Your Life as Every CIA Black Ops Rank

How to Become a CIA Officer

Level One: The Application Process

• Applicants fill out an online form on the CIA website, providing personal details such as name, education, and work history.

• After six months, candidates may receive an interview invitation where they undergo a four-hour questioning session aimed at building a psychological profile.

• Following the interview, candidates take a polygraph test that measures physiological responses while asking probing questions about their past actions and thoughts.

Level Two: Training at Camp Piri

• Accepted candidates are sent to Camp Piri in Virginia for 18 months of rigorous training in various spy skills known as "tradecraft."

• Trainees learn to identify surveillance patterns and how to evade being followed through practical exercises in urban environments.

• Skills taught include lock picking, safe cracking, and covert photography using real equipment from embassies and government buildings.

Recruitment Techniques

• Trainees study psychology to understand motivations behind betrayal: money, ideology, coercion, and ego; essential for recruiting assets.

• The washout rate is high (40%), with some trainees unable to cope with the moral complexities or pressure of espionage work.

Level Three: Becoming a Case Officer

• Graduates become CIA operations officers with cover identities; their first posting often involves working undercover in foreign embassies.

• Officially acting as political attaches allows them access to diplomatic functions while secretly evaluating potential targets for recruitment.

Asset Recruitment Strategy

• Officers identify individuals with access to valuable information—government officials or military personnel—and study their vulnerabilities.

• A successful recruitment example involves befriending a bureaucrat with gambling debts over several months before persuading him to share sensitive documents.

The Risks and Realities of Non-Official Cover in Intelligence

The Nature of Non-Official Cover

• Being expelled from a country is embarrassing but not life-threatening; families remain safe, and careers continue.

• Non-official cover means no diplomatic protection or government identification; if caught, agents are on their own with local laws applying.

• Agents receive a "legend," a fabricated identity as a businessman working for a CIA front company, allowing them to operate undetected.

Living Undercover

• Agents live their cover 24/7; neighbors see them as consultants while only handlers at Langley know the truth.

• Communication with handlers occurs through dead drops and encrypted messages, leading to complete isolation from support networks.

Transitioning to Paramilitary Operations

• After nearly being compromised in Beirut, agents may transition to the Special Activities Division (SAD), which conducts paramilitary operations.

• SAD operatives are soldiers who gather intelligence; they perform sensitive missions that official military forces cannot undertake.

Intense Training Regimen

• New recruits undergo rigorous military training focusing on small unit tactics, combat skills, and survival techniques taught by elite instructors.

First Missions and Ethical Dilemmas

• Initial missions involve hunting high-value targets in Afghanistan while navigating complex relationships with local militia fighters.

• Agents call in drone strikes based on intelligence that can be flawed, resulting in unintended civilian casualties alongside successful operations.

Leadership Challenges in High-Stakes Environments

Promotion to Team Leader

• After five years in SAD, agents may become team leaders responsible for mission planning and the safety of their units during operations.

Operations During Civil Unrest

• In Libya's civil war context, teams must secure chemical weapons amidst chaos while managing interactions with various militias for information.

High-Risk Missions

• Teams conduct nighttime raids on weapons depots under uncertain conditions; success hinges on accurate intelligence about potential threats.

Ambushed Convoy and the Burden of Secrecy

The Aftermath of an Ambush

• A convoy is ambushed on the last night in a country, resulting in one death and two injuries among the team.

• The narrator carries a wounded comrade to an extraction point under fire, highlighting the chaos and danger of their mission.

• Despite the successful extraction, letters written to families of casualties are filled with lies about what truly happened.

Physical and Emotional Toll

• After 15 years in the field, physical ailments accumulate: dislocated shoulder from a fall, aching knees from parachute landings, and constant ringing in ears due to explosions.

• At 42 years old, the narrator feels significantly older due to accumulated injuries; doctors advise against further fieldwork.

Transition to Chief of Station

New Responsibilities

• Transitioning into a desk job as Chief of Station (COOS), overseeing all CIA operations within a country.

• Manages 40 officers across various roles including case officers and technical specialists while coordinating with local assets.

Complex Political Landscape

• Engages daily with ambassadors and local intelligence services; navigating relationships with allies and adversaries alike.

• Balances conflicting demands from Washington for results, embassy needs for incident avoidance, and local government inquiries about American presence.

The Weight of Decision-Making

High-Stakes Operations

• Approves or cancels operations that could lead to international incidents or yield valuable intelligence; every decision is fraught with risk.

• Successes remain classified while failures can become public scandals; this creates immense pressure on leadership.

Personal Sacrifices

• Lives on minimal sleep (4 hours per night), has not taken vacation in three years; personal life suffers as marriage ends during deployment.

Black Site Commander Role

Running a Covert Facility

• Takes charge of a black site—an unacknowledged facility where high-value detainees are held without legal rights or representation.

• Detainees include terrorist leaders captured globally; they exist outside any legal framework or acknowledgment by governments.

Interrogation Techniques

• Utilizes classified enhanced interrogation techniques such as sleep deprivation and waterboarding; legality varies based on evolving laws.

Reflections on Morality

Justifications for Actions

• Rationalizes use of harsh interrogation methods as necessary for saving lives; struggles internally with moral implications of these actions.

Legacy at Black Site

• Operates facility for two years before leaving without recognition; continues functioning under new management without his knowledge.

Return to Headquarters: Division Director

Leadership at Langley

• Returns to CIA headquarters after extensive field experience, now managing an entire division within National Clandestine Service.

Oversight Responsibilities

• Oversees numerous covert operations globally while managing vast resources including funding that remains off official records.

Navigating Political Intricacies

Briefing High-Level Officials

• Regularly briefs the president on covert activities while participating in sensitive discussions that lack formal documentation.

Ethical Dilemmas

• Authorizes operations that could be considered war crimes if exposed; navigates complex political landscapes ensuring plausible deniability for officials involved.

The Life of a CIA Operative

The Weight of Secrets and Sacrifices

• Operations continue globally, with consequences that often remain unseen by the public. The intelligence community operates on a foundation of secrecy and violence.

• After 30 years in service, the retiree reflects on a career filled with covert operations, recruitment of assets, and decisions that shaped history but will never be documented.

• A small retirement ceremony at Langley honors the retiree's dedication. Despite receiving the Distinguished Intelligence Cross, it symbolizes sacrifices that cannot be shared or displayed publicly.

• Post-retirement life is marked by isolation; former colleagues are scattered or deceased, leaving the retiree unable to connect with anyone about their past experiences.

• Financially secure yet emotionally burdened, the retiree grapples with haunting memories of operations gone wrong and lives lost—experiences that remain classified for life.

The Burden of Being a Ghost

• Living as a "ghost," the retiree carries immense psychological weight from actions taken in service to their country—actions that would shock ordinary citizens if known.

• As new recruits fill out applications dreaming of adventure and heroism, they remain unaware of the profound loneliness and moral dilemmas inherent in such roles.

• The romanticized view of espionage contrasts sharply with reality; recruits will face challenges that could hollow them out emotionally while filling them with unshareable secrets.