Brett Jones, a former Navy Seal and an openly gay member of the CIA’s paramilitary Global Response Staff (GRS), told ABC News that other staff members harassed him so much that he feared for his life.
According to Jones, it started with small incidents after he arrived in country in June: no one coming to pick him up from the helicopter transport, a disturbing smell coming from his new sheets, no one sitting next to him in the chow hall, laughter abruptly ceasing when he walked into rooms.
“I guess I thought I was being overly sensitive and I just had to man up a little bit,” he said.
But Jones said the incidents kept piling up and getting worse. He said his team refused to let him in a truck during a vehicle test on a nearby mountain, forcing him to walk in the 120-plus degree heat. Another time someone stole his encrypted radio, which, if actually lost, he said would have potentially compromised the security of some American military and spy radio communications around the world. After racing around and asking everyone if they had taken the radio by accident, Jones said he found it on the table in the team room, surrounded by chuckling GRS operators.
Jones has a Powerpoint deck prepared by GRS that contains homophobic slurs:
Two of the slides, Jones says, were directly aimed at him. His radio call sign had been changed to “Gay Gay” and in a slide meant to discuss medical emergencies, it said, “Escorts go to NEVERLAND RANCH and GRS goes to GAYBAR medic.”
Image: Brett Jones, unblurred, poses with CIA GRS staff
