Gray Men/Women become invisible |
The main mission of U.S.
counterintelligence (CI) operatives is to gather information and conduct
activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations, or other harmful
activities that foreign intelligence may conduct against America.
That’s quite a job description, and to
accomplish it, CI operatives must blend in, to “see” but not be seen. CIA
operative Jonna Mendez teaches CI recruits to determine a ‘baseline’ – identify
what is ‘normal’ in order to fit into that environment. Example, you’re not
going to wear a suit to the beach (or a bikini in the boardroom).
Mendez teaches them to “Act as if”. If you
want to look like a tourist, get out your map, have your travel guide in your
hand and start taking photos. If you want to look like a local, use a branded
shopping bag, pick up a newspaper or put on some headphones.
She also recommends avoiding eye contact!
It’s a simple thing – but making eye contact will trigger a stimulus in someone
and cause them to register your presence. If you want to remain the grey man or
grey woman, avoid making eye contact.
In the MISSION
OF VENGEANCE spy thriller, CIA spymaster Corey Pearson and his CI teams
often become Gray Men/Women. Here’s a snippet:
“Let’s just hope it works. Remember, we’re
operating on the Obscure Transgression level. The FBI doesn’t know who the
killers are, only you and I, your team, the Key West CIA operatives, General
Morrison and POTUS know.”
“We’ve gathered enough evidence to convict
them all, right now, if we hand it over to law enforcement. The FBI and
Dominican Republic National Police would raid Boris’ yacht and Bocharov’s
estate and slap the cuffs on all of them.”
“We’re not law enforcement; we’re
counterintelligence. We don’t have the powers of arrest… we blend in, become
Grey Men and Grey Women, observe, gather intelligence. We’re going to find out
what their big plan is against the U.S., and after finding out what Boris and
his Spetsnaz butchers are like, I’m sure it isn’t pretty. If the FBI sweeps in
the real threat to America won’t be uncovered, their accomplices will go
underground only to return later. No, the FBI must be kept in the dark, for
now.”
End of snippet.
Lastly, this video First Person: The Little Gram Man features Antonio Mendez, the CIA operative who snuck into Iran and extricated the American diplomats back to America. Enjoy!
Robert Morton
is a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and
enjoys writing about the U.S. Intelligence Community. He authors the Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster
series. Check out his latest spy thriller: MISSION
OF VENGEANCE.
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