# Field loadout

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Field loadout," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/field-loadout/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's itemised answer to a question he says no one had ever asked him — what a CIA operations officer actually carried in the field. In Athens: a 9mm in a tearaway fanny pack, a snub-nose .38 on his ankle, a Buck knife, and some 47 rounds. In Pakistan: one 9mm, and a daily prayer that he would not have to use it. Plus $2,000–$5,000 in cash on an ordinary day, because "intelligence is a cash business."*

- **Athens:** 9mm in a tearaway fanny pack; .38 snub-nose on the ankle; Buck knife; ~47 rounds
- **Pakistan:** One 9mm, extended magazine, 17 rounds
- **Cash, ordinary day:** $2,000–$5,000 (c. 25 years ago)
- **Largest cash carry cited:** $2 million in two duffel bags

**Field loadout** — what a CIA operations officer physically carried — is something [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) says he had never been asked before a listener put the question to him in 2026. His answer begins with a caveat that recurs throughout: *"It actually depends on the day… and the assignment."*[1]

## Athens

The heaviest configuration he describes was in Athens. He carried a fully loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun *"in a tearaway fanny pack on my waist,"* and a fully loaded Smith & Wesson .38 snub-nose revolver on his ankle. A Buck knife went in his back pocket *"just in case things turned to shit."*[2]

Two spare magazines went in the fanny pack, bringing him to *"47 — it was either 47 or 49 rounds of ammunition for the 9mm, another six bullets in my .38, and my knife."* His summary of the posture: *"and hoped for the best."*[2][3]

## Pakistan

Pakistan was lighter but not safer. He carried only a 9mm with a single extended magazine — seventeen rounds — in a waist holster.[3]

What he adds about it is the line that gives the entry its weight, and he flags that he is not being flippant: *"honest to God, I'm being completely serious in saying this — I would pray to God every morning that I didn't have to pull it out and shoot somebody that day. That's the kind of place Pakistan was."*[3]

## Cash

The money varied with the day's work. Running a surveillance detection route to meet a source meant carrying *"the source's monthly pay plus expenses,"* and separately money for his own route. On a normal day that came to *"between say $2,000 and $5,000 in cash on me."* He notes the figure is dated — *"this is 25 years ago, so it would be a lot more now"* — and gives the underlying reason it is carried at all: *"intelligence is a cash business."*[4][5]

Operations could run far higher. He recounts requisitioning a van from the embassy motor pool in Islamabad with a colleague, travelling toward Faisalabad, carrying *"$2 million in cash in two duffel bags."*[5]

His closing qualification is the same as his opening one: *"depends on the day, depends on the op. It changes wildly."*[5]

## See also

- [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)
- Pakistan

## Sources

1. John Kiriakou Podcast: Inside CIA Recruiting and My Most Shocking Prison Experience (2026-07-08), at 00:30. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHdQWVhiA04&t=30s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-08-the-jk-report-john-kiriakou-podcast-inside-cia-recruiting-and/
2. John Kiriakou Podcast: Inside CIA Recruiting and My Most Shocking Prison Experience (2026-07-08), at 01:01. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHdQWVhiA04&t=61s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-08-the-jk-report-john-kiriakou-podcast-inside-cia-recruiting-and/
3. John Kiriakou Podcast: Inside CIA Recruiting and My Most Shocking Prison Experience (2026-07-08), at 01:32. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHdQWVhiA04&t=92s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-08-the-jk-report-john-kiriakou-podcast-inside-cia-recruiting-and/
4. John Kiriakou Podcast: Inside CIA Recruiting and My Most Shocking Prison Experience (2026-07-08), at 02:02. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHdQWVhiA04&t=122s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-08-the-jk-report-john-kiriakou-podcast-inside-cia-recruiting-and/
5. John Kiriakou Podcast: Inside CIA Recruiting and My Most Shocking Prison Experience (2026-07-08), at 02:33. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHdQWVhiA04&t=153s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-07-08-the-jk-report-john-kiriakou-podcast-inside-cia-recruiting-and/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/field-loadout/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt