Kevin Hulbert is a former senior intelligence officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations who retired in June 2014, having served multiple overseas tours as CIA Chief of Station and Deputy Chief of Station. He is currently the President of XK Group.
On many days, but especially on Memorial Day, I think of the brave men and women of the CIA who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
There are, unfortunately, quite a few more stars on the CIA Memorial Wall today than there were when I started my career. The Agency added four more stars just this year.
Over the years, when I was assigned to headquarters, no matter where I parked my car, I would try to walk in and out of the front entrance of the building that bears the famous seal, because I always found it a powerful and very meaningful reminder of what we do and why.
Just outside the front entrance, is a statue of Nathan Hale, a noose around his neck, with the inscription of his brave last words that, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country…” Nathan Hale had fought in the Revolutionary war, volunteered for an intelligence gathering mission against the British in New York, and was unfortunately quickly caught and executed by the British.
To the left side of the headquarters lobby, is a statue of Bill Donovan and a memorial star commemorating all of the OSS officers who died in the Second World War. On the right, is the CIA Memorial Wall to fallen colleagues who died in the line of duty.
Over the years, I always found very sobering the inexorable rise in the number of stars on the wall. Every couple of years or so, coming back to headquarters from tours overseas, I would notice that there were more stars on the wall than when I had left.
In 2009, CIA took a devastating hit when a double agent came into one of our compounds in Afghanistan and killed 11 Agency officers and contractors. The Base Chief at that time was my friend, Jennifer Matthews and on Memorial Day, I always think of her and the beautiful family she left behind. But we try to remember our friends not by how they died, but by how they lived. They are brave patriots, audacious, aggressive, dedicated, steadfast and willing to take great risks to keep the homeland safe from the scourge of terrorism.
Read more from former CIA Senior Intelligence Officer Kevin Hulbert in The Cipher Brief…
