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Introduction
DPL Agencies DPL (Dangerous Phenomena Location) agencies represent a growing trend throughout the world. Since the Victorian age there have been occasional "ghost hunting" societies that have had either the blessing or the funding of an open minded government. The VGH in Britain was one of the most renowned of these groups but it certainly wasn't the first. However, not until the early 1950s have governments themselves created special organizations designed specifically with the supernatural in mind. These agencies differ from their predecessors in that they are not merely concerned with the investigation and documentation of the paranormal, but rather are charged with the elimination of supernatural threats. In some cases, they have even attempted to utilize such phenomena in an attempt to shift the all to tenuous balance of world power. the government sanctioned "ghost hunters" of today resemble nothing so much as cadres of highly trained soldiers, a far cry from their society club beginnings. Every major industrialized nation on earth had created some sort of DPL agency by the end of the 1960s. This "arms race" can be seen as a byproduct of the Cold War, a time when paranoia ran unusually deep. Just as the members of these agencies began to resemble their military brethren, so too their tactics began to mirror those of the elite special forces. Operations are conducted under the heaviest cloak of secrecy, and all too often are staged on foreign soil. One of the most active of these organizations is the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) in the United States. The United States' DSI was created by President Eisenhower in 1954 and was one of the first of the modern "ghost hunters". It was one element of a two part program code named: AVATAR. Project: Blue Book was the other half of the operation. The Air Force's half was also twofold. There was the "official" investigation of UFOs designed for public consumption, and then there was the covert investigative portion. However, It was decided by President Johnson and the National Security Council in 1968 to close down the military aspect of AVATAR. In 1969 Project: Blue Book was terminated. The stated goal of the DSI is the suppression of paranormal activity that would in any way threaten their national security. This blanket directive has enabled them to, on more than one occasion, strike out at private citizens and engage in operations across the globe. With the end of the Cold War and the Balkanization of the Soviet Union, the directives and mission goals of many DPL agencies have changed drastically. Many countries have dismantled their departments, and still others have re-purposed theirs. As a result of this political upheaval, those agencies still operative in their original form have had to become even more secretive . Many agencies have been attempting to gain more autonomy by disguising their nature from their own governments.
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