Our keynote speaker will be Thomas E. Hayden. ( Force Master Chief Petty Officer, US Navy, retired)
He served onboard the USS Charles S. Sperry for three years. He later served aboard the USS Borie, the USS Josephus Daniels, and Commander Amphibious Squadron Seven Staff. He was a member of its crew when the ship helped to enforce the Naval blockade of Cuba during the 1962 missile crisis.
Mr. Hayden served an in-country Vietnam tour as a machine gunner aboard the gunboats of Coastal-River Squadron Three in the Mekong Delta.
In 1981, while assigned to the Naval Air Engineering Center in Lakehurst, New Jersey, Mr. Hayden was approached to volunteer for duty as a double agent. For the next 18 months he served in a support role for agents of the NIS who were involved in counter-intelligence and counter-terrorist operations. Two of those operations were especially memorable; one targeted against the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in New York City, and the other against a communist front bookstore in Philadelphia.
In 1982 he was transferred to Naples, Italy and the operation known as "Sackett Land" began. The operation resulted in the defection of Vitaly Yurchenko, the highest ranking KGB officer ever to defect to the United States. This story later became a feature article in the November 2000 issue of GQ Magazine.
During his Naval career, he was a recipient of numerous awards, including the Legion of Merit, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation, and Vietnam Gallantry Cross. He is also a licensed pilot, having logged over 4,000 flight hours; and holds an Airline Transport Pilot rating.
The following url has his biography and other info…. http://www.meetanamericanspy.com/introduction.html