Bill Cowan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William V. Cowan, often nicknamed Bill Cowan (born August 1943 in Sacramento, California), is a retired USMC Lieutenant Colonel, co-founder and CEO of the WVC3 Group,[1] a Reston, Virginia based company specializing in international security.[2] He is also a contributor for the Fox News Channel[3]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Vietnam War
Cowan graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1966 and joined the Marines Corps. He subsequently did two tours in Vietnam where he spent three and a half years. Most of his time was spent with small units and getting experience of intelligence gathering with the Central Intelligence Agency.[4] From 1969 onwards, he was advisor for the South Vietnam military in the Rung Sat zone.[5] During his last year he led the Rung Sat's Provincial Reconnaissance Unit, and in his five months he was in charge of the Kit Carson Scouts program.[6] He was awarded the Silver Star for valor in combat.[7]
[edit] Intelligence Support Activity
In April 1983, after having been offered a job at the White House Science Advisor's office, he was approached by the Intelligence Support Activity (ISA) to replace the previous Marine representative and ISA deputy operations officer.[8] Cowan was seriously affected by the 1983 bombing of a Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon which killed 241 servicemen (220 Marines, 18 Navy personnel and 3 Army personnel). He retired from the ISA after what he perceived as inaction by the Pentagon towards dealing with this incident. This inspired him to secretly organize a group that would work outside the government to help fight terrorism and other social problems worldwide.
After he retired from the ISA he worked as legislative assistant to Senator Warren B. Rudman during the hearings of the Iran Contra scandal, and was a key staff member in drafting the legislation which created the U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, FL.
Cowan was involved in some of the most famous hostage rescues of the Middle East. One of his rescues, the 1990 rescue of American businessmen in Kuwait after Saddam Hussein had invaded that country, was the object of a documentary where some secrets about his organization were revealed, such as the fact that organization operatives used to obtain fake passports issued by a man in Paris to enter countries where people were being held. This operation was conducted in combination with former CIA director Bill Colby.
In addition to his participation as a contributor for Fox, he has also written articles for The Washington Post and been featured in several television shows, (apart from the documentary), such as Larry King Live, Crossfire and others.
[edit] References
- ^ Bill Cowan Biography on The Intelligence Summit website, Bill Cowan Biography on the Iran Policy Committee (IPC) website, Bill Cowan Biography on Fox News website
- ^ http://www.insiderpa.com/archive/insider6-2003.htm. See also wvc3 Inc. online presentation page
- ^ Bill Cowan Biography on Fox News website
- ^ Michael Smith, Killer Elite: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations Team, Cassell, coll. « Cassell Military Parperbacks », Londres, 2006 ISBN 0-3043-6727-3 [1] pp.80-81
- ^ One Marine's Opinion: 240th AHC in the Rung Sat
- ^ Michael Smith, Killer Elite, p.81
- ^ PBS Frontline interview: Bill Cowan
- ^ Michael Smith, Killer Elite
