On DEAF EARS

On 8 March 2022, during a National Security Threats Briefing on Capitol Hill, House Intelligence Committee member Representative Jackie Speier took the floor.  With the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director LTG Scott Berrier seated across the committee panel in front of the microphone, Speier issued unambiguous direction for the leader of the 17,000+ person military arm of the intelligence community: fix your Agency.

“General Berrier…the Wall Street Journal just did an article that was deeply troubling to me and I think to my colleagues about a toxic environment in DIA.  A whistleblower came forward, there is egregious behavior going on…at another time, I would like you to provide us additional information about what you are doing to change that.” 

Berrier sat there, head nodding, hands wringing.  His agency, having just made headlines the month prior in the Wall Street Journal because a pattern of discrimination, harassment and even DIA members spying on other DIA members, was now being closely scrutinized by the House Intelligence Committee.  What many onlookers in the room did not realize was that this exchange was a culmination of years of work by a select few members of the military who confronted the abuses within the Agency and aimed to eliminate the cabal that carried them out.  These members would go on to establish the Walk the Talk Foundation.  This is their story.