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Former CIA operations officer and GW alumnus Joe Kiehl opened up about his previously top secret past in a lecture held at the Alumni House Wednesday night.
Kiehl, who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in international affairs in 1972 and 1986 from GW, worked as a CIA operative for 26 years. He spoke as part of the GW Alumni Association’s “How Do I Become A.” series, which aims to educate students on specific careers by bringing distinguished alumni back to speak.
Originally from the D.C. area, Kiehl began working at the CIA as a part-time clerk while attending classes at the University. Eventually he transitioned into a job for the National Clandestine Service, the branch of the CIA that coordinates undercover intelligence operations, and was deployed on numerous foreign tours.
“I was always very interested in international affairs,” Kiehl said. “I was smitten with the idea of foreign adventure.”
Kiehl was quick to quell the myth of James Bond-type heroics.
“The action and adventure – there’s some of that but not a lot,” he said.
He instead compared the job of operative to an aggressive foreign correspondent for a newspaper.
“Get the scoop. Beat the pavement. Go where you need to go,” he said in regard to gathering information. “The best thing you can do is acquire sources.”
Along with developing investigative skills, Kiehl urged students in the audience to pursue a foreign language, study abroad and consider specializing in a “hard target area,” or an area with greater national security interest.
He also advised students to maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher to ensure consideration from the CIA.
“The application process is – I won’t lie – extremely competitive,” he said.
Despite this, Kiehl was quick to promote the CIA, especially the Professional Training Program, and encourage students to apply.
Having worked as a Soviet Union affairs specialist, Kiehl moved from the CIA to the State Department several years ago to work as an international security consultant.
“I felt that I had experienced a lot. By then, it was ’94 and the Cold War was over, mission accomplished,” he said. “The agency had lost a little bit of its allure. At the time, I was thinking, ‘Let me try something else.'”
Kiehl offered potential alternatives to working as an operative, including working at an embassy or as an intelligence analyst.
Freshman Stephen Yashinski, a political science major and member of GW’s NROTC program, said, “The lecture was really effective. His personal experiences made it more than what I expected.”
“It’s not a nine-to-five job,” Kiehl said when asked about the widespread interest. “That’s for sure.”
