CONSIDERED
A CAREER AS AN FBI INTELLIGENCE ANALYST?
Here's What It's Like: Up Close and Personal
01/14/05
When we approached
Milton Ramirez to ask him what it's like being an Intelligence Analyst
in the FBI, he said, "Let me tell you a story."
"Right
after I started in the FBI's office in Puerto Rico, I became part of
a team working to dismantle a very large and very violent gang in San
Juan that had taken over a complete housing project and the lives of
all the residents in it. This gang was into everything bad—murder,
rape, illegal firearms, money laundering, and international cocaine
and heroin trafficking. It used 2-way radios to communicate and conduct
surveillance at lookout posts—and it forced the residents to
store drugs inside their homes to avoid the Police of Puerto Rico.
The residents were miserable, but they wouldn't cooperate because charges
against the gang never stuck, and retaliation was swift. Law enforcement
partnerships finally broke the back of the gang. After 2 years of meticulous
investigation, the Police of Puerto Rico, U.S. Customs, DEA, HUD, Social
Security Administration, and FBI raided the housing project and arrested
the leader of the gang and 25 of its members. All were found guilty.
All are in jail. And I was part of making that happen. You can imagine
how good that makes me feel."
Q: Tell us
more—what did you do exactly to help make the case?
Milton: Very intensive stuff. Exhaustive research and analysis helped
us put together an organizational profile of the gang, their activities, their
MOs, communications, and photographs. We analyzed telephone and police records
to prepare a wiretap affidavit. We analyzed financial records to identify gang
assets. And, in the end, to our complete satisfaction, we prepared arrest packages...and
graphic presentations that were used in trial.
Q: That's
just one case—what do you do on a daily basis, especially now
that you're in the FBI's Houston office?
Milton: Usually more than can be done in one day! When I came here
as a field Intelligence Analyst, I researched case files, databases, and open
source information. I read and wrote intelligence assessments and bulletins.
I'm involved in briefings, training, and workshops with colleagues in other
agencies. In 2003, for example, I traveled to Indonesia to teach a basic intelligence
course to police officers in the newly created Anti-Terrorism Directorate.
Now, since my promotion, I do all that and supervise 20 Intelligence Analysts
in our Investigative Support Center group too.
Q: And can
you say what you like best about the job?
Milton: No question about it: At the end of the day you go home with
a wonderful sense of accomplishment of doing something to protect the nation
and the lives of the people in it. You can't beat that.
Link: Interested
in applying? Go straight to www.fbijobs.com.
Or, read more about the FBI's Directorate
of Intelligence.