CIA Crisis Simulation Competition

No one can approach CIA analysts and ask them what they do; their work remains a mystery for security reasons. But this purposeful secrecy makes it extremely difficult for students to understand the career of a CIA analyst when exploring job possibilities.

So how does one become familiar with these secretive career paths? Richmond students like Lauren Taflinger, ’15, and Bobby McCurdy, ’15, were given a rare opportunity to experience the work of an analyst firsthand.

This past November, the University of Richmond hosted a CIA crisis simulation competition that brought in teams of students from 10 universities in the mid-Atlantic region. In cooperation with the director of intelligence at the CIA, the teams were presented with simulated intelligence traffic from a fictional country and were required to analyze the information with the support of a junior analyst. After completing their analysis, they briefed a senior analyst on their conclusions. “Briefing the senior analysts was very difficult,” says McCurdy. “They were trying to ask tough questions to trip us up.”

But answering challenging questions is where potential analysts thrive, according to Stephen Long, assistant professor of political science and international studies. Long not only arranged for UR to host the simulation, but he also recommended Taflinger and McCurdy participate in the program.

“A lot of our students are interested in international affairs, and a liberal arts college like ours teaches students all of the fundamental skills that they need to do those jobs,” Long says. “They’re able to absorb a lot of information quickly, analyze arguments, and be critical in their thinking about arguments. They’re also good writers and public speakers.”

The students had to use all of these skills during the competition. “We were only given two hours, and we had to brief through about 30 pages,” says Taflinger. The students were even required to write a situation report on the intelligence traffic — something many of them had never done before the simulation. “Once we understood all of the information, we then had to pinpoint what was important what was not,” says Taflinger.  

“Seeing students appreciate for the first time how difficult it is to identify credible and non-credible information when it comes from someone else was extremely worthwhile,” Long says. He hopes to continue to send students to the simulation in future years, wherever it is hosted, and to further build and maintain the relationship UR has with the CIA.

The students involved benefitted greatly from the experience, and from the opportunity to work directly with a junior analyst who acted as not only as a consultant, but as mentor. “Our mentor was engaging and really made an effort to make sure we were always understanding what was going on in the process. He also gave us a lot insight in his own personal career,” says McCurdy.

“The analysts are not just these intimidating people in suits,” says Taflinger. “They are real people who are easy to talk to, and the insight I gained was not something that I could have experienced outside of this event.”

In this way, the simulation was more than a competition — it was an opportunity to meet and learn from people working in intelligence. “Even though we didn’t win, I think the students had a blast,” says Long. “There’s no other place that you could find 18 intelligence analysts together except at CIA headquarters.”