Anonymous asked about implications of disclosure of CIA employment.

Q. Upon becoming either a case officer or NOC, how would you describe the relationship between people who know you? Do you tend to lose touch with friends and family, especially while on an overseas tour? It would seem that the life you once lived becomes a distant past. Is it possible to maintain contact with friends that remain in the US while working abroad or would that be a security risk and as a result be prohibited? Generally speaking, what would change in one's social life?

A. Hopefully, when you join the CIA either as an official cover or non-official cover (NOC) case officer you have not told this fact to your family and friends. Guess you have heard it comically said that the best way to keep a secret is to tell someone the secret, then shoot them! Well, the best way is just not to tell anyone. Just stick to the cover story you are given by the CIA. If you are an official cover case officer, that cover story may be that you have joined the state department or perhaps the department of defense or some other government agency. If you are a NOC the cover story will be that you are employed as the overseas representative of some corporation that is secretly providing you the cover at the request of the CIA. Whatever the case, LIVE YOUR COVER!

Now if you have already taken a few special people into your confidence about your CIA affiliation, you should strongly impress upon them the need to maintain secrecy. Also you should disclose to the Company the names of all persons outside the CIA who are aware of your affiliation.

Regarding your historical relationships with friends and family, there is no need to distance yourself from them. Today’s technologies, email, facebook, etc. allow you to have nearly instantaneous communication with friends and relatives all over the world. In my day it was overseas mail or occasional long distance phone calls and faxes. Shutting out friends and family, especially those who are aware of your CIA affiliation, will only cause them to worry. This may cause a security problem when they out of concern start inquiring about you.

Your social life should become more active as a CIA Case Officer. You will maintain normal personal social activities but you will also add social venues to your social schedule as a tool to spot and develop targets of interest to the CIA. You will join appropriate clubs and professional organizations once you are overseas, all at the expense of the CIA. These may include the local American Club, Chamber of Commerce, sports clubs such as golf and tennis, etc. In my personal situation I joined such organizations as engineering societies, scientific and academic organizations in the countries where I served in order to find targets of opportunity. I also frequently trolled clubs and bars near government ministries and military organizations in an effort to meet foreign government officials who frequented there. Believe me, your social life will not at all suffer as a consequence of your CIA employment.