Review
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“Thomas Pecora has finally answered the question of 'Who
Protects the Spies?' In a groundbreaking personal account
detailing a long and illustrious career in the service of the
CIA, Pecora takes the reader on a wild travelogue of the last
quarter century of high-threat American intrigue and, in the
process, provides a rarely seen glimpse into the shadowy world of
clandestine service and individual sacrifice.” (Samuel M. Katz,
New York Times bestselling co-author of Under Fire: The Untold
Story of the Attack in Benghazi and Beirut Rules: The Murder of a
CIA Station Chief and Hezbollah’s War Against America)
“Tom’s book takes the reader through Tom’s twenty-four years of
experience working in protective operations, counterterrorism,
along with conducting security training programs in high-risk
locations such as Mogadishu, Sudan, Bosnia, Philippines, and
Iraq.
Although not intended to be a Protective Services Training
Manual, Tom’s book supplies more educational content than most
books that are meant to be training manuals. After more than
forty plus years providing Protective Driving services, I was
especially impressed with Tom’s discussion of how he and his team
escaped a vehicle ambush in Mogadishu. Along with ‘Getting Off
The X,’ Tom discusses the process used to get a severely wounded
comrade back to safety. The end result is saving the individual’s
life. This event is only one of the many real-life learning
experiences that present the reader with invaluable lessons
learned.
The book not only discusses the operational aspects of his
career, but Tom also covers the seldom talked about toll that
these professions can take on your personal life. He concludes
his book with an outstanding discussion on the sorely needed
topic of leadership in protective services operations, which in
itself is worth reading the book.
You will not find many books that cover the topics and lessons
learned from the experiences presented in Tom’s book, simply
because few people on this planet have experienced these events
and are willing to share their knowledge.” (Tony Scotti,
President of the International Security Driver’s Association
(ISDA), editor of the Security Driver Magazine, and Executive
Vice President of Tony Scotti’s Vehicle Dynamics Institute
(TSVDI))
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About the Author
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Thomas (Tom) Pecora has over 27 years of experience working
in the security field, 24 years working in the CIA. He retired
from the CIA as GS 15 Senior Security Manager working in
protective operations, counterterrorism, and security training,
most of it operating in low intensity conflict areas. He was
Chief of Security in several countries where he was responsible
for countrywide security programs ensuring the safety and
security of all CIA personnel in high threat environments. A
seasoned protective operation veteran, Tom led teams protecting
CIA personnel and visiting VIP personnel to include the
President, Vice President, as well as Senate and Congressional
Delegations. He spent 3 years providing specialized protective
operations training courses to foreign government protective
services from Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and
Europe. Tom received the Intelligence Star, the CIA’s
second highest honor for valor and the Career Intelligence Medal
for service reflecting exceptional achievements. He has a Masters
of Arts degree in Communications from the University of
Wisconsin-Whitewater and a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Communications from Marquette University.
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