Protecting and serving is a way of life for this Friar and decorated military son who fights international terrorism.
By Mark Vruno
Fenwick’s Friar Files blog has reported on an “intelligence community alumnus [who] prays the Rosary every morning at 5 a.m.” This Friar spoke last semester with students at Fenwick, and the U.S. government has cleared the school to share the following, somewhat random facts about this mystery person:
- He works for the National Counterterrorism Center‘s Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in Washington, D.C.
- For counterintelligence reasons, he stays off of social media. (See below).
- He also has worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), as a strategic advisor and, before that, for the Defense Intelligence Agency.
- He held a leadership position at U.S. Central Command (Department of Defense) before retiring from the U.S. Army in 2001.
- He graduated (general engineering) from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and went on to earn a master’s degree in international relations.
- He served his country in Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf War (Iraq, 1991), where he earned a Bronze Star. (See photo.)
- He managed crises teams during Rwanda’s civil war in the mid-1990s.
- He followed and reported on coup attempts (in Paraguay and Suriname, South America) and refugees (from Cuba and Haiti).
- He worked in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and briefed POTUS, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the National Security Council on military matters.
Describing such a vitae as “impressive” might be considered a gross under-statement. When he visited Fenwick history and government classes in October 2019 to talk about counter-terrorism and the U.S. “intelligence” community, the former Army infantry officer challenged students to a search contest on finding information about him. “Try to find me on Google. You won’t. I’m off the grid,” he said. “There are other people with my name, but they’re not me. If you do find me online, please let me know!”
Intel expert
In military and national-security contexts, so-called “intelligence” is information that provides an organization with decision support and, possibly, a strategic advantage. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines intelligence as “information that has been analyzed and refined so that it is useful to policymakers in making decisions.” According to the FBI, intelligence is the information itself as well as the processes used to collect and analyze it.
“What they teach here at Fenwick sets the foundation for your futures.”
“Our job is to tell truth to power,” the alumnus told Fenwick students in an attempt to explain the role of the United States’ intelligence/ counterterrorism communities. The absence of truth leads to abuses of power, he warned, quickly adding that truth and integrity are moral values which align with Fenwick High School’s mission. “What they teach here at Fenwick sets the foundation for your futures,” he assured them.
“As you think about careers, consider government service,” he encouraged. Some students inquired about prerequisites. “It’s all the ‘stuff’ you are learning here at Fenwick. Job candidates need to be able to communicate well and to articulate. They need to know how to analyze, and they need to be passionate about what they do and [about] our country,” he noted, citing a female new hire who majored in dance at college. Interested university graduates can “simply apply at intelligencecareers.gov and dni.gov.”
Social Studies Teacher John Quinn ’76 was absolutely thrilled to have such a special guest address students in his history classes last fall. “Knowing alumni Friars are working in the highest level of government to safeguard our security and protect our sacred rights, while still praying the Rosary daily, is a comfort and a blessing,” Mr. Quinn praised. “Our hope is that our current Friars will be inspired by the noble example of our adult Friars who are making the world a better place.”
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Fenwick’s Class of 2019 military academy appointees: