Ric Prado was born on May 3, 1951, in Cuba, and immigrated to the United States in 1962. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Reserve on December 26, 1971, and completed basic training at Lackland AFB, Texas, in February 1972. After completing Pararescue training, Airborne School with the U.S. Army at Fort Benning, Georgia, and U.S. Naval Underwater Swimmers School at Key West, Florida, Sgt Prado served as a Pararescueman in the Air Force Reserve with the 301st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron at Homestead AFB, Florida, from 1972 to May 31, 1976, followed by service as a Medical Specialist with Company C, 3rd Battalion of the 20th Special Forces Group of the Florida Army National Guard stationed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from June 1, 1976, until he received an honorable discharge and was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency on January 31, 1980. While in the Air Force Reserve and Army National Guard, Sgt Prado also worked as an EMT with the Metro Miami Fire Department from 1974 to 1980. From 1980 to 1990, Mr. Prado served as a Paramilitary Officer in the Special Operations/Special Activities Division (SOG/SAD, Ground Branch), including 36 months in Central America jungles as the first CIA officer living in the anti-Sandinista "Contra" camps. He then ran counterterrorism/insurgency operations in Latin America and in the Philippines, followed by service as Head of the CIA's Korean Operations and Chief of CIA Liaison in Asia. Mr. Prado served as an Operations Officer in six overseas posts, and he was Deputy Chief of Station and Plank Owner of the original Bin Ladin Task Force/Issues Station, as well as Chief of Station in a hostile Muslim country. He also served as Chief of Operations in the CIA's Counterterrorist Center (CTC) during the September 11th attacks, where he helped coordinate CIA/CTC's special operations activities with the National Security Council and FBI, as well as with elite U.S. Military representatives from Delta Force and Naval Special Warfare Development Group. Mr. Prado retired from the CIA as a Senior Intel Service-2 (SIS-2, CIA Rank equivalent to a Major General in the armed forces) in 2004. After retiring from the CIA, Mr. Prado worked as a Special Advisor to MITRE Corporation, and as Vice President for Special Government Programs at Blackwater U.S.A. For his service in the CIA, he was awarded the CIA Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, and the George H.W. Bush Award for Excellence in Counterterrorism, as well as 2 Hard Target Reporting Team National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citations for units he was running. He was also awarded 6 other commendations by the Central Intelligence Agency which are still classified as of 2022. He is a graduate of George Mason University. Ric Prado is the author of Black Ops, The Life of a CIA Shadow Warrior, published in March 2022.