SPY: A HANDBOOK
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DiscretionIt goes without saying that all spies must be able to keep secrets. But for real spies it is even more complicated than that. Not every piece of information which should be withheld has a nice clear ‘SECRET’ label on it. Spies are constantly assessing how much they can tell other people about their lives and work, whether it is agents who work for them or other intelligence officers who work alongside them.
All the recruits were instructed to leave their old lives behind as soon as they were summoned to the training course. They were not supposed to bring any reminders of their old lives with them, were to act as if they were completely different people. This would seem like a simple instruction, but almost all the recruits failed to follow it. Some responded to their real names when they arrived at their hotels for the first night. Others had photographs, credit-card slips and other identifying documentation in their clothes and luggage. Possibly the worst offender was Simon who had brought photographs of his children and was nearly in tears when it seemed as if these might be torn up. The trainers quickly realised that his family was to be a major vulnerability for Simon and one he would either learn to master or fail the course.
Discretion was constantly being tested throughout the series. As the course progressed their shared experiences and their isolation from their families meant the recruits bonded closer together. Sandy was in charge of this aspect of the training and came down hard on anyone who broke the rules of secrecy, because in the outside world they would be endangering not only themselves but those they worked with. She was always watching for documents or belongings which were accidentally left lying about and anyone who revealed personal information to the other recruits received a particularly bitter reprimand. Most of the recruits suffered at her hands over the first few days and it was hardly surprising that she soon became known as ‘the bitch in the wig’!
But this is an important lesson which all spies have to learn and possibly one of the hardest. The worst part is that you can’t share knowledge of your position or success with others, which can be especially difficult when you meet old friends who are enjoying high-flying careers. The temptation to let someone - anyone - know what you really do can become overwhelming. Furthermore, it is a natural part of human interaction to tell others about yourself and your family. This tendency to confide can be one which is difficult to suppress but, once the discipline is learnt, experienced officers never lose it. One thing the trainers all noticed about each other was that although we had been out of the job for some years none of us told the others much about our current work or families. It was an aspect of training which was to prove fatal to the chances of some of the recruits.
All the recruits failed the very first test in discretion on their initial morning at the Spy training school. The trainers decided to replicate an old German army trick which was employed against British prisoners of war. The Germans had found that many British prisoners refused to do more than give their name, rank and number as they had been instructed to do. Rather than waste a lot of energy subjecting each of these men to individual interrogation, the Germans used a more subtle method.
Prisoners were allowed into a detention room in twos and threes. At first they were wary of each other, but gradually they exchanged one or two words about who they were and where they were being held. The Germans found that this communication had a snowball effect and that as new prisoners were introduced and saw other prisoners talking, so they felt free to talk themselves. By bugging the room, the Germans were able to collect as much information in an hour as they might have gathered in a week of conventional interrogation.
When the recruits arrived at the Spy school they obviously expected some sort of process to start, but the trainers gave them nothing. The only person they saw was Sandy and she would say nothing at all to them, no matter what they said, no matter how long they stood and stared at her. Austin tried to outstare her, but Sandy was far too good for him and he eventually gave up. The recruits found that they were allowed to wander throughout the school and explore where they liked. This confused them. They couldn’t work out what was going on. The first two who arrived were cautious and barely said anything apart from a few nods and murmurs. But by the time recruits four and five had arrived, they were all talking freely as a way to break the tension. They soon found the coffee machine and by the time all eight students were together it was like a party. They were all happily giving each other their real names, home addresses and family details. Microphones placed by the trainers recorded all of this valuable information. It seems that the old tricks still work- the students had all failed their first test.
All the recruits were instructed to leave their old lives behind as soon as they were summoned to the training course. They were not supposed to bring any reminders of their old lives with them, were to act as if they were completely different people. This would seem like a simple instruction, but almost all the recruits failed to follow it. Some responded to their real names when they arrived at their hotels for the first night. Others had photographs, credit-card slips and other identifying documentation in their clothes and luggage. Possibly the worst offender was Simon who had brought photographs of his children and was nearly in tears when it seemed as if these might be torn up. The trainers quickly realised that his family was to be a major vulnerability for Simon and one he would either learn to master or fail the course.
Discretion was constantly being tested throughout the series. As the course progressed their shared experiences and their isolation from their families meant the recruits bonded closer together. Sandy was in charge of this aspect of the training and came down hard on anyone who broke the rules of secrecy, because in the outside world they would be endangering not only themselves but those they worked with. She was always watching for documents or belongings which were accidentally left lying about and anyone who revealed personal information to the other recruits received a particularly bitter reprimand. Most of the recruits suffered at her hands over the first few days and it was hardly surprising that she soon became known as ‘the bitch in the wig’!
But this is an important lesson which all spies have to learn and possibly one of the hardest. The worst part is that you can’t share knowledge of your position or success with others, which can be especially difficult when you meet old friends who are enjoying high-flying careers. The temptation to let someone - anyone - know what you really do can become overwhelming. Furthermore, it is a natural part of human interaction to tell others about yourself and your family. This tendency to confide can be one which is difficult to suppress but, once the discipline is learnt, experienced officers never lose it. One thing the trainers all noticed about each other was that although we had been out of the job for some years none of us told the others much about our current work or families. It was an aspect of training which was to prove fatal to the chances of some of the recruits.
All the recruits failed the very first test in discretion on their initial morning at the Spy training school. The trainers decided to replicate an old German army trick which was employed against British prisoners of war. The Germans had found that many British prisoners refused to do more than give their name, rank and number as they had been instructed to do. Rather than waste a lot of energy subjecting each of these men to individual interrogation, the Germans used a more subtle method.
Prisoners were allowed into a detention room in twos and threes. At first they were wary of each other, but gradually they exchanged one or two words about who they were and where they were being held. The Germans found that this communication had a snowball effect and that as new prisoners were introduced and saw other prisoners talking, so they felt free to talk themselves. By bugging the room, the Germans were able to collect as much information in an hour as they might have gathered in a week of conventional interrogation.
When the recruits arrived at the Spy school they obviously expected some sort of process to start, but the trainers gave them nothing. The only person they saw was Sandy and she would say nothing at all to them, no matter what they said, no matter how long they stood and stared at her. Austin tried to outstare her, but Sandy was far too good for him and he eventually gave up. The recruits found that they were allowed to wander throughout the school and explore where they liked. This confused them. They couldn’t work out what was going on. The first two who arrived were cautious and barely said anything apart from a few nods and murmurs. But by the time recruits four and five had arrived, they were all talking freely as a way to break the tension. They soon found the coffee machine and by the time all eight students were together it was like a party. They were all happily giving each other their real names, home addresses and family details. Microphones placed by the trainers recorded all of this valuable information. It seems that the old tricks still work- the students had all failed their first test.
