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Debra S.

Debra S.

Transcript:

While I was working at the Bureau in the Records Management Division, I was actually communicating with a recruiter in Washington, D.C. about going into the Academy. And I was all ready to go except for the fact that I didn’t weigh enough to get into the class. I weighed at the time 88 pounds, and the minimum weight was 97. So I had to gain nine pounds. And it took a year to get there. So one day when we were close to it, the recruiter called and asked if I was 97 pounds yet and I said no but I was very close. And he said go to McDonald’s, eat a Big Mac, drink a shake, eat everything that you can hold, come right into the office and he will weigh me in. I did that and I made it by half a pound. So I was very happy at that point because it really was a struggle for me to get up to the actual 97 weight limit as an agent.

I became interested in working counterintelligence. At that time new agents were not assigned to counter intelligence squads so whenever I could, I would volunteer to do surveillances with them and an opening came along to attend Russian training school and I volunteered for that.

So I became proficient in Russian and transferred to the Los Angeles Division where I worked Russian foreign counterintelligence for four years. I talked to a lot of Russian émigrés during that time in Russian and conducted interviews in Russian prior to being transferred to a Russian organized crime squad.

I never thought I would help in the manner that I’ve helped with counterintelligence because that’s not just helping a particular person, it’s helping the country. And that’s how I look at counterintelligence work overall. I think every agent who’s working it everyday are coming in and you’re giving of yourself to help your country, totally.

I think things have changed. I know they have. In fact, I was having a conversation with a female agent I guess a week ago or so. And she told me that she doesn’t look at herself as a female agent, just as an agent. I thought, that’s a good thing and it was good to hear her say that, because it shouldn’t be, “you’re a female agent.” You’re an agent.

Celebrating Women Special Agents

About This Series
On July 17, 1972, the first two women of the modern era entered the FBI Training Academy at Quantico, Virginia. Fourteen weeks later they emerged as special agents. Over the next 40 years, women agents reshaped the Bureau, achieving leadership posts across the U.S. and around the world. This series looks at their roles, their challenges, and the rewards of a demanding career as a G-woman.

- Part 1: A New Chapter is Opened
- Part 2: Two Women Blaze a Trail
- Part 3: Early Pioneers Tell Their Stories
- Part 4: Pop Culture’s Take on Women Special Agents
- Part 5: A Diversity of Backgrounds and Experiences
- Part 6: Working Undercover
- Part 7: Two Made the Ultimate Sacrifice

In Their Own Words

Agents past and present talk about what brought them to the Bureau, their challenges, and their place among four decades of pioneers.

“You don’t want people to say she’s a good female agent. You want people to say she’s a good agent.. That’s what you strive for.”
— Mary Rook, Special Agent in Charge, Anchorage FBI

As Seen on TV

Marsha Thomason of “White Collar” and Gillian Anderson of “The X-Files” thank the Bureau’s women agents for their service.

A Father-Daughter Perspective

A woman who followed her father’s footsteps and became an agent.

On July 17, 1972, the first two women of the modern era entered the FBI Training Academy at Quantico, Virginia.
This is the second story in our series marking the 40-year anniversary of women special agents.