Rebroadcast: The Brain as a Secret Weapon

At the CIA Headquarters in Langley Virginia, stands the Wall of Honor. Here CIA operatives who have died in the line of duty are memorialized. The first star on that wall belongs to Douglas Mackiernan.

On this episode of Coming in From the Cold, Robin Shwetzer a retired DIA analyst, and Nicholas Dujmovic a retired CIA analyst join Bill to discuss the story of Douglas Mackiernan and the effort to repatriate his remains.

Robin Shwetzer served as an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency for 25 years, where she worked on a variety of issues including Weapons of Mass Destruction, Underground facilities, and geopolitical analysis. She is an expert in designing tailored analytic methods to solve difficult intelligence problems, and developed and instructed intelligence research and analysis courses for government and universities. Robin retired from DIA earlier this year and spends much of her time researching to support POW/MIA recovery efforts.

Nicholas Dujmovic is a 26-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, where he served as an analyst, manager, editor of the President's Daily Brief, and deputy chief of the Agency's History Staff. Prior to his CIA career, he served 14 years in the U.S. Coast Guard. He retired from government service in 2016 to create a program in intelligence studies at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

On behalf of Robin Schwetzer this episode is dedicated to the Mackiernan family. If you are interested in learning more about repatriation efforts like the ones discussed in this episode, please visit the National League of POW/MIA Families, a nonprofit, 501[c][3] tax-exempt, humanitarian organization (https://www.pow-miafamilies.org/)