When CIA officers quit, their second careers can be as intriguing as a spy movie. Some maintain a backstage pass through security consulting. Others become literary maestros. Many retire to enjoy life's simple pleasures - at least, until their next operation. We sat down with six pros to find out what it’s like being RED: Retired and Extremely Dangerous. Don't forget to explore our Archive and Share & Subscribe with your friends!
The Undercover Operative
When Doug Patteson operated in Southeast Asia, his surveillance minders got annoyed whenever he shook off his tail so they’d retaliate by stealing his car mirrors. Doug figured it was a small price to pay - his bigger concerns involved threats from Islamic fundamentalists and Communist guerrillas. Now he’s going head-to-head with corporate kingpins and Hollywood elites.
FBI agent Robert Hanssen swore to protect America’s most precious secrets. Instead, he leaked them to Russia. Hear how Hanssen became the most damaging spy in FBI history in the new CBS News podcast, Agent of Betrayal: The Double Life of Robert Hanssen.
As a CIA officer, Ric Prado jumped at the chance to train Contra rebels to battle
the Nicaraguan government. He slept in jungle hammocks and lived by his wits but that certainly wasn’t his only adventure. Ric’s memoir reads like a thriller, a life of drama, intrigue, and a fierce dedication to the US. It’s not a long way from what he does now: consulting on intelligence, clandestine operations, and counterterrorism.
Alex Finley traded CIA secrets for satire, writing spy novels and going ‘all in’ on book launches. Guests used aliases, some had missions while others pre-ordered books signed with messages in code. Even though Finley left the CIA in 2009, it seems espionage was too intriguing to leave behind entirely. Alex soon found herself tracking Russian oligarchs and their yachts.
Douglas Laux was studying to be an eye doctor when 9/11 changed his life. His first CIA office was in an old Russian prison in Afghanistan. That’s where Doug hunted down arms dealers who supplied explosives to the Taliban. Tired of being in the line of fire, Doug quit after eight years, wrote a bestseller, and hosted Bravo TV’s Spy Games. He sat down with the True Spies podcast to discuss life in the danger zone.
When Rodney Faraon was in high school, Tom Clancy had just published The Hunt for Red October and Rodney was determined to become an analyst like Jack Ryan. Rodney shot to the top, working on the President’s Daily Brief team and writing speeches for ex-CIA director George Tenet. It was a dream job but he was lured away by the undercover world of business intelligence and political risk.
Former USC sorority sister Tracy Walder initially wanted to teach history but decided to make it instead. Her job? Travel the globe and disrupt terrorist plots. Many people underestimated the young blonde CIA officer in a pink pashmina but not for long. As an encore, Walder joined the FBI’s Los Angeles bureau to focus on catching Beijing’s spies.
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