Tell the Truth ... Until They Don't Like What You Have To Say
Memoir of a Department of State Oath-Taking Survivor
On August 7, 1998, at approximately 10:30 a.m. local time, the first truck bomb exploded outside the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Minutes later, a second truck bomb exploded outside the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I was assigned to the embassy in Nairobi as the Financial Management Center (FMC) Director. I was off-site that morning. Had I been present, there is a high probability I would not be writing this book.
Though I did not ask for any of this, I found myself to be a tiny hub on a “Deep State” wheel, with the spokes—the U.S. Department of State, Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Military—all connecting to me. For what reason—because of the money. Through years of just doing my job as a federal auditor and then as a Foreign Service Financial Management Specialist, I became aware of and took actions regarding money, unbeknownst to me at the time, having linkages to covert operations. My story has serious political overtones, but it is not a political story. It is my story. It is the story of what can happen when you innocently seek one truth, but discover quite another.
With over twenty-five years of United States Government experience both domestic and abroad, I served in Washington, Cameroon, Kenya, Russia, Sudan, Germany, and traveled to many more. Assignments included as a Civil Service federal auditor with Defense Contract Audit Agency and U.S. Department of State’s Office of Inspector General. Foreign Service assignments included as a Financial Management Officer, Management Officer, Legislative Management Officer, and in interagency assignment details with the Department of Defense as a Foreign Policy Advisor and Regional Director. From 2005-2006, I was an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow on the personal staff of Senator Olympia Snowe. As a U.S. Army War College graduate (resident class of 2008/2009), I earned a Master of Strategic Studies and completed the National Security Policy Program. My Bachelor of Science degree is from the University of South Carolina in Business Administration with a Major in Accounting. I am a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the state of Virginia. During my career I have earned numerous honor and service awards, including a Heroism (Group) award. In December 2006, I fulfilled a lifetime goal of traveling to all seven continents with a trip to Antarctica. Since resigning/retiring from the U.S. Department of State, I have ventured with numerous part-time opportunities, obtained a real estate license, and written this book about betrayal, retaliation, survival, and the truth.
