CIA Commercial: A World of Ambiguity and Adventure
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James Joyner | Wednesday, October 25, 2006 |
Travis Daub points to the CIA’s new recruiting commercial for the Clandestine Service:
Daub is confused by the tagline, “Are you ready for a world…of ambiguity and adventure?” saying “I’m not sure I know what that means.” One gathers it means that the CIA is looking for people who have to navigate a world where they make decisions on the fly, without guidelines or knowing whether they made the right call. That is, indeed, the world of the Intelligence Officer.
Overall, though, much like the recent U.S. Army recruiting commercials, I find them weak. The characters look wimpy and the voiceover announcer is bland. While the life of a spy isn’t much at all like a James Bond movie, that image is a major reason highly intelligent young people are willing to put their lives on the line for meager pay. Ditto the real Army and a John Wayne movie. You recruit them with the macho, train them on the duty, and keep them with job security and retirement benefits.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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James, I have to disagree. Just as the military try not to attract would be Rambos, the IC is highly suspicious of potential recruits whose idealized image of the job comes from Bond movies. People who want to draw attention to themselves will be pretty much automatically excluded. The CIA want exactly the opposite - smart, patriotic people who are willing to work in difficult and dangerous situations without the prospect of ever getting public recognition or a big paycheck.
DCL: Fair enough. It just seems that the ad is aimed at would-be bureaucrats rather than clandestine operatives.
Truth in advertising? They wouldn't want the recruits to be disappointed when they finally get to Langley.
I suppose if asked 'Are you ready for a world...of ambiguity and adventure' and you respond 'I'm not sure what that means', then that's a pretty clear answer of no.
Loser,
What was Valerie Plame?
Congress already tried to close down CIA and the new Air Force Director moved all the analysts to NSA/DIA. They really are just 20 year union employees keeping what they get.
Tis - I don't know what you're smoking but I have to say you have no idea what you are talking about. Where are all these CIA analysts that are moving to NSA/DIA? I don't see any.
That was my last response to the occasional loons who frequent these boards.
That tag line sounds . . . ambigious.
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