Gary Berntsen

Gary Berntsen, Director of Concerned Veterans for America – Florida, is a decorated former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) career officer who served in the Directorate of Operations between October 1982 and June 2005. During his time at the CIA, he served as a CIA Station Chief on three separate occasions and led several of CIA’s most important counterterrorism deployments including the United States’ response to the East Africa Embassy bombings and the 9/11 attacks. In December 2001, Berntsen served as the Commander of all CIA forces in Eastern Afghanistan and led the agency’s Jawbreaker team in Tora Bora. He was awarded the Distinguished Intelligence Medal in 2000 and the Intelligence Star in 2004. Mr. Berntsen is also a veteran of the United States Air Force.