The “fire Fauci” thread had a couple of posts about firing FBI director Wray. It got me to thinking, it seems like most, if not all, FBI directors are attorneys, and bureaucrats who served in government in some capacity, but were never FBI agents. Forgive me for not knowing the exact background of all the directors, but shouldn’t the FBI director be someone who is/was an agent, who has worked their way up the ranks, similar to a chief of Police?

What makes you think it's a requirement that police chiefs work their way up through the ranks?

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Originally posted by tatortodd:
What makes you think it's a requirement that police chiefs work their way up through the ranks?

Ditto.

To compliment the original OP, to my recollection, Louis Freeh was the last permanent Director (Andrew McCabe was « Acting ») who had been an agent beforehand.

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shouldn’t the FBI director be someone who is/was an agent, who has worked their way up the ranks, similar to a chief of Police?

Seriously?

There are very very very few Police Chiefs in today's world (especially at larger agencies) who have actually "worked" doing much of anything other than playing politics.

It may show they did something that looks like policework on paper in their carefully manicured resume, but that seldom translates to anything that actually resembles it.

Would love to see this guy running the FBI...started as door kicker w FBI SWAT now serves as Deputy Director

from his FBI biography page

David L. Bowdich
Deputy Director

In March 2018, David Bowdich was appointed deputy director of the FBI. In this role, he oversees all FBI domestic and international investigative and intelligence activities.

In April 2016, Mr. Bowdich assumed the position of associate deputy director of the FBI, where he oversaw the management of all FBI personnel, budget, administration, and infrastructure. Prior to this appointment, he served as assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office from December 2014 to April 2016.

From September 2012 to December 2014, Mr. Bowdich served as the special agent in charge of the Counterterrorism Division in the Los Angeles Field Office. In that role, he led the Joint Terrorism Task Force, which was responsible for all international and domestic terrorism investigations in the Los Angeles region, surrounding counties, and the extraterritorial region of Southeast Asia. Additionally, Mr. Bowdich was responsible for all crisis management and response assets, which included the SWAT Team, Evidence Response Team, Hazardous Evidence Response Team, Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team, Rapid Deployment Team, Crisis Management Team, and special agent bomb technicians.

Mr. Bowdich began his career as an FBI special agent in 1995 in the San Diego Field Office, where he investigated violent crimes and gangs and served as a SWAT Team operator and sniper. In 2003, Mr. Bowdich was promoted to FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he served in the Criminal Investigative Division for one year and the Director's Office for one year. Mr. Bowdich returned to San Diego and supervised a multiagency gang task force for almost four years before being promoted in place to serve as the assistant special agent in charge over all non-white-collar crime criminal violations, the Imperial County Resident Agency, the SWAT Team, and the Evidence Response Team.

The head position is as much a political position as it is an organizational leadership position; you see the same problems with ambassadors. If you're getting appointed, hopefully your skill-set is identifying talent and putting them into positions to succeed, while also being able to articulate and play political-judo on Capitol Hill.

The head of the CIA Gina Haspel, is the first career employee (and a former station chief) since William Casey, so there's hope yet that the FBI will get a person with operational experience and know-how, to work the halls of power.

The FBI has been mismanaged and operated as a secret police for so long that it has a major culture problem from top to bottom.

To change culture the next director should be a total outsider. Also should be a career law enforcement administrator and definitely should NOT be a lawyer.

Once such a person is found s/he should be given the authority to clean house at the HQ level and replace the senior management with outsiders.

quote:

Originally posted by WCCPHD:
The FBI has been mismanaged and operated as a secret police for so long that it has a major culture problem from top to bottom.

To change culture the next director should be a total outsider. Also should be a career law enforcement administrator and definitely should NOT be a lawyer.


Once such a person is found s/he should be given the authority to clean house at the HQ level and replace the senior management with outsiders.

Agreed far too many deep staters in the ABC agencies. Need someone from outside.

Unfortunately unless they are serving "at the pleasure of" it's impossible to clean any house of any agency. As you cannot just fire a federal employee.

Not sure if it's still this way but in order to be an agent you once needed a law or accounting degree.
Most of the ones I met had a law degree.

I suspect there’ll be some deep cleaning after Trump wins the election. It’ll be gratifying to watch.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
What makes you think it's a requirement that police chiefs work their way up through the ranks?

I dunno. Seems to work reasonably well in the military. Kinda need to know how all the levels work in order to run the show.

Louis Freeh was a street agent, then a prosecutor and judge before returning to head the FBI.

He had a conscience and a backbone, neither of which has been permitted in a Director since then.

Bowdich is a righteous dude. He would make an outstanding director and one that could restore the Bureau to its proper trajectory. He replaced Andrew McCabe & had the pleasure of firing that dick, Peter Strzok...

I'd like to see GEN Flynns attorney, Sydney Powell, appointed to head the FBI. Bet we would see some indictments then. Quick and in a hurry too! Regards 18DAI

Why not Floyd himself? Might be better to put someone up with an axe to grind. Then just do the central American thing and execute the outed bastards. Why does everyone want to shoot the street criminals but leave the real bastards in their jobs?

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Originally posted by feersum dreadnaught:

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
What makes you think it's a requirement that police chiefs work their way up through the ranks?

I dunno. Seems to work reasonably well in the military. Kinda need to know how all the levels work in order to run the show.

I didn’t say it was a good idea, I said it wasn’t a requirement. As others have posted, the chief is rarely a former beat cop and FBI director is rarely a former field agent.

I live in a county with over 1/2 million people and our Sheriff was elected despite 0 LEO experience. Texas law required him to go get certified within x months.

The FBI needs to to flushed as well as Fauci. Hope Trump cleans house big time.

Just a side note, I thought at the very beginning J.Edgar actually hired lawyers as agents?

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by feersum dreadnaught:

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
What makes you think it's a requirement that police chiefs work their way up through the ranks?

I dunno. Seems to work reasonably well in the military. Kinda need to know how all the levels work in order to run the show.

I didn’t say it was a good idea, I said it wasn’t a requirement. As others have posted, the chief is rarely a former beat cop and FBI director is rarely a former field agent.

I live in a county with over 1/2 million people and our Sheriff was elected despite 0 LEO experience. Texas law required him to go get certified within x months.

I worked for Americas biggest snack company for 30 years. Had a number of district mgrs. (bosses). The best ones were the ones that ran a route for years. In other words , came off the truck. The worst were the college boys. Had a degree and now they are in charge. Had no idea about the real world of dealing with a variety of stores, personality types, season changes, holidays etc. IMO coming up thru the ranks is the best "degree" you can acquire.

Ditto.

I have an advanced science degree and used to work at a company selling products for doing life sciences research and I was a product manager, a job that relied heavily on my degree. There were about five of us with similar backgrounds as PM and we were all put under a recent MBA grad with no science bkd (but was a friend of the president of the company).

My reply to him and others like him in the company was frequently "no its not rocket science, but it is ACTUAL science and you have no science training."

Take home: Some of the best managers are homegrown and rising from the ranks.

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Originally posted by kramden:

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by feersum dreadnaught:

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
What makes you think it's a requirement that police chiefs work their way up through the ranks?

I dunno. Seems to work reasonably well in the military. Kinda need to know how all the levels work in order to run the show.

I didn’t say it was a good idea, I said it wasn’t a requirement. As others have posted, the chief is rarely a former beat cop and FBI director is rarely a former field agent.

I live in a county with over 1/2 million people and our Sheriff was elected despite 0 LEO experience. Texas law required him to go get certified within x months.

I worked for Americas biggest snack company for 30 years. Had a number of district mgrs. (bosses). The best ones were the ones that ran a route for years. In other words , came off the truck. The worst were the college boys. Had a degree and now they are in charge. Had no idea about the real world of dealing with a variety of stores, personality types, season changes, holidays etc. IMO coming up thru the ranks is the best "degree" you can acquire.