CIA Assassination Training

CIA assassination training refers to the training that is provided by the CIA to recruits who are going to specialize in covert ops and assassinations. This specialized training is not given to all recruits. Students who display a high command of the skills necessary to be an assassin are handpicked for such training. From those who are selected, only a few will finish their training as the dropout and failure rate are high.

The CIA has been implicated for their involvement in several high-level assassinations and assassination attempts throughout history. Most notably, the U.S. Senate found that there were at least eight attempts on Fidel Castro's life. Statistics concerning the prevalence of CIA assassins and their work are hard to find as the CIA is extremely tight-lipped about this and most other areas of its operations. Few details are known about their training programs as well, as leaks in this information could compromise both agent and national security.

Assassin training requires discipline, loyalty, secrecy and courage. Applicants must be willing to put the CIA and the mission above all personal relationships and duties. The life of an assassin in training is very strenuous. Students are put through rigorous training exercises to cultivate discipline and a "killer instinct." Training typically lasts between six months and two years, depending on the acumen of the student and his skill level. However, training as an assassin is a lifelong process, where experience is the real teacher.

Students who graduate from CIA assassination training are part of an elite class of soldiers. Their work is only ever acknowledged by their superiors. They live a life of secrecy and they risk their lives regularly. CIA assassins in training should know that their actions may be scrutinized by future administrations, and total knowledge of their involvement in assassinations may be disavowed.

The function of a CIA assassin is to kill those who pose a threat to U.S. national security. CIA assassins have allegedly been responsible for some of the most recognized assassinations and assassination attempts in the past century. They may also be responsible for "black ops," operations that are strictly off the books--operations that governments can deny they had any involvement in. Agents killed during a black op are never recognized publicly by the government.

CIA assassination training and a career as an assassin is not an advisable career for anyone who wishes to lead a normal life. Total commitment to the mission and the job are required above all else. Agents routinely risk their lives, and there is a strong possibility of death on the job. Agents must also deal with the psychological ramifications that result from killing another person.