Espionage
Former CIA Couple Quit After Agency Refused Parental Leave Following Undercover Pregnancy
Everyday Spy
Ex-CIA: This One Emotion Is Why You Keep Making the Same Mistakes
What was said
"Once the baby actually comes, CIA story changes. And all of a sudden now it's, well, you guys are too important to the mission and family has to come first. Mission comes first, or family has to come second. Mission always comes first. You knew that when you signed up. So you can't stop traveling. We realized in that moment that CIA's interests were not the same as our interests."
A former CIA officer and his wife resigned in 2014 after the agency refused to provide promised parental leave following a pregnancy that occurred while they were undercover on an operation. Despite initial assurances, CIA demanded they prioritize mission over family, insisting they continue traveling immediately after their child's birth. The couple chose to resign rather than leave their newborn with a caregiver 18 hours daily, reflecting a generational shift in values that the agency failed to anticipate.
Verification status
Attributed speaker claim
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Source and context
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- Programme
- Everyday Spy
- Episode
- Ex-CIA: This One Emotion Is Why You Keep Making the Same Mistakes
- Clip time
- 21:01
- Original source
- Watch the source segment →
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Everyday Spy