Controlled Remote Viewing(CRV) is a specific form of applied parapsychology. Spurred by similar techniques in use by the USSR in 1970, the U.S. government embarked on a two-pronged investigation into developing CRV, as a weapon against enemies of U.S. intelligence. An "operations unit" and a "research unit" were established, though kept distinctly separate from each other, like a double blind research study. Under the auspices of the CIA, the basic purpose of the operations unit was to spy on designated targets, while the research unit trained potentially talented candidates for psychic warfare.
In 1983, the government implemented a revised program, led by Ingo Swann and Harold Puthoff, to train anyone to reach minimum accuracy competence on targets tasked. By 1991, the program transferred to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) under the name STARGATE. It operated, more or less, secretly, performing hundreds of intelligence collection tasks. Then, in 1994, for unclear reasons, the CIA declassified the CRV programs within the U.S. government, and evidently STARGATE was terminated shortly thereafter.
According to U.S. military sources, when recruits employed these techniques, they presented it as "the structured, scientific use of natural human potential for the acquisition of no-nonsense, real-world information without being dependent on: the normal five senses, prior or existing knowledge about the target, help or information from other people, logical deductions, and equipment, such as photos, electronics or other devices." However, CRV is a physical activity, not a purely mental one. It uses the body's autonomic nervous system to act as a "translator" between the subconscious and conscious minds - which normally do not talk to each other. This requires a discipline of physical as well as mental training. While the practitioner needn't possess a great degree of natural ability, the person does need to be disciplined and employ repetition of the methods taught.
After the CIA declassified CRV, Remote Viewer Lyn Buchanan established his company, Problems, Solutions, Innovations (PSI), to serve as an independent contractor in the information gathering field.