Meet Gary Walton: 10 Questions Answered

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In this post, find out more about Gary Walton, Victor’s best friend. In Operation Shadow Box, he gives Victor the chance of a lifetime.  But things aren’t always as they seem.

1. What are your basic statistics?

My basic stats, huh? Like what I look like?  How I dress?  Okay.  My name’s Gerald Kramer Walton, but everyone calls me Gary, even my parents.  I’m pretty tall, like five-eleven or something.  And so people can get an idea of me, I’ve got blue eyes and really light brown hair that borders on dark blond.  Take your pick.  Mary, my wife, says my hair is dark blond.  But it’s got gray in it now thanks to stuff that went down ten years ago.  Believe it or not, I like suits since I have to wear them pretty much every day.  Mary and the kids have given me funny ties over the years, and they’ve garnered a few laughs out of coworkers and suspects alike.  Off duty, it’s usually khakis, golf shirts, and button-down shirts.  I save the jeans, sweatshirts, and T-shirts for yardwork and hiking.  Oh?  Who do I work for?  The FBI in Counterterrorism.  Before that, I was in the Army for ten years.  I got out, well, because of everything that went down ten years ago.

2. What are your likes and dislikes?

Likes are easy. I’m a Nashville boy, and I’ve liked country music since forever, even when country music wasn’t considered cool.  The stuff they play these days?  It’s more like rock than anything else.  Speaking of rock, I’m into southern rock, too.  I also like spending time with family and friends.  Oh, and how can I forget money?  After all, it feeds my little gambling addiction I have.

Dislikes, huh? I’ve got them just like anyone else.  I can’t stand cheap Chinese buffet food.  Or jazz and classical music.  I also don’t like whining, either from my kids or my coworkers.  I’m a little more tolerant with Morgan and David since they’re still pretty young, but from my coworkers?  Unh, unh.  And I don’t like people who are walking contradictions to themselves.  For example, people who preach tolerance, yet when your viewpoint happens to be slightly contradictory from theirs, they judge you.  What happened to the tolerance thing?  When I was held as a POW ten years ago, Makmoud, my captor, may have been many things, but one thing he was not was a walking contradiction.  Sorry.  Rant over now.

3. What is most precious to you and why?

When I was in Special Forces, I had two photographs that I kept with me in my lid, one of Mary and me when we married, and one of us with the kids. Even when I spent six months as a POW, they somehow stayed with me.  Now, they reside in frames in my study.

4. Who has impacted you the most and why?

Hey, that’s a good question. So someone positive or negative?  If you’re thinking negative, it’s Makmoud.  He’s Quds Force, which is something like our Special Forces and the CIA combined.  He’s definitely a snake.  And positive?  I’d probably say my dad.  He was always there for me when I grew up.  You see, he did three tours in Vietnam and retired after that.  As I grew older, he inspired me to join the Army.

5. If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be?

Persistent.

6. What is your greatest strength and weakness?

I’m a detail guy. I can get into the minutia of things and not lose sight of the big picture.  I think that’s what makes me such a good agent, and it definitely helped me in the Army.  I’m also a risk taker, which can pay off in dividends a lot.  Of course, I can also fall flat on my face.  Which, I guess I have to admit, is also my weakness.  You see, ever since I was a kid, I’ve gambled.  Oh, at first it was small stuff like M&M’s at the local pool after it closed.  But it progressed to money, and I’ve gotten on Mary’s bad side a couple of times.  Now, with my little stipend, I don’t have to worry about it.

7. What’s your biggest regret?

My biggest regret ties back to everything that happened when I was a POW. Makmoud broke me then.  Though the psychologists who worked with me on my return told me that anyone breaks given the right of circumstances and enough time, I still hate that it happened to me.

8. What drives you?

My love for my family drives me. I like to provide for them, and I enjoy raising my kids.

9. What do you want the most? What do you fear the most?

Speaking of my family, the thing I want most is to raise my family and grow old with Mary. I know that may seem boring, but after spending that time as a POW, I don’t take it for granted.  Flip that, and I fear losing them the most.

10. What are three things you want people to learn from Operation Shadow Box?

Oh, that’s a good one. First off, sometimes, we have no good choices.  Second?  Treasure your family.  You never know what will happen.  Third, at times, things are different than you think.

I have not received any compensation for writing this post. The work mentioned in this post is of my own writing. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

 

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