So forget what you know about Double O seven and fictional agents like Jason Bourne. We got the real deal for you.

So forget what you know about Double O seven and fictional agents like Jason Bourne. We got the real deal for you.

Now.

Now.

This is Butler. Brittany Butler, former spy. He's been close to a decade with the CIA, working.

This is Butler. Brittany Butler, former spy. He's been close to a decade with the CIA, working.

As an intelligence officer in counter terrorism. She spent time in the Middle East dealing with extremely sensitive information, keeping details of her life secret from family and friends. But now Brittany's weaving fact and fiction together in a new book, and it's called The Syndicate Spy. And we welcome former see a Agent, Brittany Butler to the Morning Show. Hi Brittany, nice to see you. Hi.

As an intelligence officer in counter terrorism. She spent time in the Middle East dealing with extremely sensitive information, keeping details of her life secret from family and friends. But now Brittany's weaving fact and fiction together in a new book, and it's called The Syndicate Spy. And we welcome former see a Agent, Brittany Butler to the Morning Show. Hi Brittany, nice to see you. Hi.

Agreed to see you guy.

Agreed to see you guy.

The recruitment process to become a spy is rigorous. I mean, how intensely were you interrogated before you got the job? What was the process?

The recruitment process to become a spy is rigorous. I mean, how intensely were you interrogated before you got the job? What was the process?

Yeah, it's definitely not something I would recommend to do for fun, and it's nothing I would ever want to go through again. I was recruited out of college. I worked at the American Embassy in Paris as an intern my junior year at university at Florida State University, and I was involved in some passport fraud cases. This is like in two thousand and four, when we were pretty sensitive about people coming into the country that shouldn't be. This is pretty soon after nine to eleven, of course, and I helped to identify some individuals that were trying to get into the country that were not supposed to come into the country. And I didn't know it at the time, but I was working alongside some undercover CIA operatives and they encouraged me to apply to the CIA, which was, of course, the very last thing on my mind. I thought I wanted to go into the Foreign Service at the State Department, but they encouraged me to do it, and I did it, and the rest is history. I was recruited to be a case officer, like I said, right out of college, and I kind of followed this very rigorous process of interviews. They start with a phone interview or they're kind of trying to get the lay of the land in terms of what your international experience is like, which your knowledge of current events, and then they do a couple of in person interviews. One of my first in person interviews, I was actually approached at a hotel in downtown Tallahatsee where I was going to school, by an individual who just starts speaking French to me, and because I claimed on my redman of course that I spoke French, and he was testing to make sure that I did in fact speak that language. And I passed that kind of stage of the interview process, and then I was blown up to Washington, d C. Where I went underwent PSYE evaluations, polygraphics and nations, physical examination, you name it, going through it, Okay.

Yeah, it's definitely not something I would recommend to do for fun, and it's nothing I would ever want to go through again. I was recruited out of college. I worked at the American Embassy in Paris as an intern my junior year at university at Florida State University, and I was involved in some passport fraud cases. This is like in two thousand and four, when we were pretty sensitive about people coming into the country that shouldn't be. This is pretty soon after nine to eleven, of course, and I helped to identify some individuals that were trying to get into the country that were not supposed to come into the country. And I didn't know it at the time, but I was working alongside some undercover CIA operatives and they encouraged me to apply to the CIA, which was, of course, the very last thing on my mind. I thought I wanted to go into the Foreign Service at the State Department, but they encouraged me to do it, and I did it, and the rest is history. I was recruited to be a case officer, like I said, right out of college, and I kind of followed this very rigorous process of interviews. They start with a phone interview or they're kind of trying to get the lay of the land in terms of what your international experience is like, which your knowledge of current events, and then they do a couple of in person interviews. One of my first in person interviews, I was actually approached at a hotel in downtown Tallahatsee where I was going to school, by an individual who just starts speaking French to me, and because I claimed on my redman of course that I spoke French, and he was testing to make sure that I did in fact speak that language. And I passed that kind of stage of the interview process, and then I was blown up to Washington, d C. Where I went underwent PSYE evaluations, polygraphics and nations, physical examination, you name it, going through it, Okay.

So once you got through all of that, then you're out in the field. Did you ever feel like your life was in danger?

So once you got through all of that, then you're out in the field. Did you ever feel like your life was in danger?

Yeah?

Yeah?

I did. I was part I was a targeting officer, and what that job entails within the direct word of operations, which is kind of the section of the CIA where we do all the breeding and handling of our spies or sources is what we call them. I was the targety officer, so I was in charge of making sure that we were recruiting the right individuals, so the people that had access to the foreign intelligence that we needed in order to inform our policy makers to make sure they were making the right decision, and also those that had access to terror networks. And so one of my really scary times at the CIA is whenever I identified a direct penetration of a terrorist group, and I flew out the Middle East to meet this individual and it was what we call at the CIA a high threat meeting because we didn't know if the individual was going to come basically with a bomb strap to his chest and blow us all up. So we're pretty nervous, but thankfully everything worked out and the rest of history.

I did. I was part I was a targeting officer, and what that job entails within the direct word of operations, which is kind of the section of the CIA where we do all the breeding and handling of our spies or sources is what we call them. I was the targety officer, so I was in charge of making sure that we were recruiting the right individuals, so the people that had access to the foreign intelligence that we needed in order to inform our policy makers to make sure they were making the right decision, and also those that had access to terror networks. And so one of my really scary times at the CIA is whenever I identified a direct penetration of a terrorist group, and I flew out the Middle East to meet this individual and it was what we call at the CIA a high threat meeting because we didn't know if the individual was going to come basically with a bomb strap to his chest and blow us all up. So we're pretty nervous, but thankfully everything worked out and the rest of history.

When you do work for the CIA, well, can you tell your family? Are you allowed to say you worked for the CIA? Do you have to play down exactly what you do? Can you tell them?

When you do work for the CIA, well, can you tell your family? Are you allowed to say you worked for the CIA? Do you have to play down exactly what you do? Can you tell them?

Yeah, so you really can't tell anyone that you work at the CIA unless they are very close relatives. So like your husband, your wife, your mom and dad, you can tell them what you do, you can't go into any kind of operational details. I could never tell my husband, you know, what exactly I was doing for the CIA, the individuals that we were, you know, doing additional research on the terist networks that we were hunting. Nothing to that extent. He knew kind of geographically where my work was centered because he knew I was going back and forth to the Middle East quite a bit, so he kind of put two and two together about that. But then, of course like they're doing this very thorough background investigation where they've got officers going to your hometown. They're interviewing everyone. They're digging deep. Right, So anytime you've got people in you know, unmarked cars, driving up and asking you a bunch of questions, you know, people are not idiots. They probably think that, hey, maybe she's getting some kind of job in government. You know, my my parents friends would often think that, but I never really confirmed as much.

Yeah, so you really can't tell anyone that you work at the CIA unless they are very close relatives. So like your husband, your wife, your mom and dad, you can tell them what you do, you can't go into any kind of operational details. I could never tell my husband, you know, what exactly I was doing for the CIA, the individuals that we were, you know, doing additional research on the terist networks that we were hunting. Nothing to that extent. He knew kind of geographically where my work was centered because he knew I was going back and forth to the Middle East quite a bit, so he kind of put two and two together about that. But then, of course like they're doing this very thorough background investigation where they've got officers going to your hometown. They're interviewing everyone. They're digging deep. Right, So anytime you've got people in you know, unmarked cars, driving up and asking you a bunch of questions, you know, people are not idiots. They probably think that, hey, maybe she's getting some kind of job in government. You know, my my parents friends would often think that, but I never really confirmed as much.

Okay, so we've got to talk about your book real all that real life experience. In your very first novel, The Syndicate Spy Do you have to get permission from anyone before you sit down and write a lot of secrets.

Okay, so we've got to talk about your book real all that real life experience. In your very first novel, The Syndicate Spy Do you have to get permission from anyone before you sit down and write a lot of secrets.

So the process is actually like, after you write the book, you have to get it approved by something called CIA's Publication Review Board, and that's where you just basically you submit the manuscript to this panel and they just kind of comb through it and make sure that you're not revealing any kind of classified information. My book is set in the future. I've got I've made up a lot in terms of the intelligence organization that I'm talking about, the world events that I'm talking about, so a lot of it is you know, very fictional. It's very fun, but I'm discussing it based on my real life experience of being a woman at the CIA, having lived that life, and I'm really excited to get the story out there.

So the process is actually like, after you write the book, you have to get it approved by something called CIA's Publication Review Board, and that's where you just basically you submit the manuscript to this panel and they just kind of comb through it and make sure that you're not revealing any kind of classified information. My book is set in the future. I've got I've made up a lot in terms of the intelligence organization that I'm talking about, the world events that I'm talking about, so a lot of it is you know, very fictional. It's very fun, but I'm discussing it based on my real life experience of being a woman at the CIA, having lived that life, and I'm really excited to get the story out there.

Yeah, what a fascinating life you have led. Can't wait to read the book. Thank you so much, Brittany. It's called A Syndicate Spy and it's by Brittany Butler, former CIA operative source as we call out. It's out now, Thank you.

Yeah, what a fascinating life you have led. Can't wait to read the book. Thank you so much, Brittany. It's called A Syndicate Spy and it's by Brittany Butler, former CIA operative source as we call out. It's out now, Thank you.

Really interesting, Thanks Brittany,

Really interesting, Thanks Brittany,