Gina Haspel’s Classmates Set the Record Straight on Lakenheath High

Lakenheath American
Alma mater of spymaster Gina Haspel (Credit: Lakenheath American High School Alumni).

My story about Gina Haspel’s education, “The Girl Who Became Spymaster” has generated a furry of comments from Lakenheath alumni. Several took exception to some or all of my description of Haspel’s experience there as “insulated, demanding and militarized.” So let’s hear what they have to say.

Was the school demanding, ie., did it have high academic standards?

Debra, who attend from 1973 to 1976, wrote:

The DoD education far out ranked the level of teaching in the American public school system. The DoD teachers had to continue their training and update their certifications to continue. I came back to Schertz, Texas public school and Washington DC private Catholic school and realized these schools behind and lower standard than the DoD schools.

Rob, who also attended Lakenheath High School in the mid 1970s, recalled:

Gina Walker, later Gina Haspel, as a high school student in the 1970s. (Credit: Lakenheath American High School Alumni).

a marvelous experience in most respects. The hallmark of the school was the superior faculty. In the main, they were talented, highly qualified, caring instructors. Perhaps the fact that they chose to be ex-pats made them more curious and adventuresome than their stateside compatriots.

Bill, whose sister knew Gina Walker in high school, stressed the liberal character of the education.

The DOD schools like Lakenheath were rather liberal compared to state side public schools in the South and Midwest, and far from insulated or militarized. Some teachers were somewhat conservative and some rather liberal. In fact, one of my liberal Democrat teachers went on to be principle of a DOD school in Germany, then later became head of all European DOD schools till she retired about 10 years ago. The play I was in at Lakenheath in 1975 was Inherit the Wind, about the Scopes Monkey Trial. A play that my kids public high school in Gulf Breeze, FL would never allow.

Paul disgreed with alumnus Frank Kelley, who told me the school was “top notch.” Not for Paul, it wasn’t. He wrote:

Not really a demanding school either– I skated by rarely doing homework or classwork , while my more studious classmates did more. Militarized? That’s the funniest of them all! Lots of long-haired, cigarette smoking slackers! While most British schools had mandatory uniforms at the time, blue jeans and t-shirts were a staple at Lakenheath.

Gina Haspel
Gina Haspel, CIA director

Rob objected to my use of the word “militarized,” saying “the school and its students were largely isolated from the military operations,” aside from a small ROTC program. He went on to say the principal cultural difference between Lakenheath from many stateside communities:

was the diversity of the student population and the narrowness of the socio-economic band. Everyone had a mother and father, and every father had a job, but no one had money. The sargent’s kid enjoyed the same opportunities as the colonel’s kid. The school also was comprised of sizable African- American, Hispanic, and white populations, with smatterings of South Pacific, Asian, and other students. In this sense, the community was both ideal and well ahead of its time.

Donna rejected the idea that the school was academically demanding.

Insulated? Demanding? MILITARIZED??? My school was far from these things! We experienced more in the few years we had there than our counterparts in the US. We had the world view on the telly, every night. We had the pleasure of hearing our aircraft every day, and knowing our parents were there for a reason. We were ordinary kids, in an extraordinary place. And we are still proud of our experiences there.

Ricky rejected the “militarized” label and qualified the notion that the school was demanding.

Nothing military about it except for the location (on an Air Force base) and there was a Jr ROTC program at the school for those that were interested in it. I was a dormitory student Monday thru Friday. We came in from other bases and stayed all week and went home for the weekends. There was no mandatory study hall except for in the dormitories. The study hall was mandatory if you did not make the A-B honorary role for the last semester. Then it was usually from 7-8:30pm on Monday thru Thursday nights. I never saw or heard anything that was military while I attended the school for two years except for the jets that flew over day and night at times.


Based on these comments, I should have chosen my words more carefully.

When I wrote “insulated,” I meant to say the Lakenheath student body was “insulated” from the people who live in England. Given the number of boarding students, and the evidently open-minded character of the faculty, the word gives the wrong impression. “All-American” is a more appropriate adjective for the Lakenheath education.

I’m surprised that alumni objected to my reporting that the school was academically “demanding.” I meant that word as praise. Perhaps it would be more precise to say Lakenheath was challenging for motivated students.

As for “militarized,” I wanted to convey the idea that Gina Walker grew up in an environment where the military was omnipresent, from the sounds of the aircraft to the careers of the parents. I was trying to convey the idea that Rob expressed more precisely with the phrase, “the narrowness of the socio-economic band” of the student body.

The connotations of the word “militarized,” I realize, conjure up a war zone or mandatory uniforms, which isn’t right. Again, my word choice should have been better.

So I’ve revised the story accordingly: See the corrected version of “The Girl Who Became Spymaster.”

5 Replies to “Gina Haspel’s Classmates Set the Record Straight on Lakenheath High”

  1. Thank you for listning and the corrections.It is true childern of military families more often do become adults with right wing views. However, for many the experience causes them to question and ponder, delving deeper than most not raised in a military community. And, no matter where that delving leaves them on the left to right scale,their views tend to be more substantive then the average American.

    One point about the insulation. Many did not stay in the dorms and most that did went home on weekends, holidays and summer. And, many of us lived off base amongst the British and had many British friends. We could hop on a train Saturday morning, spend the day in London,and be home for dinner without our parents knowing where we were. At 61, I still have friends in the village I lived in for 4 years. Of course, how strict ones parents are makes a differents.
    That all said, our opinions of our classmate (now controversial CIA director), will cover the full spectrum, hate to praise. But, we military “brats” try not to let politics or religion come between us, so I am careful not to voice disapproval of any alumni in any forum or dicussion that ties in with our “brat” bond. We are family. But, being the anti-war progressive I am, I would have a thing or two to say in a different dicussion.

  2. I find it hilarious that this guy thinks LHS is a “boarding” school. It was a regular Dept of Defense Dependent School, meaning an on base school for military dependents and for embassy kids whose parents are part of the Defense Dept. We had kids from bases who didn’t have their own HSs at their base and couldn’t travel back and forth every day do they stayed in dorms during the school week while the ones who lived locally went to school as usual.

  3. Boy didn’t pass the litmis test I guess.

    The fact still remains that CIA has compromised by CIA. The still remains Gina is top person there and the B.S. continues.

    The fact still remains the U.S. government cannot control itself because the intelligence apparatus is out of control itself.

    Thanks Jeff.

  4. cia has corrupted DOJ

    No matter how bad a job I do writing stuff it’s better a lying justice department.

  5. The fact is I misspoke or wrote: CIA et al has compromised DOJ. CIA was first to do.

    Whitney Webb has written quite the essay about what can happen when these people who lead these agencies are exempted from obeying the law. For one thing most become billionaires.

    Bill Barr has been involved with CIA on three or four different occasions, the first may have been his stent as the person oversaw the release of documents to the Church commission and he was very affective in covering for CIA at that time.

    He then went on to work DOJ there he aided CIA in escaping serious trouble by obstructing justice using the old B>S. claim of not having to expose sources and methods. His work in the first instance closely connected to illegal activities by the CIA. He was involved in the Mena Arkansas scandal with Iran Countra which spilled over into the BCCI bank scandal during which he professed the belief that those involved where excused somehow of their involvement. By doing so he also managed to cover just how bad the BCCI / PROMIS software theft was. A theft he may have aided in. He is now caught in his lies.

    Best catch up on your reading although she has appeared twice now on the Consortium news pod cast, her appearances are fantastic she is smart and very talented. Displaying great command of her material.

    Also fundamentally necessary is this report released Dec 1992.

    Let me remind you that Kerry had also finished his Which has players related to Iran Contra, Mena, BCCI and Jeff Epstein.

    The manner in which she exposes these scum is a grand revealing of just how ugly they are when they are naked of cover behind lies.

    The result is an expose of the types of “subhuman deviate mongrel” behavior of the elites involved and how CIA uses this Bull Shit ploy to protect themselves are well as those they blackmail.

    The swamp as it turns out is diabolically horrific place to be when you are being trafficked as a young sex object go pleasure the elites. The resulting blackmail serves the purpose of CIA, MOSSAD and DOJ

    A grand thank you to Whitney Webb and guys like Jeff and his buddy.

    PS Gina let these children go!!!

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