FILE 016: PART II - Meet the Legendary Black CIA Officer who Made Cold War History

The Langley Files: CIA's Podcast

PART TWO: CIA OPERATIONS. In Part One of this special two-part episode, George E. Hocker, Jr.—the trailblazing Black CIA operations officer who joined the Agency in the 1950s and ultimately rose to its seniormost ranks—shared with Dee and Walter the trials and triumphs of undergoing CIA operations, paramilitary, and survival training—and doing so as the only Black officer in his class. But George’s career with the Agency was just getting started—and only going to get more intense. In Part Two, you’ll hear about the CIA operations George led overseas—directly from this legendary CIA officer himself. Tune in to learn how George ended up on the wrong end of an AK-47 rifle, in the middle of a mystery that had beguiled the local CIA station for years, and tasked with getting a key Soviet officer sharing information with CIA to safety under cover of darkness. It’s a journey that’ll see George overcome discrimination and break down barriers at Langley, serve as a trusted advisor to not one but two Directors of Central Intelligence, and ultimately achieve a feat still considered a Cold War espionage first.

Look Inside FILE 016:

Want to dive deeper into today’s episode? Here's a look into more of Langley's (unclassified) files:
Read more about George E. Hocker, Jr.’s remarkable career—and see photos from his time at CIA, including his original Agency job offer letter—here.

Want to follow in George’s footsteps and become one of the CIA operations officers gathering intelligence across the globe to keep Americans and others around the world safe? Apply here.

Interested in the other high-impact CIA Directorate of Operations jobs? Check out the Collection Management Officer, Targeting Officer, Staff Operations Officer, Directorate of Operations Language Officer positions.

Does this episode’s trivia have you curious about the adventures of Mischief the Fox and Secret Squirrel? Check out this article.