Malcolm Nance is a retired U.S. Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer in naval cryptology . He garnered expertise within the fields of intelligence and counterterrorism . He served in the U.S. Navy for 20 years , from 1981-2001 . Nance was an interpreter for Russian , and began working in the intelligence field through research into the history of the Soviet Union and its spying agency , the KGB . He devoted years of research to analyzing Middle East terrorism and sovereign nations with ties to Russia . He graduated from New York 's Excelsior College with a degree in Arabic . Nance took part in combat operations which occurred after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings , was involved with the 1986 United States bombing of Libya , served on the USS '' Wainwright '' during Operation Praying Mantis and participated in the sinking of Iranian missile boat '' Joshan '' , served on the USS '' Tripoli '' during the Gulf War , and assisted during a Banja Luka , Bosnia air strike
1983 Beirut barracks bombings
1983 Beirut barracks bombings
An End to al-Qaeda