Biography

After a stint in the Army

Army

An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...

, Ayers was recruited by the Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

 in 1962 to work with the CIA training anti-Castro

Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...

 Cuban exile

Cuban exile

The term "Cuban exile" refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island, dating back to the Ten Years' War and the struggle for Cuban independence during the 19th century...

s. Ayers was stationed at JMWAVE

JMWAVE

JMWAVE or JM/WAVE or JM WAVE was the codename for a major secret United States covert operations and intelligence gathering station operated by the CIA from 1961 until 1968...

 and collaborated with Alpha 66

Alpha 66

Alpha 66 are an anti-communist terrorist organization, formed by Cuban exiles in Puerto Rico in 1961, in opposition to Fidel Castro. The founder and first leader, Nazario Sargen, was a former member of the 26th of July Movement organization led by Fidel Castro, suggesting that their politics may...

. He also took part in Operation Mongoose. After the assassination of John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

, Ayers was ordered to shut down Mongoose.

Ayers was one of the first career officers to voice opposition to the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

 and to speak out publicly against the influence of private and special interests in US politics. He was honorably discharged from active duty in 1965. Ayers had since worked as a commercial pilot, a private detective, and an undercover operative with the Drug Enforcement Administration

Drug Enforcement Administration

The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...

's South Florida Task Force.

From his home in Frederic, Wisconsin, Ayers continues to be physically active. At the age of 62, he set the record for the fastest one day ascent-descent of Mount Whitney in California (the highest peak in the continental U.S.), conquering the 14,496-foot mountain in 14 hours, 40 minutes while carrying a 25-pound daypack.

He continues to maintain a vigorous athletic schedule, regularly competing in road and snow-shoe races in his community despite a full VA disability due to injuries sustained in the service of his country.

On July 21, 2010 Ayers announced his engagement to heirloom clothing curio shop owner Cynthia Graham. Both have a long history of activism in military and veterans affairs, progressive politics and social causes, and share animal welfare and environmental quality of life interests. They were married at sunset on September 24, 2010 in an informal military ceremony at the Stillwater Veterans Memorial, Minnesota. Ayers is a native of Stillwater.

Books

Ayers is the author of the book The War That Never Was: An Insider's Account of CIA Covert Operations Against Cuba. (1976) and The Zenith Secret: A CIA Insider Exposes the Secret War Against Cuba and the Plot that Killed the Kennedy Brothers (2006).

Resources

Overview of The Zenith Secrethttp://www.voxpopnet.net/zenith.html at VoxPop.net

"Did the CIA Kill Bobby Kennedy"?http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1952393,00.html The Guardian.UK