At the time Col. Prouty retired from the U.S. Air Force, in 1964, he was the Chief of Special Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that capacity, his job was "to provide world-wide military support for the clandestine operations of the Central Intelligence Agency". Col. Prouty was responsible for support of the "Secret Team" in the Pentagon from 1955 to 1964 encompassing such highly classified operations as the Indonesian Rebellion in 1958, the Tibetan campaign of 1959-60, the anti-Castro program of 1960-61, among others.

Col. Prouty was assigned to headquarters, U.S. Air Force to develop a world-wide program of Air Force support of the CIA in accordance with the provisions of the new National Security Council directive establishing "Covert Operations", NSC 5412.

Having established this program in conjunction with the General Council of the CIA, Col. Prouty was sent by the director of Central Intelligence, Allen W. Dulles, around the world to visit most of the CIA stations of that period.

His book, The Secret Team, (1973), provides a rare view of the inside operations of the CIA and its allies around the world. The "Secret Team" concept was basic to the Iran-Contra hearings and to the operations of the North-Hakim-Sacord enterprise. This book has just been republished.

During those nine years in the Pentagon, Col. Prouty worked in the office of the Secretary of Defence which included the time President Kennedy was elected. This work during the 1,000 Days of Camelot has made him the "Dean" of the Kennedy assassination researchers. He had written and spoken frequently on this subject and of his contacts throughout that troubled period. He understands, perhaps better than most, the enormous pressures that led to the contrived murder of President Kennedy.

Paramount among these pressure areas was the clandestine build-up of the Vietnam War. Col. Prouty first went to Vietnam on official orders in 1952 and returned on such duties sometime during each year until 1963. His work in that field and his familiarity with most of the key officials of that period give him an unparalleled understanding of that longest and most protested war of our history.

With this as background it becomes clear that the sordid "Iran-Contra" affair of the Reagan administration was an outgrowth of the "Secret Team" concept and the "Vietnam War" mentality. Col. Prouty has written countless articles on this and related subjects and is a frequent radio and TV guest in this country and Europe.

DE-CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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Tempe, Arizona 85280
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 (C) 1996 Intelligence Connection