Fair Play

A group from the Cold War Air Museum recently had the pleasure of meeting Jim Olson at a non-museum event where he was invited to speak.


Professor Olson is a Senior Lecturer and Faculty Member at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, where he teaches courses on intelligence, national security, and international crisis management.

Serving for over 25 years in the Directorate of Operations of the Central Intelligence Agency, mostly overseas in clandestine operations, Mr. Olson and his wife appear to be the inspiration for the characters of Ed and Mary Foley in Red Rabbit, a fictional novel of the Cold War era.

His non-fiction text, Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Spying, has received 4-star ratings and reviews on Amazon as well as a review by his former employer. For the student of intelligence issues, morally challenging scenarios are presented with thought provoking commentary in a highly readable manner.

Jon shares a moment with the author, who received a standing ovation honoring both he and his wife for their service and sacrifice for our country for so many years. Comments and questions from the group of about 500 present expressed strong support for the continued ability of our intelligence, military and law enforcement communities to be able to continue to act effectively to safeguard our country.

In a rare opportunity for a group picture, shown standing left to right are Museum Directors Bud Forester, Phil Davis and Jon Boede with Associates Brent Harvey and Peter Taylor. Seated are Museuem President Bruce Stringfellow and Director R. L. Skinner. Bruce, a graduate of Texas A&M is wearing an appropriate school color for the evening.