How CIA Predecessors Were Assessed and Selected

Back in the early days of the OSS, when the stakes were sky-high and the playbook still being written, candidates faced a gauntlet of tests designed to weed out all but the toughest, sharpest minds—because only a ‘PhD who could win a bar fight’ would survive behind enemy lines.

Six Tips to Succeed in Special Operations

In every platoon, there’s always that one guy who manages to be a human IED—volatile, unreliable, and liable to blow up your mission and your morale in a single bad moment.