About Gary Berntsen

Gary Berntsen, a retired decorated CIA Officer, is a candidate for the U.S. Senate in New York. He was born in Bethpage and raised in Smithtown, New York.

Gary is married to Estela and the father of three. His son is an Army Officer serving in an Airborne Unit in Afghanistan. His oldest daughter served as a Naval Intelligence Officer in the Pacific and Persian Gulf.

Gary is a life-long Republican, committed to: reigning in the out-of-control spending habits of Washington; implementing national security and foreign policy approaches that are in the best interest of America, rather than the current approach of apology and appeasement; and preserving small business and the jobs they provide. In 2008, Gary served as the New York Veterans Coalition Chairman for the Presidential Campaign of Senator John McCain. He has committed his life to public service.

Gary served four years in the United States Air Force as a Crash Firefighter and achieved the rank of Sergeant. He then served 23 years in the Central Intelligence Agency 's Clandestine Service, and served on three separate occasions as a CIA Station Chief.

He is best known for having led the CIA 's paramilitary forces in eastern Afghanistan against Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda in response to the September 11, 2001 attack.  In Afghanistan he led the capture of Kabul and was the architect of the battle of Tora Bora. Gary led CIA teams in East Africa after the August 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar 'es Salaam, Tanzania. In the late 1990 's he was the Chief of Hezbollah Operations in CIA 's Counterterrorism Center.  From 2002 to 2005 he managed major Counternarcotics Programs in Latin America. Gary is one of CIA 's most highly decorated officers having received CIA 's Distinguished Intelligence Medal and CIA 's Intelligence Star. He retired from CIA in 2005.

Gary is the author of the New York Times bestseller Jawbreaker: the Attack on Bin Laden and al Qaeda; a novel, The Walk-In, and a policy book entitled Human Intelligence Counterterrorism and National Leadership. He is a renowned expert on national security and counterterrorism, having done over 200 television and radio interviews.  He frequently appears as a national security expert on Fox News and CNN.  In 2007-2008, Gary returned to Afghanistan for a year as civilian advisor to the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) and worked against militant Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Networks.  Since 2008, Gary has worked as both a lecturer and a defense consultant.

Gary serves as president of The Berntsen Group which offers timely, accurate and reliable investigative and security services to clients across the globe. The firm 's U.S. staff consists of highly trained former senior American intelligence and federal law enforcement personnel. Former foreign law enforcement, military officers and justice ministry personnel augment their services in offshore operations.

In his private life, Gary has served as a school board member and a Boy Scout leader. He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Gary is a graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.S. in Political Science and a minor in Russian Studies. He speaks Farsi and Spanish.