The Trashing of the CIA

During my last two years in the army I trained for a future assignment (after retirement) with the CIA. I had gone to Arlington and interviewed with a recruiter and was even told that my probable first assignment would be in Entebba, Africa. I was a perfect choice; after all I was a professional soldier and pilot with Special Forces training. I was an explosives expert, a security expert with training from the army's top security school in Germany, a trained locksmith, trained in escape-and-evasion, trained in establishing clandestine communications networks and an expert in small weapons. I was also trained to recognize the presents of the conditions necessary for a revolution and, if desired, how to plant the seeds for a revolution.

After I received my discharge I went to the CIA Headquarters in Arlington and was ready to go to work. My recruiter was gone! No one seemed to know his name or where he went. I was introduced to a new recruiter and promptly rejected because, as he put it, I did not fit the new profile for a field operator. What they were looking for now were field workers with business degrees. They were instructed not to take on any more Green Berets or ex-military applicants.

I found out that this new policy was a result of the CIA's involvement in Nixon's Watergate and that several people, including my recruiter, bailed out of the agency after the new rules were announced.

 Later, I got a job as a test pilot for Bell Helicopter and was sent to Iran to help train Iranians in helicopter operations and repair. During my stay in Iran we had trouble with Shiite Muslim extremist who wanted the US out of Iran. They were bombing restaurants where Americans ate and several times they tried to bomb busses that were taking American workers to the Iranian airbase outside Isfahan.

I was taking my girlfriend to the American Embassy to see about getting her a visa when I met a young American business school graduate serving as the CIA field agent in Isfahan. After talking with this young boy for several minutes, I knew we were in deep trouble. He had no idea what was going on and didn't have a clue how to find out. He told me with absolute sincerity that he believed the hostility was not directed towards Americans in particular. I can only believe that he sent that same message back to Arlington. No wonder we were caught with our pants down when the Iranian "students" took over our embassy.