Sticking Close to Uncle Sam

One evening at the end of 1952, 17 young Indonesians reached Clark Air Base in the Philippines. In the night, they were transported to Saipan island in the middle of the South Pacific, which has served as a US military base since 1950. "On hand was Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] instructor Gilbert Layton," wrote military intelligence observer Ken Conboy in his book, Intel: Inside Indonesia's Intelligence Service.

Gilbert Layton, a reserve cavalry officer during the Second World War, was assigned by the CIA to train the Indonesians to become intelligence agents.

October 6, 2015