Former spy shares life story

Jan. 18—Members of the community got a chance to go back to school on Jan. 14, when a professor from Texas A&M University delivered remarks at Cumberland University.

That speaker, James "Jim" Olson, isn't like most college professors though. For 30 years, Olson conducted high-stakes espionage overseas as a member of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Since coming out of cover and into retirement, Olson has lectured at the Bush School of Government and Public Services. However, about 25-30 times a year, he shares the stories of his younger years with people around the country.

"When (I) come out to events like this, and I talk about the CIA, I am always gratified by the kind of support that I hear," Olson said. "There is a lot of patriotism in this country."

Nowadays, Olson's mission is to help audiences, like his classroom in College Station, Texas, or groups on the road like those at Cumberland University.

"It's very heartwarming to see that people understand what we do and respect what we do," Olson said. "A lot of Americans don't have any understanding of what we in the CIA do, how we do it, what the product is, what the result is."

He said that engagements like Friday's do pay off.

"We get a lot of support from the American people," said Olson. "(They) recognize that those of us who are in intelligence careers or the military or any other aspect of national security are working hard for them."

At home on the road

For Olson, Lebanon may have started as an unknown town, but he said that when he got here, it felt like another lecture before his graduate students.

"My students at the Bush School generally come from smaller towns, ranching and farming backgrounds," Olson said. "That's kind of the strength of Texas A&M University.

"When I come to a place like this, I consider it the heartland. I think there are a lot of similarities (between these people and his students). Their values are quite the same, a lot of honor, a lot of faith, and a lot of integrity."

Jeff Peterson, a former division chair at the Lebanon Wilson Chamber of Commerce, said that he heard Olson speak at a seminar and felt like he would be the perfect fit to address an audience in Lebanon.

Olson's remarks were not strictly limited to his own personal backstory. He also addressed concerns that he holds about the state of foreign intelligence operations being conducted against the United States. He said that those operations are numerous and of dubious origins and that they exist today on a massive scale, even larger than those seen during the Cold War.

Olson is a former chief of counterintelligence at the CIA. During his 30 years with the agency, he primarily conducted overseas clandestine operations. His wife, Meredith, was also in the agency. In fact, that is where the couple met.

He said that with both of them being spies that it made things considerably easier, given that each understood that the stakes involved couldn't have been higher. Being caught in the act of espionage in any overseas territory is a serious crime, one that carries significant consequences.

The nature of their missions influenced the nature of their covers. But with each cover identity, authenticity was paramount. So, while operating as spies after hours, they usually held down a typical job. Olson said that he was everything from a financier to a journalist.

Wearing all those hats seemed pretty distant to a young Olson, who grew up in Iowa. However, service to his country was not. He was commissioned into the Navy after graduating from the University of Iowa. He described it as a "great adventure for a small-town boy."

He would ultimately return to his home state for law school, but while finishing his studies, he received a phone call with an unusual proposition. Shortly thereafter, Olson met the caller in person. The man told Olson he was an ideal candidate for the CIA and asked him to apply.

Many of Olson's missions remain classified. Despite having emerged from cover and into the limelight, the sensitive nature of some of his missions require their maintained confidentiality.

Those missions that he can discuss are conveyed during his lectures and at such engagements as Olson's remarks at Cumberland. Notably, the Olsons were able to have kids and raise a family without ever compromising their cover. It actually became part of their cover as they were deployed around the world as a "tandem couple."

"Our lives seemed normal to us, because everyone we knew was undercover," Olson said. "As a spy, you live two lives. You go to your cover job during the day, and at night you work your true job as a CIA operative."

His children have taken up their own mantles. His daughter serves as a missionary overseas.

Olson said that his friends often give him a hard time, saying, "You believe your daughter is actually a missionary overseas?"