As the chemical mercury can take the human grasp to the limits of a container, so that human effort when focused through the mind can extend into space and beyond time. This simile was chosen to describe a career that was somewhat unique and benefitted from both the tangible and intangible strength given to it by so many others. My loss of all sight through a stroke to my central optic nerve ended my lifetime career with the Central Intelligence Agency. My attention thus turned to placing between two book ends a useful record of my unusual career in intelligence. From the beginning, my intention was to stress interface between the Central Intelligence Agency and the private sector. That is a dimension generally new to the public and hopefully one that knowledge of will encourage further interest among young people in making a career in intelligence. The first book end consists of my naval combat experience during the Second World War in the Pacific that turned my career goal away from the Navy to the study of international relations and service in the field of intelligence. The second book end consists of a stroke in 2004 which brought an end to my intelligence career. I came to welcome that in terms of my ability then to focus my time entirely to assisting in the final stage of her life my wonderful wife of fifty-five years who had so strongly supported that career. My very fortunate remarriage has led to the writing of this book and a bright new life. The selections of my original poetry that are distributed within the text are designed to show the beneficial contribution of such activity through a difficult career pattern and also to the process of recovering from a stroke and adjusting to the state of legal blindness. My original poetry on the subject of the American flag is designed to convey the depth and breadth of patriotism that is sought to be reflected here in the record. The other original poems appended at the end of the record are designed to show the benefit of having a creative outlet to accompany one’s strong focus on the intensive work of intelligence. My dictation of this book into a hand recorder for transcription has taught me much about the importance of memory, concentration and conciseness. That caused me also to focus on importance, and for that reason, I have devoted one chapter to lessons learned in my career. Among those listed in Chapter 12, three stand out for mention here. First, the need for foreign acculturation to help us Americans understand, for example, the Chinese preparedness to compromise in the face of pressure. Secondly, the benefit of learning the culture within and of an organization in which one is working, such as the CIA, and being prepared to take a variety of assignments without losing focus on one’s important personal goals. Finally, the criticality of learning and taking to heart life’s lessons and living by them. The split second saving of my life during the wartime at sea has caused me consistently to work toward earning that blessing of life itself and the privilege of commitment to a lifetime of achievement toward the national need. On November 4, 2006, then Chairman E. Peter Earnest of the Association for Intelligence Officers (AFIO) presented its Lifetime Achievement Award to me. It emphasized the focus of my career as an intelligence officer. This focus had been suggested by my lead mentor in the International Relations Faculty at Yale University who urged that I constantly seek to bridge between the public and private sectors in understanding the importance of intelligence. This story begins with the account of an action during the Second World War in the Pacific and the effect that that had upon my study plans, changing from a naval career to one in national intelligence. There is some satisfaction that comes from knowing that you are carrying a degree of responsibility toward your nation – responsibility of knowing and protecting critical information that is not only important but is information that can directly affect the recipients in our country but also those who have made the information available in the first place. This then is a dual concern that you carry with you throughout your career. It is both sobering and invigorating. It becomes a steady driving force that moves one toward improvement and advancement in one’s career. The poem placed at the end of this book is very important to let readers know that the standards reflected in that poem are truly current standards within the intelligence profession. I know from my experience the officers mentioned in this chapter live those standards and work towards those goals in ways that influenced my career directly. My hope then is that the ending of this book with such a listing will help some readers in asking themselves if this is the kind of life they would like to lead and if these are the kinds of satisfactions that they would wish to obtain and if these are goals they would like to strive for.
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