We are re-airing Doug Laux's second appearance on HBH, as we fondly remember him upon his passing:

Being accepted to work at the CIA is highly difficult. The interview process is long and secretive - and applicants and their references are often vetted without ever knowing it. Once accepted, very few go on to practice espionage. That distinction is reserved for those invited to the CIA’s top secret and legendary training program known as ‘The Farm’. Fewer still actually graduate the program and become Case Officers or as they are most commonly referred: Spies. HBH is excited to welcome back former CIA Case Officer Doug Laux.

Before deploying abroad, or even traveling to Camp Peary - which houses ‘The Farm’ somewhere deep in the forests of Virginia - Doug was required to make enormous personal sacrifices. He had to to lie to family and friends, leaving them all completely in the dark, as to what he was really doing with his life.

This is all the very beginning of a CIA Case Officer’s career. Doug’s career at the agency was a significant one which took him to Afghanistan, Syria and other other hot zones around the world.

Make sure to check out the outstanding book ‘Left of Boom’ by Doug Laux and Ralph Pezzullo - and thanks for listening to Heroes Behind Headlines.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

Henry (Dick) L. Thompson is back to share more adventures from his latest book SOG Code Name Dynamite 2 about his time in Vietnam as part of MACV-SOG.

From 1964-1972 America engaged in a Top Secret war in Southeast Asia to support our efforts in Vietnam, with an elite group of warriors who were sworn to secrecy for decades. If caught, the US government would deny any involvement.

Missioned primarily to do recon on North Vietnamese forces massing across the border in Laos and Cambodia, the small teams were comprised of US soldiers and local fighters, and were dropped near the enemy. They almost always encountered much larger forces, posted a casualty rate of over 100%, and relied on helicopter pilots like recent guest Roger Lockshire to ferry them to safety once the bullets started flying.

We're delighted to have Dick back in this two part episode.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com

In tribute to our friend and past HBH guest, we're re-airing the first of former CIA officer Doug Laux's two appearances during our first season:

CIA Officer Doug Laux explains how he developed a network of spies to track down the man responsible for running the Taliban's lethal IED network, which at the height of the Afghan War was responsible for over 80% of US and Coalition deaths.

RIP Doug, you'll be sorely missed.

Heroes Behind Headlines
Executive Producer Ralph Pezzullo
Produced & Engineered by Mike Dawson
Music provided by ExtremeMusic.com