(Courtesy Lisa Barnes, Random House)
Gary C. Schroen served for over 30 years as an executive and fields operations officer. Fluent in both Farsi (Iranian Persian) and Dari (Afghan Persian), with special expertise in Iran, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, Schroen led a distinguished career and became one of the most decorated officers in the history of CIA. His honors include the Intelligence Cross, the highest award given by the CIA, and the George H. W. Bush Medal for Excellence in Counterterrorism. He retired from the Central Intelligence Agency in November 2001.
When Schroen volunteered as Team Leader for the Afghanistan mission, he was serving as Deputy Chief of the Near East and South Asia Division, Directorate of Operations. In that role Schroen directed CIA asset recruitment, intelligence collection, counterintelligence and special operational activities throughout the Middle East and South Asia; managed hundreds of people in Washington and overseas; and worked directly with senior officials at the White House, Pentagon, FBI and State Department, as well as with ranking military and intelligence officials from countries in the region, on matters relating to foreign policy, security, counterterrorism, counternarcotics and force protection issues. 
A primary source for Bob Woodward's Bush at War , Steve Coll's Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars , and the 9-11 Commission Report , Schroen tells his own story in FIRST IN: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan. Schroen will be working with NBC Universal on a mini-series about the events of 9-11.
Currently on contract as a Senior Research Analyst for the CIA, Schroen is also working on his second book, a fictional story of action and espionage.
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