Former Paramilitary Operations Officer Ric Prado on his life in the Shadows - Episode 59
Ric Prado teamed up with Grey Dynamics to give away signed copies of his book. The only thing you have to do to win is to comment “blackops” under the episode of this post. You will receive a DM with instructions!
Welcome back to the Grey Dynamics podcast! The week we are talking to Ric Prado, a former CIA paramilitary operations officer and clandestine Special Activities Division (SAD) operator. Ric spent 24 years in the CIA, operating in the Middle East, Latin America, and East Asia. During the war on terror, Ric served as Chief of Operations at the CIA Counterterrorist Center (CTC), as well as setting up the Bin Laden Task Force. Previously, he served as an elite US Air Force Pararescue man. His New York Times Bestseller book, “Black Ops: The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior”, tells his life story and extraordinary experiences along the way. We spoke about leaving Cuba as a refugee, experiences on operations, being in the CIA as 9/11 unfolded and much more.
Find Ric Prado
We Spoke About:
- 0:00 Ric Prado’s background
- 2:50 Leaving Cuba alone at the age of ten after the revolution
- 6:26 Having a mischievous streak and not fitting in
- 7:54 Ric’s first day at CIA headquarters
- 10:14 What was the onboarding process and first mission like?
- 13:32 What makes Cuban-Americans so patriotic?
- 17:53 Ric’s experience working with the Sandinista’s in Nicaragua
- 21:43 Studying to become a CIA officer and going to “the farm”
- 24:48 Going to work in Costa Rica
- 27:51 Experiencing 9/11 from inside the CIA
- 35:13 Experiencing the culture change in the CIA during the war on terror
- 40:10 Discussing Billy Waugh
- 45:50 Why do intelligence professionals in fiction get such a negative reputation?
- 48:17 Advice for young people
- 53:19 What Rick does now he has retired from the CIA
- 56:35 Cultural recommendations
- 1:00:34 Book Giveaway
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