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Affiliation | Republican |
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Name | Gary Berntsen |
Address | , New York , United States |
Email | None |
Website | [Link] |
Born |
Unknown
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Contributor | Dodge Landesman |
Last Modifed | Dodge Landesman Feb 23, 2010 02:02pm |
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Info | Gary Berntsen is a retired decorated CIA Officer. He was born in Bethpage and raised in Smithtown, New York.
Gary is married and the father of three. His son is an Airborne Army Officer serving in Afghanistan. His oldest daughter served as a Naval Intelligence Officer in the Pacific and Persian Gulf. He was the New York 2008 Veterans Coalition Chairman for the Presidential Campaign of Senator John McCain.
Gary served four years in the United States Air Force as a Crash Firefighter and achieved the rank of Sergeant. He then served 23 years in the Central Intelligence Agency’s Clandestine Service, and served on three separate occasions as a CIA Station Chief. He is best known for having led CIA’s Para-Military forces in eastern Afghanistan against Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda in response to the 11 September 2001 attacks. In Afghanistan he led the capture of Kabul and was the architect of the battle of Tora Bora. Gary led CIA teams in East Africa after the August 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar’es Salaam, Tanzania. In the late 1990’s he was the Chief of Hezbollah Operations in CIA’s Counterterrorism Center. From 2002 to 2005 he managed major Counternarcotics Programs in Latin America. Gary is one of CIA’s most highly decorated Officers having received CIA’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal and CIA’s Intelligence Star. He retired from CIA in 2005.
Gary is the author of the New York Times, Bestseller, Jawbreaker, The Attack on Bin Laden and al Qaeda, a novel, The Walk-In, and a policy book titled Human Intelligence Counterterrorism and National Leadership. He is a renowned National Security and Counter-Terrorism Expert having done over 200 television and radio interviews. He frequently appears as a National Security expert on Fox News and CNN. In 2007-2008, Gary returned to Afghanistan as civilian advisor to the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) and worked against militant Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Networks. Since 2008, Gary has worked as both a lecturer and a Defense consultant.
In his private life Gary has served as a School Board member and a Boy Scout Leader. He graduated from the University of New Mexico with a B.S. in Political Science and a Minor in Russian Studies. He speaks Farsi and Spanish. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Gary is a life long Republican committed to lower taxes, fiscal discipline, less government involvement in the lives of its citizens and a strong national defense. He has committed his life to public service. Gary resides with his wife Estela and youngest daughter Claire in Port Jefferson, New York.
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