Special agents with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) work within the US to cultivate sources of intelligence that could help the agency analyze threats to the country’s security. In Indiana, significant security threats include a large number of domestic terrorist groups and drug trafficking by foreign cartels.
Since narco trafficking poses an international threat, the CIA has an aggressive program for obtaining intelligence on these organizations designed to help federal law enforcement agencies devise more effective policies for controlling the spread of drugs.
According to the Justice Department, both the Juarez and Federation cartels are active in Indiana. Drug trafficking is a particular problem in northwestern cities such as Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago. Mexican cartels supply most of the high-purity methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana that are available in this area.
Steps to Becoming a Core Collector with the Central Intelligence Agency
The CIA’s National Clandestine Service in Indiana offers two entry-level positions for the Core Collector career path: the Professional Trainee Program (PT) and the Clandestine Service Program (CST):
- PT Program – Candidates with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree who are lacking work experience. Eligible candidates are 21-25 years old.
- CST Program – Candidates with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and several years of work or military experience. Candidates are usually 26-35 years old; 35 being the maximum age considered for employment.
The only differences between each are the age requirements and work experience. Requirements applicable to both include:
- Foreign language proficiency, particularly in Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Indonesian, Korean, Kurdish, Pashto, Persian, Russian, Somali, Turkish, Urdu
- Prior residency abroad, cross-cultural sensitivity, or foreign travel with knowledge of foreign countries
Educational requirements include:
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree
- GPA of 3.0 or higher
Common fields of study include:
- Chemical or biological engineering
- Economics
- Finance
- International business or relations
- Nuclear or physical science
Steps to Becoming a CIA Special Agent in Indiana
Education and Experience – The CIA has high standards for those who seek jobs with the agency. The requirements for jobs with the CIA vary depending on the type of position that is being offered. To become a special agent in Indiana, applicants must meet the following basic standards:
- Pass mental and physical examinations
- Pass background check and polygraph test
- Have no copyright law or intellectual property violations
- Have not used illegal drugs within the past year (drug use before that will be evaluated on a case by case basis)
Assuming that basic standards are met, applicants will need to have:
- A bachelor’s degree
- Three years of experience related to investigating crimes
The agency seeks individuals with certain personality traits including the ability to work both individually and as part of a team. Tact and discretion are required, and the CIA advises against telling members and friends of their potential careers.
Common areas of study that CIA job candidates have majored in during their bachelor’s program include:
- Crime Scene Investigations
- Criminology
- Law Enforcement
- Psychology
- Science
- Engineering
- Forensic Science
Criminal Investigative Training – All special agents for the CIA must have passed the Criminal Investigative Training Program (CITP) at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC). The agency prefers to hire applicants who have already been through the program. New recruits who do not have this training must go through the 56-day program upon accepting a special agent job with the CIA.
The Potential for Domestic Terrorism in Indiana
Domestic terrorism is a threat to the country’s security, and Indiana has a number of such groups in its midst. Potential terrorist threats in Indiana include a number of Ku Klux Klan groups and such white nationalist groups as White Aryan Resistance (WAR). Members of this group were convicted of assaulting a group of Ethiopian immigrants in Iowa, and murdering one of them.
In 2001, federal agents arrested members of the 14th Regiment of the Indiana State Militia for planning to poison people in a theater with biological toxins and murder one of their members they believed to be an informant. Ironically, the person they chose to hire as a hit man was in fact a federal informant.