I recently had the opportunity to sit down for an interview with my former CIA teammate Mark (Center Line Systems) and his buddy, Lee (an addiction counselor in Minnesota), on their new Mission Critical Broadcast. We spoke a lot about our Reno Dads mission, our perspectives on our role as fathers, and some inside stories about life in the Central Intelligence Agency.
Previously, Mark and I collaborated on a few Reno Dads articles focused on our CIA training and how that training can be employed by fathers and parents everywhere to protect their children and family. I’ve linked those resources below (situational awareness, surveillance detection, travel safety, etc).
And mixed throughout the show we share some CIA stories, talk about serving our country, discuss what the CIA Memorial Wall means to us, and share a funny (very scary at the time) story about receiving a shipment in the field of the “wrong” AK-47s.
We intended to get into some of our North Africa stories, specifically our experiences and perspectives on Arab Spring while in the middle of the crisis – but that will have to wait for another episode. You may just have to subscribe to the Mission Critical Broadcast to ensure you don’t miss some really great, never before told stories about the events immediately in the aftermath of Arab Spring. Watch it here first before the books and movies come out! 😉
Interview Notes
As the interview is long format, I’ve gone through and highlighted a few sections where we dive into specific topics. Enjoy! And subscribe!
0:00:00 – My intro
0:01:55 – Reno Dads origin story
0:16:30 – Converting CIA training into dad training
0:21:30 – Frey Ranch Bourbon sighting!
0:24:45 – Teaching kids beneficial skills for life
0:30:15 – Teaching kids confidence through Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
0:47:45 – My worst dad moment
0:55:00 – More on the Reno Dads mission
1:13:30 – Passing down the value of serving our country
1:19:45 – What it is like serving in the CIA
1:21:25 – My first day in the CIA, “Psychological Test Mishap”
1:33:00 – Reflections on the CIA Memorial Wall
1:37:00 – My project trying to get an old OSS/CIG guy a star on the wall
1:42:50 – Mark talking about writing the book!
1:50:00 – Pivot about to the challenges about fatherhood
1:52:50 – Teaching kids about respect
1:59:40 – Raiding the CIA gift shop
2:02:40 – CIA weapon logistics and the “wrong” AK-47 mishap
Resources Mentioned in the Episode
- Situational Awareness (Reno Dads)
- CIA Travel Safety Tips (Reno Dads)
- Surveillance Detection (Reno Dads)
- Geocaching, (what we call Dead Dropping) by contributor Reno Dad Daniel Hansen
- Mission Critical Broadcast Youtube channel
- Mission Critical Broadcast Instagram
- Frey Ranch Bourbon
Reno Dads Podcast
We, too, have a show – the Reno Dads Podcast. Do you have a story you’d like to talk about the Reno Dads podcast? Is there someone we should meet and have on the show? Click on Contact Us, and get in touch!
You can find all of our podcast episodes here at Reno Dads.
