UNLEASHING YOUR INNER SPY

5 Survival Lessons From a Former CIA Officer

- Steven Kuo

You’re standing in line at a crowded consulate in a foreign country when you get a sinking sensation that you’ve been flagged to be detained. As you begin to slink away toward the lobby, an agent calls out to you. You calmly and deliberately take stock of your situation, noting several Marines posting security and another agent readying handcuffs. You stop and raise your hands to a surrender position, which appears submissive while also being an effective fighting position.

Your eyes continue to scan as you’re surrounded by three men — a Marine and two in suits. As the Marine places his hand on your shoulder, you control him with a wrist lock, strike one of the others in the throat, elbow the Marine, and kick the other one again. You block an attack by the Marine and shove him back into the third man, who has drawn his service pistol. You quickly disarm him and throw him to the ground. As horrified and petrified onlookers scream and scatter, you’re off to the races.

If this is your idea of what being a spy is like, then you probably already recognize this piece of fiction as the U.S. Embassy scene from the action movie The Bourne Identity. In reality, the life of an intelligence officer can be quite mundane at times and thrilling at others, but the stakes are no less critical. In the interests of national security, a CIA officer may perform counterintelligence, conduct surveillance, recruit agents, or protect personnel and assets. They operate in dangerous and nonpermissive environments, persuade and cajole, evade capture, and are ready for anything.