Meet Ben

          My name is Ben Nett. Over the course of my career, I've  been known by a great many pseudonyms, aliases, and monikers. The government calls me "Carl" but my friends and family call me "Ben" – my abbreviated middle name, Benjamin. I  joined the Purcellville Police Department in the summer of 2022 and, soon thereafter, entered the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy as part of Session 147 – the largest in the history of the NVCJTA, with approximately 140 recruits representing multiple law enforcement agencies across Northern Virginia. My journey to PPD was a rather circuitous one. In the Spring of 2022, I branched out on my own after more than 20 years as a TS//SCI cleared professional. No longer punching a clock, I found myself with more time on my hands than expected. Thus, I returned to a profession I know and love, having previously worn a badge with the feds and with two brothers serving in law enforcement out of state. Candidly, I thought this would be a temporary adventure. Competitively, as I was then in my late forties, I was excited by the challenge of participating in a physically grueling academy up against much younger personnel. Twenty years removed from my last paramilitary academy, the result was the same. I graduated first in class, making Purcellville proud.

     In 2002, not long after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, I began my professional career with the U.S. Secret Service, graduating first in class from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico, and first in class from the Secret Service Academy, known as the James J. Rowley Training Center, in Beltsville, Maryland. Thereafter, I spent nearly six years in the Secret Service, with assignments to the Dignitary Protective Division and the Presidential Protective Division.

     In 2008, I resigned my commission when recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency. As a member of the National Clandestine Service, I worked as a contract Intelligence Officer and, separately, a Targeting Officer. My latter assignment with CIA led to my being selected for hazardous duty assignment in Afghanistan. Accordingly, I underwent extensive training at CIA Headquarters at Langley and at the Agency’s facility known as “The Farm.” In Bagram, I worked out of the JOC-JIATF, alongside Special Operations Forces, in furtherance of actionable intelligence and operational leads.

     My combination of Law Enforcement and Intelligence experience led to my being recruited by the Pentagon as the founding member and original Director of the Military Commissions Privilege Team at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There, I came face to face with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the so-called “mastermind” of 9/11. I held that position for over a decade, helping build and manage a team of highly talented professionals with a multimillion-dollar operating budget.

     My 9/11-centric career makes me the only American to have protected a war-time President with the Secret Service, pursued terrorist actors in their own backyard of Afghanistan with the CIA, and helped manage the aftermath of what some call the “Global War on Terror” at Joint Task Force GTMO. During my professional career, I’ve also received a conditional offer of appointment from the FBI as a Special Agent and written and published an anthology of American history endorsed by the late Hershel “Woody” Williams, the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the Battle of Iwo Jima.

     I'm committed to preserving our small town through managed growth and opposing those who wish to bring data centers and other hallmarks of mass urbanization to our back yard.