How to make Cowboy Coffee

By Michael Kurcina Mike credits his early military training as the one thing that kept him disciplined through the many years. He currently provides his expertise as an adviser for an agency within the DoD. Michael Kurcina subscribes to the Spotter Up way of life. “I will either find a way or I will make…

Hidden in Plain Sight: Concealment Devices of the OSS

Photo courtesy CIA. During World War II, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)—the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)—pioneered a new era of espionage. Tasked with gathering intelligence and sabotaging enemy operations, OSS agents relied on creativity and innovation to outwit their adversaries. Among their most remarkable tools were concealment devices, which allowed agents…

Before Email: The CIA’s Pneumatic Tube System

Vacuum-driven carrier. Messages traveled at more than 30 feet per second through the pneumatic tubing. Photo courtesy Central Intelligence Agency. Before the advent of email and the digital revolution, organizations relied on ingenious analog solutions to manage the communication of sensitive information. One of the most remarkable examples of this was the Central Intelligence Agency’s…