Henry "Hank" A. Crumpton (born 1957) is a retired

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

operations officer, in his 24 year career he was appointed deputy director of the

Counterterrorism Center The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's Mission Center for Counterterrorism (often referred to as the Counterterrorism Mission Center or CTMC, formerly the Counterterrorism Center, or simply CTC) was established in 1986, and is a division of the CI ...

and head the CIA's

National Resources Division The National Resources Division (NR) is the domestic division of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. Its main function is to conduct voluntary debriefings of U.S. citizens who travel overseas for work or to visit relatives, and to recr ...

, which focuses on operations in the United States. He played an instrumental role in the early days of the invasion of Afghanistan, leading CTC Special Operations paramilitary forces as some of the first people with boots on the ground in pursuit of the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

and

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

just weeks after 9/11.

Gary Schroen Gary Charles Schroen (November 6, 1941 – August 1, 2022) was an American intelligence officer who spent 52 years with the Central Intelligence Agency, most notably as a field officer in charge of the initial CIA incursion into Afghanistan in S ...

's seven man Northern Alliance Liaison Team (NALT) forged alliances and established camp in the mountains, while Crumpton crafted a plan for a larger incursion alongside others like Greg Vogle and Chris Wood. He went on to be appointed by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

Coordinator for Counterterrorism The Coordinator for Counterterrorism heads the Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism, which coordinates U.S. government efforts to fight terrorism. As the head of the counterterrorism bureau, the coordinator for counterterror ...

at the

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

with the rank of Ambassador-at-large on August 2, 2005. He is an author and co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of the business intelligence and political risk firm Crumpton Global LLC.

Early life and education

Crumpton grew up in rural

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. At age 16 he left home for

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, where he worked nights in a carpet factory while studying for his high school diploma during the day. He attended St. John's in Santa Fe,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, then transferred to the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

where he earned a BA in political science in 1978. After graduating he traveled in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, the

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and

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. He has a master's in international public policy from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

’s

School of Advanced International Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of the ...

, where he graduated with honors in 2003.

Counterterrorism career

In 1981, at the age of 23, Crumpton became the youngest trainee in his class at the CIA. He began his career at the CIA in the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

division in

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

in the 1980s. In 1998-99 he served as deputy chief in the FBI’s International Terrorism Operations Section, while on loan from CIA. In 1998 he investigated the

al Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

bombings of the US embassies in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

and the 2000 attack of the

USS Cole USS ''Cole'' is the name of two ships of the United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest ...

off the coast of

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. On the day of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Crumpton had just taken over as CIA station chief in Canberra. He was recalled to become chief of Counterterrorism Center/Special Operations (CTC/SO) in the CIA, in charge of day-to-day running of the war in Afghanistan. involved with

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

until 2002 when he moved on to calmer assignments. He was the deputy director of the Counter-Terrorism Center from 1999 to 2001, and head of one of the agency's most secret divisions, the

, from 2003 to 2005. As head of the National Resources Division he hired future CIA Director

Gina Haspel Gina Cheri Walker Haspel (born October 1, 1956) formerly an American intelligence officer, was director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2018 to 2021. The first woman to hold the post on a permanent basis, she had previously worked a ...

as his deputy. He also was the head of the US covert response in Afghanistan to the

September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...

attack, masterminding the 90-day overthrow of the Taliban. He worked for the CIA for a total of 24 years, served as State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism with the rank of ambassador-at-large, and retired from government service in 2007.

Post-government career

In 2008 Crumpton founded and is the CEO of the international advisory and business development firm Crumpton Group LLC. He is also the CEO of Crumpton Ventures, an investment group specializing in telecommunications, cyber-security, unmanned aerial systems, and more. In 2020, he and former

Hill+Knowlton Strategies A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

Chairman Jack Martin formed Martin+Crumpton Group LLC, an intelligence and public strategy consultancy, serving as co-Chairmen and co-CEOs. In 2022, he renamed the company Crumpton Global LLC. Crumpton is also involved in TV and film production, creating and leading film company Aardwolf Creative LLC. Together with his business partner, former CIA analyst Rodney Faraon, he was an

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

for

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's “ State of Affairs” starring

Katherine Heigl Katherine Marie Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and former fashion model. She played Dr. Izzie Stevens on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role tha ...

Author

In 2012 Crumpton published a memoir about his 24 years working for the CIA entitled, ''The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service.'' The book is currently being developed as a movie titled ''Aperture.'' He contributed two chapters to the book ''Transforming US Intelligence'', edited by Jennifer E. Sims and former CIA operations officer Burton Gerber, published in 2005.

Books featuring Crumpton

He is the “Hank” featured in Gary C. Schroen’s book: ''First In: An Insider’s Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan'' and ''

Bush at War ''Bush at War'' is a 2002 book by ''The Washington Post'' reporter Bob Woodward recounting President George W. Bush's responses to the September 11 attacks and his administration's handling of the subsequent War in Afghanistan (2001–present), War ...

'' by

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for ''The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the title of associate editor. While a young reporter for ''The Washingto ...

. Crumpton has also been identified as the “Henry” in the September 11 Commission Report.

Awards and honors

* The Intelligence Commendation Medal * The George HW Bush Award for excellence in counter-terrorism * The Sherman Kent Award * The Donovan Award * The Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the CIA's highest achievement award

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crumpton, Henry A. 1957 births Living people University of New Mexico alumni People of the Central Intelligence Agency American spies Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni United States Ambassadors-at-Large Writers from Athens, Georgia American male non-fiction writers American memoirists