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The Historians video series focuses on important people and events throughout DIA’s history. DIA historians Greg Elder, Paul Isakson and Orlando Pacheco give a behind-the-scenes look at the stories that help make DIA the agency it is today.

In "Deck of Cards," Greg Elder takes viewers back to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the creation of the playing cards to help troops identify the most wanted members of Saddam Hussein’s regime.

In "True American Hero," Paul Isakson tells the story of Brig. Gen. Jon Reynolds, and DIA's involvement in his rescue from the Hanoi Hilton prison in Vietnam.

Orlando Pacheco details the life and legacy of former DIA Director Lt. Gen. Sam Wilson, a U.S. Army officer who is cited as the first to use the term "counterinsurgency."

Greg Elder explores how DIA helped put a man on the moon. Also, hear from DIA officers as they describe their memories of the moon landing 50 years later.

Greg Elder examines DIA's exploitation of the Soviet Union's MiG-25 Foxbat interceptor.

Lisa Temple recounts the story of Operation Babylift, the name given to the mass evacuation of children from South Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. DIA played a vital role in the execution of the operation.

In 1981, DIA issued “Soviet Military Power,” the first in a series of groundbreaking unclassified publications on the strengths and capabilities of Soviet military forces. The purpose was to provide America’s leaders, the national security community and the public with a complete and accurate view of the Soviet threat.

Nicholas Shadrin wasn't your ordinary spy, he was a consummate intelligence professional who had dedicated himself to the defense of this nation.

In 2001, an American spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet, killing the Chinese pilot and forcing the American aircraft to land at Hainan Island, where Chinese authorities took the crew of 24 into custody for 11 days. On this episode of The Historians, Greg Elder speaks with Brigadier General Neal Sealock, the DIA attaché who helped negotiate their freedom.

Meet the Historians
Portrait image of Greg

Greg

Greg is DIA's chief historian and the content manager for the DIA Museum. He has held many positions at DIA and at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Elder an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University and a consultant for the Hulu series, “The Handmaid’s Tale."

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Paul

As a historian and collections manager, Paul Isakson cares for DIA’s physical collection of historical artifacts, conducts oral interviews to preserve little-known stories, and shares defense intelligence history through tours. Isakson was recognized as the Navy’s first Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and in 2010 deployed to Iraq as the DIA transition manager.

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Orlando

Beginning his career at DIA with the Academy for Defense Intelligence, Orlando Pacheco served as a master instructor examining lessons learned from historic intelligence failures from Pearl Harbor to 9/11. As a historian for the Agency, his research on DIA’s critical involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis was a major contribution to the DIA Museum. Pacheco is a retired U.S. Army foreign area officer whose assignments included Angola, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, England and Iraq.