LEXINGTON, Va. April 26, 2023 — Virginia Military Institute’s 2022-23 Leader-in-Residence (LIR) Tracy Walder, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agent, and author of the book, “The Unexpected Spy,” visited post several times through the academic year. Named in honor of VMI's 14th Superintendent Gen. J. H Binford Peay III '62, the LIR program is an important part of the Center for Leadership and Ethics’ efforts to educate, engage, and inspire cadets, faculty, and staff to develop as leaders, and brings to post people of stature within their fields whose distinguished careers exemplify the citizen-soldier model. Walder’s residency amounts to a two-week visit over the course of the academic year. She has interacted primarily with cadets in various formal and informal settings, including the classroom, barracks, and during athletic activities such as club sports. Walder gave the keynote address at the Superintendent's Leadership Dinner held April 19. 

Sitting in on a few classes, Walder discussed her experiences in counterterrorism and law enforcement, and the concept of effective followership and leadership with cadets.  

She shared that her dream growing up was to become an astronaut, but she suffers from number dyslexia, a condition that causes struggles with math concepts. She excelled in English, but did poorly in math. “I went to space camp multiple times as a teen, but couldn’t hack the math, so I didn’t go into the military,” she said.  

She shifted her educational focus to history when she had an inspirational history teacher. She attended the University of Southern California with the goal of becoming a high school history teacher. During a career fair on campus however, she visited the CIA booth, an act which would totally alter her future.  

“They were looking for students majoring in liberal arts, and called me a few weeks later with a job offer contingent on my graduation the following May. I wanted to work with the Counterterrorism Center Weapons of Mass Destruction Group, and was lucky because that’s exactly where they placed me. I spent time initially at headquarters, then rotated through all divisions in order to learn respect, and build camaraderie with the other agents. It felt like a normal job, but all changed dramatically on 9/11. We all slept at work for the first few nights following the terrorist attacks on the United States,” Walder recalled. She even remembers what she was wearing when she heard the news. 

Walder helped write the Aug. 9, 2001 presidential daily brief (PDB), just 33 days prior to the attacks. “The report read, ‘There is an increase in terrorist chatter. They may use aircraft and they are looking at high level buildings.’ Beyond that, there was nothing specific,” she recounted. 

She was sent to poison school in 2002, and learned about all the cheap and easy ways to make poisons. She recalled an incident while based in a foreign country, (she could not share which country specifically) she was searching a suspected terrorist’s apartment, and discovered residue of ricin, a highly toxic poison found naturally in castor beans, in a storage cabinet. The terrorist was employed at a legitimate Cetaphil skincare factory, and was putting the ricin in the product to be shipped out. She notified the company immediately, before the product was distributed and prevented anyone from becoming ill. In gratitude, the government of that country awarded her a medal. “It felt good to be able to stop the dispersal of that poison,” she said. 

During her time at the CIA, Walder traveled to Afghanistan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Morocco, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, and England. She received many awards for her service from both the CIA and foreign intelligence offices. Among her awards were four Exceptional Performance Awards from the director of the CIA, two Special Activity Awards, a Meritorious Unit Citation Award, a DCI Counterterrorism Center Medal, and two Operation Enduring Freedom Targeting Awards. 

Walder left the CIA because she did not want to continue to live overseas, so she went to work for the FBI. “Law enforcement was different from evidence gathering. The FBI was focused on weapons, the CIA was more about situational awareness,” she noted. She started her FBI training at Quantico, where she experienced bullying and sexual harassment. “Even though there were only six female agents to the 34 male agents, the females were equally guilty of bullying. There was an ‘in group’ versus an ‘out group’ of which I was a part. The head of Quantico joined in the bullying as well, and to my knowledge, it continues.”  

Even though the work was harder, and the environment was harsher while working for the CIA, she preferred it over the FBI because of the superior leadership she found there. “George Tenet, the former CIA director was the best leader I have ever had. He took good care of our team. After 9/11, two other agents and I were working long hours in a confined room. He would bring us bagels and doughnuts for breakfast, which may sound like a little thing, but it was very much appreciated. He discovered I was Jewish, told his wife, and she made me latkes for Hannukah. She even cooked us Thanksgiving dinner. He even jeopardized his own job by running interference for us when members of Congress wanted to come and observe our work. We needed privacy to work, and he made sure we got it,” Walder recalled.  

“Being an effective follower is the foundation of being an effective leader,” she stated, and gave an example of a poor leader she had at one time called “Charlie.” “He was focused on chasing a title, and viewed his position as just a rung up his career ladder. Charlie was not inspirational, and I was not an effective follower when he was my leader. In contrast to Charlie was Tom, who like George Tenet was inspirational. When I got shot in Afghanistan, do you think I thought of Charlie? No! I thought of Tom, who inspired me in my recovery and perseverance.”    

She encouraged the cadets that being a good follower is not just obeying their leader’s every command. “You may need to respectfully speak up to your leader when necessary. Provide good counsel to your leaders when they need to hear it, even though it may be difficult, and you may be the only one willing to do it. It may mean the difference between a successful mission and a disastrous one,” she advised.   

Walder now works as an adjunct professor of Criminal Justice and Domestic Terrorism at Texas Christian University and Global Terrorism at Ursuline Academy. She is often called upon by local and national media for expert commentary on national and international news events. 

Marianne Hause
Communications & Marketing
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE