Out of Captivity : Surviving 1,967 Days in the Colombian Jungle

Choices and Challenges5I’m no adrenaline junkie, so when the opportunity eventually cameup for me to switch from intelligence analyzing to intelligence gatheringin Colombia, I really had to think about it. The job interest was froma government contractor called California Microwave, which was a subsidiaryof a larger government contractor called Northrop Grumman.I would receive a significant bump in pay, but strings were attached. Iconsulted with Shane. I would have to be separated from my family forweeks at a time. The last thing I wanted was to be away from them, butmy father, George, had always drummed it into my head that you haveto do whatever is necessary to provide for your loved ones. That’s whathe did for my brother, Mike, and me and that’s what I wanted to do formy family. My kids and my wife weren’t starving, but rising prices andthe prospect of the enormous cost of a college education for three kidswere definitely weighing on my mind and my bank account. Beingaway from them would be hard, but if it meant they’d get the educationthey needed, it’d be worth it.If the separation wasn’t enough, this new job also carried the risk ofphysical harm, which gave me pause. My old work consisted of sittingbehind a computer reviewing footage and documents. Now I wouldbe in the thick of things, in the middle of the intelligence-gatheringprocess, where a whole lot more could go wrong. California Microwavehad been contracted to do aerial surveillance on the Colombian drugtrade by the Department of Defense. The fact that I’d be working forNorthrop reassured me that accepting the offer was the right move.Several subcontractors did this kind of work for the government, butknowing that we had the support of Northrop gave me the quiet confidenceI needed to take this potentially hazardous job. Northrop tookcare of their employees, and I knew that if anything happened, they’dtake care of me and my family.Ultimately, after assessing the risks and the increased salary withShane, I signed on with California Microwave, and in November of2002, I traveled to Colombia to be trained on the company’s Forward