Richard D. Schwein, Jr. Named Special Agent in Charge of Birmingham Division

Director Robert S. Mueller, III has named Richard D. Schwein, Jr. special agent in charge of the Birmingham Division. He will oversee all FBI investigative programs and personnel in the northern judicial district of Alabama. He most recently served as a member of the FBI Counterterrorism Division and the FBI Senior Executive Service, where he was detailed to the CIA Counterterrorism Center to act as deputy director for law enforcement.

Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. Schwein served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army and spent five years in airborne and special mission units. He was Ranger-qualified, and his military service included combat in the Middle East as part of a joint special operations expeditionary force.

Mr. Schwein began his career with the FBI in 1988, where he was assigned as a special agent to the Charlotte Division. There, he worked both criminal and national security matters, and he served on the SWAT team as an assaulter and tactical medic. He was also a certified undercover employee as well as a member of the evidence response team. In 2003, Mr. Schwein was awarded the FBI Director’s Award of Excellence for Outstanding Counterterrorism Investigation. He was recognized for his involvement in the investigation that led to the first trial conviction of an individual providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

In 2001, Mr. Schwein was named supervisor of the Asheville and Hickory, North Carolina Resident Agencies. In this capacity, he was responsible for all FBI personnel and operations in 27 western North Carolina counties. Additionally, he supervised the manhunt for FBI Top Ten Most Wanted fugitive and serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph at the time of his capture. In 2004, Mr. Schwein volunteered to serve as the FBI operations supervisor during the early phases of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In 2006, Mr. Schwein was assigned to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, to serve as FBI senior representative to the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). There, he helped to integrate sensitive, multi-lateral operations between the FBI and Department of Defense special mission units.

In 2008, Director Mueller appointed Mr. Schwein as FBI legal attaché in Sana’a, Republic of Yemen, where he was responsible for FBI activities in southern Arabia and the Horn of Africa. Mr. Schwein was awarded the FBI Medal of Valor in 2011 for his actions during an assault by al Qaeda suicide terrorists on the U.S. Embassy in Sana’a.

In 2009, Mr. Schwein was designated assistant special agent in charge, FBI Mobile Division. While in this role, he supervised the National Security Branch and oversaw multiple programs in southern Alabama, until he was selected to FBI Senior Executive Service in 2011.

Mr. Schwein was a Distinguished Military Graduate and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in political science from Radford University in Radford, Virginia. He also holds a Masters of Arts degree in national security studies from the United States Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

He has been married to his wife, Sue, for over 24 years and is the proud father of twin daughters.