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There’s a bank in Quantico, Virginia, that gets robbed every day.
And I am going to take you there.
Hello. I’m Robert Riggs.
In this episode of True Crime Reporter®, former FBI Agent Don Bentley takes us inside the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
New Special Agents start their career there in an intensive 20-week long training program.
Realistic training scenarios unfold in a mock town called Hogan’s Alley named after a comic strip from the 1890s.
I’ve reported there many times on stories ranging from bank robberies to weapons of mass destruction.
I’ve posted links to those stories in the show notes.
The 10-acre training facility contains a bank, post office, hotel, laundromat, barbershop, theater, homes, and everything you would find in a real urban setting.
It’s like a Hollywood set that features actors playing armed criminals.
In an homage to the deadly shootout with John Dillinger, there is a mock Biograph Theater where three FBI agents ended the gangster’s reign as “Public Enemy Number One.”
My guest, Don Bentley, went through all of that training, and he was well suited for it.
Before the FBI, Bentley served in the U.S. Army as a pilot for ten years and flew an AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship.
Bentley received the Bronze Star and Air Medal with V device for Valor.
He commanded a Quick Reaction Force in support of Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan.
The story of that mission can be heard on Episode 56 of Jack Carr’s podcast, Danger Close.
Carr, as you may know, is a former Navy SEAL and now a New York Times best-selling author of The Terminal List.
The Terminal List starring Chris Pratt, is an acclaimed series on Amazon Prime.
Don Bentley is also a New York Times bestselling author of the Matt Drake series spinning out potboilers about terrorism and intelligence operations.
In this episode, we discuss the focus of the FBI since 9/11.
Here’s my interview with Don Bentley.
Links to Robert’s TV stories at the FBI Academy:
https://bit.ly/RobertRiggsReportsFromFBIAcademyOnWMD
https://bit.ly/RobertRiggsReportsFromFBIAcademyOnProfileOfAPsychopath
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