Through the years, I have been asked how someone gets into the CIA. Today, it is as easy as going to CIA.gov and applying. Forty years ago, not so much.
I met a recruiter in early 1985 on the campus of the University of Iowa after I got my master’s degree. It was the only on-campus interview I scheduled through the graduate office. 8 a.m. Win or go home.
The day of my interview was interesting. The time period was critical. US involvement in Central and South America was headline news. Nicaragua. Sandinistas. Contras. Ortega. Freedom-fighters. El Salvador. Cuba. Granada invasion.
As you might expect, the CIA being on campus can garner some attention. I watched the small but noisy protest start early that morning. People dressed in camouflage-patterned clothes. White face makeup with red “blood” streaks. Lots of signs and shouting.
Somehow, they had an idea of the identity of the interviewer, or they were just harassing everyone. They followed the CIA recruiter to the steps of the Iowa Memorial Union (IMU) where the interviews would take place. One protester was dragging his friend behind him by the ankles, like a corpse. It was effective until the CIA recruiter went up some steps to enter the building. He could have gone in another way without steps, but he didn’t.
I remember seeing the protester stop at the steps holding his buddy by the ankles and looking around deciding what to do. He let go of his friend's legs rather than drag him up the concrete steps. Good decision.
They watched the recruiter disappear into the IMU.
I went in another door. You should go to the website.