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Summary of In True Face by Jonna Mendez: A Woman's Life in the CIA, Unmasked
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In True Face
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A Woman's Life in the CIA, Unmasked
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Summary of In True Face by Jonna Mendez: A Woman's Life in the CIA, Unmasked
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Close Call
The narrator, a single, unescorted woman, was instructed to wait at the airport for an official car to arrive. She retrieved a large shawl from her housekeeper and lifelong friend, Maggie, to cover her pale skin. The next morning, she was to report to the field office, where the Chief of Station informed her that a terrorist group member had been attempting to make contact with him. The terrorist claimed to have information about a planned hijacking of another American airline, Pan Am. The Chief informed her team, including three case officers, an intel analyst, and one support person, to keep their eyes on the terrorist.
The narrator, who had been flown in to direct a photo-training operation, had only hours to disguise the Chief. She bought a shalwar kameez, sandals, and a custom mustache to make the Chief look local and understated. She also gave the Chief a cigar and a leather portfolio, suggesting he enter the lobby of the hotel like he owned the place.
The other officers and the narrator de-Americanized themselves, removing wedding rings, cigarettes, and changing into locally bought clothes and shoes. They then went to the hotel, where the narrator entered as the affluent tourist she was impersonating. The nervous young guy in their group questioned her role in the operational chain, as field work had long been considered men's work.
The narrator recounts her experience as a CIA operative in a high-stakes operation involving a terrorist. She was part of a group of casuals who were tasked with observing the terrorist's presence and potentially a planeful of American passengers. The operative chose a rug shop off the lobby to have a direct line of sight into the meeting site. As the meeting approached, the operative felt trapped inside an invisible, almost electric circuit, as she made eye contact with the terrorist.
The operative's mind flashed back to the Wall of Stars in the lobby of CIA Headquarters in Langley, each star representing a CIA employee who died in the line of duty. As the terrorist held her stare, she felt increasingly sure she was about to die. However, she was not invited to celebrate with the men or her friend.
The next day, the local English language newspaper reported the terrorist's arrest by local police. The Chief had debriefed him on the hijacking threat and informed the Chief that he had identified four of his people in the hotel, including the operative. The details did not appear in the news the next morning.
Decades later, the narrator still vividly remembers the rush of cold terror that ran through her as her eyes locked with the terrorist's. Inside the CIA, information is both precious and potentially dangerous, and success earned no applause or expectation. The CIA was a career she loved, doing work that mattered and making a difference, making history in some small way.
A First-Time Expat
At twenty years old, the author landed in Europe as a civilian, thanks to Sherrie, his best friend from Wichita. When she got engaged to a military man assigned to Europe, the author hesitated to attend her nuptials in Fulda, Germany. They were dating Don, an upperclassman at Wichita State University, an English lit major like them. When they attended the wedding, they both told themselves that they would be back.
The author spent most of their childhood in a large house on twenty acres that butted up against the Wichita city line. Their sister Jennifer was their near constant companion, and their two younger sisters, Holly and Heidi, were eleven and seventeen years younger than the author. One of the most distinct early childhood memories occurred during a game of hide-and-seek with the neighborhood kids. The author had a daredevil streak that occasionally placed them in the spotlight, such as jumping from a barn to the ground floor and climbing to the top of an air traffic control tower.
By the time the author received Sherrie's wedding invitation, Jennifer had bolted from their home for Aspen and the soaring vistas of the Colorado Rockies. As much as they enjoyed their college life with Don, part of them also knew that they too was ready to seek out new adventures.
After Sherrie and Dave's wedding, the author fell in love with Germany, its landscape, and its people. With little money on hand, they boarded a train to Frankfurt and checked into a cheap hotel overlooking the Hauptbahnhof. One of the author's jobs was in the surgical wing at the hospital in Wichita, which gave her the confidence to know that she could support herself even on a faraway continent.
In Frankfurt, the author began cold-calling American organizations for jobs, eventually finding a job at Chase Manhattan Bank. Despite not speaking German and having no work permit or bank experience, she was offered a job by the bank. She enrolled in evening German classes at Berlitz and worked for the President of the bank, doing his English correspondence. The author lived in a small town called Eschborn, where she spent her weekends learning German and enjoying local beers and wines.
As time passed, she noticed a group of young Americans who came into the bank every few weeks, not US military personnel but civilians. John Goeser, an American with a mastery of the German language, became a mutual interest for the author. They went on weekend road trips to festivals, vineyards, and wine cellars, and their language skills allowed them to explore the continent more.
At the age of 21, the author married John Goeser, who was a civil servant working for the CIA. They lived under cover, obfuscating the details of their lives and his career with friends and family outside of the CIA. The author knew that much of her life would come to an end, but being head over heels made the decision feel worthwhile.
The author knew that being the wife of a CIA officer would likely mean living in different parts of the world together, which she found exciting. The experience of being a self-supporting young female expat felt exhilarating and exciting, as she could finally be herself and be in demand.
Contract Wife
John and I married in Bern, Switzerland, on Memorial Day weekend. We spent our last night together at the historic Hotel Schweizerhof with friends from home. Our wedding reception was elegant and relaxed, unlike most girls from Wichita's past. We drove to Italy, passing through Grindelwald and driving over the Gotthard Pass. We then traveled through Bolzano, Italy, and eventually reached Pisa, Germany, where we cut our honeymoon short.
Meanwhile, I left Chase Manhattan Bank to start a new job at the US Army's 97th General Hospital in Frankfurt. I had taken a civil service exam that made me eligible for clerical positions with the military and other branches of government. In one year, I became a married woman supervising two dozen secretaries and making more money than I could spend. As Mrs. John Goeser, I was eligible to be hired as an entry-level CIA contract employee, a "contract wife."
However, being a "dependent" in the US government meant being a second-class citizen. I had to have written permission or physical presence to do things, such as purchasing a movie ticket or opening my own bank account. Military officials sometimes talked to me while I stood at his side, referring to me as "she." This misogyny reigned, and I was shocked to learn about the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, passed in 1974, which protected women and other minorities from discrimination when applying for loans and lines of credit.
The United States may have allowed women more freedom than in some other parts of the world, but women remained second-class citizens there in more ways than I realized at the time.
The CIA's General Schedule (GS) system was designed to organize and structure the agency's workforce, but it was undeniably biased against women. Most women started at the CIA with a lower GS grade than men, and the agency's "crème de la crème" were men. Women often never reached the highest level, GS-18, and qualified for a Senior Intelligence Service level.
In Circle of Treason, CIA veteran Jeanne Vertefeuille noted the GS system's partiality toward men. She found a job in Helsinki, Finland, rated as GS-09, one of the few such slots available to women then. Each tour abroad typically lasted two years, followed by a home tour, where a contract wife's GS grade was automatically bumped down upon returning from each post. This practice typically applied to women accompanying their spouses and rendered hard-earned promotions null and void the moment they returned to or departed from DC.
As a newly married CIA employee, the author began to center around obfuscation and deception, constantly trying to be aware of who she was speaking or writing to and how they knew her. She had John at her side to answer questions and get to know new people inside the CIA, some of whom would become lifelong friends. As a result, many who had once known her would never hear from the real me again.
The author also worked in the city center near the IG Farben building, which was also the original headquarters of the notorious IG Farben chemical company. They were fortunate to have Frau Schmidt, their first putzfrau, keep their apartment clean and tidy, but felt guilty that she wasn't doing that work herself.
John and I enjoyed our time in Europe, visiting vineyards, attending wine festivals, shopping, and enjoying life in the city. We traveled to Paris, the Netherlands, Italy, and other parts of France, and even went on a weekend trip to Amsterdam. We explored the Taunus Mountains and took photographs of hang gliders. Inspired by Europe's scenery and culture, we began using our cameras to document winemaking cellars and vineyards.
My first CIA secretarial post provided insight into the agency's inner workings, including its around-the-world support flight. The CIA logistics office dictated what would be transported and what was allowed on the plane. An unspoken rule banning personal items was enforced by the honor system, but this led to an uproar and Jim being medically evacuated from his Far Eastern assignment with ulcers.
