Aberration in the Heartland of the Real: The Secret Lives of Timothy McVeigh

by Wendy S. Painting

Operations Aircrew?” Research Report. Air War College Air University Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. April 1995; Washington Post, July 2, 1995; New York Times, Dec. 31, 1995. An April 1995 research report by the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base details some of the desirable traits looked for in Special Forces candidates. Included among these were individuals of “above average intelligence,” and who tended to be “assertive; self-sufficient; …not extremely introverted or extroverted…not necessarily people who are emotionally stable” but who were “forthright,” “hard to fool, and not dependent on others.” The report discussed the use and function of psychological testing among the military’s ‘Special Operations’ units. The administering of these tests began in World War I. The purpose of the tests was to “weed out unacceptable draftees and identify potential offenders.” After World War II, the OSS (predecessor to the CIA) recognized the need to “eliminate ‘bad’ recruits” (spies) and so established a ‘school’ of psychologists and psychiatrists to develop better methods to do so. A bad recruit was, among other things, “stupid, apathetic, sullen, resentful, arrogant, or insulting.” Further, undesirables were “blabs…sloths, irritants, bad actors, and free talkers.” Those whom the intelligence communities valued displayed “motivation for assignment; energy and initiative; effective intelligence; emotional stability; social relations; leadership; and security” (3-10). Both...