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Michael Hayden

General (Ret.) Michael Hayden is an Air Force veteran whose career spanned 39 years of distinguished and selfless service to the intelligence community where he operated under his belief, “You have to show up with what you have and do the best you can every day.” His tenure from 1999 until 2005 as the Director of the National Security Agency was the longest in history. During this time he was also charged with leading the agency in cyber intelligence efforts directed at finding and bringing to justice the terrorists respirable for the Sept. 11 attacks. “Looking back, I feel we made the right decisions on behalf of the security of our nation and the freedoms of all Americans.” Hayden then became the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, where he found another rewarding aspect of the intelligence community. “The CIA is operational,” Hayden explained. “It was rewarding in the sense that working at the CIA means going forward and doing the job.” Hayden’s impact and contributions on the intelligence community and cyber domain are unsurpassed. Hayden offered the following advice to all Airmen, “You get so far in your careers for doing the job right. After that, it’s about doing the right thing.”