Words from a Company Man

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82646062885442606422009-11-14T17:25:20.986ZWords from a Company ManA Primer For The Aspiring SpyPat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-36504453177097928922009-11-08T16:23:00.000Z2009-11-08T16:25:25.586ZGlossary of Terms - Index D, E and F

Dangle Operation – This is a type of double agent. The agent is made known to an intelligence or security service of another country as a promising target in the hope that the agent will be recruited by the other service. Actually, the loyalty of the agent is to the original service that “dangled” him in front of the second service.Dead Drop – This is a temporary hiding place where an agent or

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-7872094752242035712009-10-29T19:57:00.001Z2009-10-29T19:57:57.394ZAnonymous asked : How are operational aliases selected for Case Officers to use?

Operational aliases are selected by the Case Officer him/herself. We generally chose about five or six, sometimes more, aliases we would like to use and submit them to CIA Hqs to cross check just to make sure the same names have not already chosen by others or have been compromised in some way. Then this is narrowed down to some three or four for use when you arrive at a new Station. Hqs then

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-85146714961275868762009-10-26T05:02:00.000Z2009-10-26T05:04:49.788ZAnonymous asked for further insight on use of elicitation as a tool.

Unfortunately, I have never read any books on elicitation nor have I heard of any. I have had some training in both the military and with the Company on interrogations and, of course, on agent debriefings, but no training was ever given on elicitations. By far, the tool I used most as a NOC was elicitation. So I am sure I would have benefited from some training in this area. It is always

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-23232043957459615782009-10-26T05:01:00.000Z2009-10-26T05:02:36.842ZAnonymous asked about CIA use of contractors in agent operations.

Q. What has been your experience with contractors? Does the Company ever recruit networks of agents recruited by primary third parties or contractors?A. I have had no experience working with contractors and in my day contractors were a rarity. Remember, for most of my career I was an undeclared singleton NOC and did not work with anyone but other CIA personnel. Today contractors are more

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-83211553710537408272009-10-22T20:34:00.000Z2009-10-22T20:36:30.641ZAnonymous asked about financing agent operations.

Q. Thank you for your insights regarding the Box and it's effectiveness. I'm curious if you can discuss financing of your operations. In the Human Factor by Ishmael Jones, Jones states that many times he wouldn't wait for monies from DC. Instead, he would basically fund an operation, trip, payment, etc with the appreciation that the Company would reimburse him in due course. At a couple points

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-35048117103372284562009-10-16T16:22:00.002Z2009-10-16T16:37:17.844ZAnonymous asked about the Box and NOC attrition.

Q. Thanks for the extent of your contribution to this country's safety. I noticed in your Glossary of Terms under "B", i found myself looking for the term "Box" to describe a polygraph. I've read in a couple places that fear of the "box" was a legit concern for any NOC working abroad at the Company as a failed score could mean the end of your overseas career.From what I can tell, (from your

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-13729279525362897472009-10-15T19:58:00.000Z2009-10-15T20:03:26.837ZAnonymous asked about making Cold Contacts

Q. Is there usually any (abnormal) risk associated with making Cold Contact? If there are risks associated with making Cold Contact, are there typically any steps that are taken after contact is made to ensure the risks are minimal? If for whatever reason, the opportunity is lost and the case officer is unsuccessful in creating an opportunity for follow up (i.e. the target sees no reason to

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-17159899209832552142009-10-05T02:27:00.002Z2009-10-05T02:32:01.958ZGlossary of Terms - Index C

Carbon Paper – This is a special chemically treated paper that produces secret writing. The carbon paper is placed between two sheets of paper with the secret message written on the top paper and the message transferred invisibly to the bottom sheet. An visible message is then written on the bottom sheet and mailed. When received, another special chemical is applied to the sheet revealing the

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-67740250801825399792009-10-05T02:27:00.001Z2009-10-05T02:27:42.919ZGlossary of Terms - Ine

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-81981318631656791902009-09-28T18:26:00.002Z2009-09-28T18:33:55.558ZAnonymous asked about NOC training.

Q. You mentioned in one of your earlier posts that only around half of the NOC officers are assigned overseas while the other half remain in the US usually involved in some sort of training or training others. Do NOC officers also have training opportunities while abroad? And if so, what kinds of opportunities tend to come up (if you may say)?A. Yes, NOC officers have ample training

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-70917831823659167752009-09-21T21:26:00.001Z2009-09-22T00:16:24.279ZAnonymous asked about overhauling the CIA!

Q. Thanks for the posts --all incredibly informative. One former CIA officer, Reuel Marc Gerecht, has written at length about the shortcomings of the agency and has given his thoughts on how the agency must first shrink and re-focus it's recruitment. He sees most of the current intelligence gathering as ineffective at best. One area he suggests the agency focuses on is recruitment. He believes "

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-29238245887840161202009-09-16T00:46:00.000Z2009-09-16T00:47:53.784ZAnonymous asked about implications of disclosure of CIA employment.

Q. Upon becoming either a case officer or NOC, how would you describe the relationship between people who know you? Do you tend to lose touch with friends and family, especially while on an overseas tour? It would seem that the life you once lived becomes a distant past. Is it possible to maintain contact with friends that remain in the US while working abroad or would that be a security risk

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-16101689619625784932009-09-13T13:19:00.002Z2009-10-15T20:13:15.368ZGlossary of Terms - Index B

Backstopped - This refers to the extent and degree of protection a particular cover or alias is given by the CIA. A fully backstopped cover or alias identification used by a CIA officer will include several alias documents such as passport, credit cards and drivers’ license and may also have a cover company, sometimes a devised facility cover, created and staffed by the CIA to provide some

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-2913026928695548382009-08-28T16:23:00.000Z2009-08-28T16:28:33.623ZGlossary of Terms - Index A

People in the business of espionage do not talk like normal folks! We have a special vocabulary of terms that have meaning only to those on the inside of this business. Over the next few months many of these terms will be posted here. Some you probably already know from reading spy novels and watching spy movies. We will start with the letter A and work our way through the alphabet. I hope

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-13742795654426446292009-08-13T01:20:00.000Z2009-08-13T01:22:37.868ZAnonymous asked if I would do it over again?

Q. Given a choice, if you could do it all over again, would you still be a NOC or would you be official cover? Most importantly, can you please state why? Is NOC life considerably more dangerous / satisfying / difficult than official cover? For someone with a spouse, how much more difficult is NOC life? Does the spouse have to be more in the dark or are they involved at times? A. I had a

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-1441357559439959912009-08-08T00:51:00.000Z2009-08-08T00:52:53.681ZA Day in the Shoes of a Non-Official Cover Case Officer

Well, you have completed your training but not at the Farm. The training of a NOC Case Officer is conducted in non-government facilities mostly in the area of northern Virginia that is easily accessible to the CIA personnel who will be doing the training. After a year of training that is more detailed and specialized than that given at the Farm to Official Cover Officers, you are assigned to a

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-73548268388461984052009-07-29T19:59:00.000Z2009-07-29T20:00:59.295ZA Day in the Shoes of an Official Cover Case Officer

OK! You have completed your training at the Farm, deployed to either CIA Headquarters or a CIA domestic Station for a two year tour of on-the-job training as a junior Case Officer and have completed a one-year course in a foreign language. Finally, you have been assigned to an overseas Station under diplomatic cover as a first tour Case Officer. It has been five years since you came on board

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-17653063731052873312009-07-16T20:55:00.000Z2009-07-16T21:00:50.819ZThe Paramilitary Case Officer

I had a private email from a reader asking about the CIA's paramilitary officer program, so I am covering it here a bit earlier than I had planned. There are basically three types of Case Officers. The CIA Case Officer we call the inside officer who works officially as a US government employee under cover of another governmental agency, the NOC Case Officer who works under deep cover as an

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-55430771578808942792009-07-10T01:23:00.000Z2009-07-10T01:26:34.677ZSomestimes you're wrong sometimes you're right!

Case 9:“A young NOC officer who once worked with me had a developmental contact who loved western porn movies. We thought at first that this would be a vulnerability we could exploit. We set up a purchase mechanism to procure porn movies in the US, ship them to the Case Officer and then “sell” them to the contact. We hoped to discover that he was doing something elicit with these movies and

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-84389974700157921042009-06-29T02:55:00.000Z2009-06-29T03:00:45.183ZCase 7 and 8 - Agents have feelings, too

Case 7“Please remember first and foremost that your agents have feelings, often very deep feelings. You will often find, however, that the bureaucracy does not care about how your agents feel about directions, requirements and instructions issued by headquarters. It will be up to you to act as a buffer between the bureaucracy and your agents to make sure your operations run smoothly. “On one

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-64045125589396991492009-06-18T22:42:00.000Z2009-06-18T22:43:26.074ZAnonymous asked about verification of intelligence reports.

Q. During a NOC's field assignment, after he/she has extracted information from an agent and passed it back to the Company's internal case officers for verification, how can the internal case officers verify/analyze whether the information is truthful (as they may not have third party verification) before they write up the report back to Langley ?A. After any Case Officer (CO), whether a NOC or

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-72144354092128803622009-06-16T00:45:00.005Z2009-06-16T00:58:06.077ZCase 5 - I Rather Prefer the CIA, Thank You!!!!! Case 6 - Open Code Screw Up

Case Five:“I made a commercial recruitment attempt on a development asset I had been working on in commercial alias for around six months. I believed the asset had sufficient motivation to accept recruitment as a witting agent so I suggested the asset be turned over to an inside Case Officer in an unattributible turnover so he could be recruited as a witting agent. I was overruled by the

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-14460333157001424502009-06-07T20:26:00.000Z2009-06-07T20:31:09.109ZCase 3 - Friendship can get you through the door Case 4 - Get off the plane, you fool!

Case Three: Friendship can get you through the door! “In the early 1980’s a foreign nuclear engineer who was in the US for advance studies was pitched by one of the CIA’s domestic Stations. Indignant, the engineer turned down the pitch and went directly to his embassy to report it. When the engineer returned to his country, his security service used him to give security lectures to other

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-10718307910965973122009-06-02T22:14:00.000Z2009-06-02T22:15:25.437ZAnonymous asked about a NOCs moral dilemma!

Q. How does a NOC resolves the moral dilemma that on one hand, the NOC must display total loyalty and honesty to the Company, while the very nature of a NOC's role is shrouded in mystery and deep cover - in order to perform his/her assigned task - assuming their moral compass is well-balanced? Your thoughts on this issue are well appreciated. A. I really had to chuckle at this question with the

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8264606288544260642.post-43524535973505999212009-05-29T12:52:00.000Z2009-05-29T12:58:03.790ZWhat's in a Name? - Case Two

“What's in a name, right? I once ran into a situation where the right name almost busted my cover! On this occasion one of my safehouse keepers was away on an extended leave and I had to pay the rent on his behalf. Not wanting to connect myself in true name, I went to the leasing company in alias, paid the rent in cash on two consecutive months and got receipts in alias from the receptionist.

Pat Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07288866112082666382noreply@blogger.com1