Velvethammer

The appellation, Velvethammer, was a nickname given to me while I was in the military. I never backed down from anyone if I thought they were in error. While this can be a career ender, I felt if they made it to their level of competency and expertise, they should appreciate the truth and forthright challenge, or in my case softer velvet like approach that could subtly get across my points and veracity based on a grasp of situations at all levels, particularly in military intelligence.You will discover in this volume the latter part of my officer career in Military Intelligence from assignment after Moscow to a National Intelligence Collection Unit, Manager of all US Army security clearances, first Army Staff Assistant for Military and Security Policy, my role in Panama, my central role both as the decision maker on capturing a Russian missile under the terms of the INF treaty, and my role as human intelligence coordinator for the First Gulf War in January 1991, with the objective in mind of eliminating Osama Bin Laden. That all came in six short years and having four successive positions in four years, followed by two years in the same place and then the human intelligence coordinator in two successive roles in a couple of months.