Dinner Table Discussion

Ethical Issues in Family Relations of Intelligence Practitioners

Mary H. Pringle

What are the joys and challenges of being family to the person in public service, especially in the intelligence community? How have you dealt with the often nomadic way of life, the culture shock of going out and returning, the 'mission', the secrecy? What kinds of things have worked in establishing your own identity and in helping your children to thrive, not just survive? What would make it better for families in today's world of intelligence?

Mrs. Mary H. Pringle, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Virginia, earned a BA from Beloit College, Wisconsin, and a Masters in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. She married Robert W. Pringle, Jr. in 1969. He was finishing his Ph.D. in Soviet Studies at the University of Virginia and was about to enter the Army during the Vietnam War. After serving in Army Intelligence three years, Mr. Pringle was in the State Department from 1975-1983 and the family was posted to Swaziland, Moscow, and Cape Town. Mr. Pringle joined the CIA as an analyst in 1984 with the family residing in Reston, Va. He was sent to the University of Kentucky's Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce as Intelligence Officer in Residence in 1996 and retired from the CIA in 1998 to continue to teach at UK until 2004. The couple currently resides in Williamsburg, VA. They have three adult married children, and two grandsons.