CHAPTER 15
SPY KIDS
L
egendary CIA spymaster Burton Gerber was fond of saying that the
ideal case officer had a wife and a dog but no kids. Gerber was SE
Division chief in the mid-1980s, and he brilliantly managed all denied area
agent operations inside the former Soviet bloc countries and Yugoslavia.
His theory was that a couple on the street, perhaps walking a dog, would
attract much less KGB or “nosy neighbor” scrutiny than a solitary man or
woman. Together they could more securely mark and read signals, service
dead drops, or meet briefly with an agent. A childless couple would also be
free of the worry and responsibility that children entail, and could devote
their lives 24/7 to the overriding “needs of the service.”
Gerber likely knew the Cold War spy business better than anyone, and
he made valid points. But, like most people, CIA officers have kids, and
those kids are part of the equation. My first daughter was born during our
Latin America tour, and (as Gerber could have predicted) this change in
family structure did indeed affect my work schedule. After she was born
and comfortable in her new crib and mosquito netting, I would try and
arrange agent meetings to end at a reasonable hour so that I could be home
to spend time with her in the evenings.
When our daughter was about six months old, she and Stacy and I
traveled TDY to DC for psychological testing at headquarters. Picture
couples counseling but without the empathy. This testing was the first
hurdle for officers and spouses selected for denied area assignments. We
arrived at headquarters with our daughter in tow and were told by security
that babies were not allowed inside CIA headquarters. In the mid-1980s,
you simply did not see children in the building. Ever.
We literally had no one to leave her with, since all of our friends were
deployed overseas, but the only place where we could undergo the required155