Rehabilitation Project Force]] (RPF) is the Church of Scientology's disciplinary program,{{sfn|Urban|2011|p=10}} where Sea Org members deemed to have seriously deviated from its teachings are placed.{{sfnm|1a1=Kent|1y=1999a|1p=11|2a1=Halupka|2y=2014|2p=618}}<ref name="GA181" /> They will often face a hearing, the "Committee of Evidence", which determines if they will be sent to the RPF.{{sfn|Kent|1999a|pp=11–12}} The RPF operates out of several locations.{{sfn|Kent|1999a|p=11}} It 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.<ref name="GA181" /> Journalists have condemned RPF practices for violating human rights;{{sfn|Urban|2011|p=10}} and criticized the Scientology organization for placing children as young as twelve into the RPF, engaging them in [[Forced labour|forced labor]] and denying access to their parents, violating [[Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights]].<ref name="kent"/> The RPF has contributed to characterizations of the organization as a cult.{{sfn|Halupka|2014|p=618}}

The Office of Special Affairs or ''OSA'' (formerly the ''Guardian's Office'') is a department of the Church of Scientology which has been characterized as a non-state [[intelligence agency]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Understanding Scientology | chapter= 12: OSA (Office of Special Affairs) – The Secret CIA of Scientology |first=Margery | last=Wakefield |year=1991 |chapter-url=https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/wakefield/us-12.html |access-date=2023-01-28 |via=[[David S. Touretzky]]}}</ref><ref>Cisar, Joe (translator) [https://web.archive.org/web/20040919194149/http://www.lermanet.com/cisar/books/trn1053.htm The Guardian Office (GO)]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Hamburg Regional Office of the German Constitutional Security Agency |url=http://fhh.hamburg.de/stadt/Aktuell/behoerden/inneres/landesamt-fuer-verfassungsschutz/publikationen/pdf-bibliothek/scientology-organisation-pdf,property=source.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614094335/http://fhh.hamburg.de/stadt/Aktuell/behoerden/inneres/landesamt-fuer-verfassungsschutz/publikationen/pdf-bibliothek/scientology-organisation-pdf,property=source.pdf |archive-date=June 14, 2006 |title=Der Geheimdienst der Scientology-Organisation – Grundlagen, Aufgaben, Strukturen, Methoden und Ziele – Zweite Auflage, Stand 06.05.1998}}</ref> It has targeted critics of the organization for "[[dead agent]]" operations, which is mounting [[character assassination]] operations against perceived enemies.<ref name="woods3">{{Cite news|date=9 June 1999
| last = Dyer | first = Clare
|title=Scientologists pay for libel|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/jun/09/claredyer|access-date=2023-01-28|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref>
A 1990 article in the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that in the 1980s the Scientology organization more commonly used private investigators, including former and current Los Angeles police officers, to give themselves a layer of protection in case embarrassing tactics were used and became public.<ref name="On the Offensive Against an Array of Suspected Foes, Los Angeles Times, June 29, 1990" /> The [[International Association of Scientologists]] operates to advance the cause of the Scientology organization and its members across the world.{{sfn|Kent|1999a|p=5}}