Panorama Winter 2025 Publication - Flipbook - Page 11
Residents share
careers in the CIA
The Summit now has three women
in residence who had clandestine
careers. Hazel Harrison was
recently joined by Liz Leukroth and
Barbara Dobos.
days a week or to be
on-call 24 hours a day.
This was especially the
case when assigned
overseas.
These ladies worked at the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) for
a total of over 90 years during
the time of the Korean War, the
Vietnam War, and the Cold War.
If assigned to
dangerous or
“hardship” posts, they
normally received
additional financial
compensation.
Many times, each
experienced being
called into the office to
handle details within
their individual scope
of expertise.
All worked parts of their careers
at CIA Headquarters Building in
McLean, Virginia and other times,
they volunteered for assignments
domestically or on one or more of
five continents.
Some of their assignments were
as short as a few days or as long as
several years. All three worked in
the administrative field.
Sometimes, their responsibilities
were broader when stationed
overseas. Regardless of the
assignment, duties included:
preparation of reports either for
superior officers or to transmit
back to Headquarters; serving as a
finance officer for the area in which
they were assigned; providing
logistics support to the station
by contracting for the necessary
administrative supplies; providing
other tasks as directed by the officer
in charge such as organizing events
in support of VIP visits, or interface
with other government agencies.
Working at the CIA was definitely
not a 9 - 5 job. Many times, they
might be required to work seven
In addition, they
might have to assume
the responsibilities
of another officer
to ensure the mission was
accomplished. It was always to their
advantage to learn the duties of
every person assigned to our office.
In our positions, we were keenly
aware of the classification of
documents, information, and areas
of intelligence.
The three basic classifications were
“Confidential, Secret or Top Secret.”
They were not allowed to discuss
work outside of the work place or
even with spouses or roommates.
This requirement was known
within their circle as “the need to
know.”
For each of them, there were some
long days, but many times they
might have a once-in-a-lifetime
experience such as meeting and
shaking the hands of the sitting
U.S. President, seeing the Bob
Hope Show in Vietnam while on
the front row, attending a dinner
at a National Palace, going on a
safari in Africa, traveling on the
USS Constitution, seeing the Berlin
Wall, or traveling in the Australian
Outback.
They have lived in Africa, Europe,
South America, Asia, and Australia.
Hazel, Liz and Barbara all agree
that working for the CIA allowed
three gals from Virginia, West
Virginia, and Pennsylvania to have
wonderful and challenging careers
that also gave them the opportunity
to see the world. Now, they are
happy to call The Summit home.
