Once you find out where you're going to be stationed and what you're going to be looking for, collecting, or attempting to facilitate, it's critical that you learn everything you can about the political climate that you'll be wandering into. If you're going to the United Arab Emirates to spy on an oil tycoon, you'll need to treat that job very differently than if you're going to South Florida to work your way in with a militant group.  Study the contemporary landscape as well as the deep history. Learn about the people and the culture, trying to get a sense of the zeitgeist of the people who live there. What makes them tick? How are they different than you? Learn the geography as well. If you're in Iraq and you need to know how long it takes to get from Baghdad to Kuwait and back before nightfall, you don't want to be messing around on an iPhone trying to figure it out. It's likely that you'll be set up with a new fake identity when you're going into the field. Maybe you're going to be a fruit executive working for Dole in Southeast Asia, scouting possible locations for a new operation. The general sketch will be provided, but the specific details of your life will need to be teased out by you.  Treat it like an actor would. Your life may depend on it. Any details that you include about yourself that might be borrowed from your own life could lead potential enemies into digging a little deeper into your history and finding out the truth. For most jobs, you'll need to find someone to vouch for you and help you get familiar with the local customs, who may or may not know your status as a secret agent. If they do, it's also a good idea to do as much as possible to make your own contacts and work your way into the local landscape. Keep your enemy close. For the most part, you won't be spying on your targets from a distance, looking through binoculars at shadowy deals going down. You'll be meeting with them face-to-face, swiping their hard drive and making a clean get-away. For this reason, it's absolutely critical that you work your way into your target's good graces.  Learn everything you can about their habits, their likes, and their dislikes. If you find out the general who's dealing dope on the side has a taste for high-end single-malt Scotch, all it might take to get an invitation to dinner is a bottle of Laphroaig. If you're working on tailing a target, keep your distance and plan a good escape if things go awry. Getting caught while following a target on a grocery-run isn't doing anyone any good. If you want to spy, you should blend in with crowds and communities so it seem like you belong. If you're spying on a location, have a good reason to be there. Wear common clothing for the location, which is not easily identifiable. Avoid attracting attention. Take your time before you start getting into your shadowy doings. For most jobs, you'll be expected not to do anything daring or fancy anyway. You'll mostly just be hanging out and "keeping an eye on things." Don't rush into things and make a mess of the situation. Hang back and treat learning to blend in as your primary goal. Don't get too comfortable. Learn to think on your feet and be resourceful in any kind of situation. Try to practice new, useful ways to use items you carry with you, or replace them with other ones that cover a broader range of useful functionality. Here's a wide range of skills that might come in handy as a secret agent:  fix an engine throw a knife repair a radio unlock handcuffs Keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary, anything that shakes up the routine of your target, your location, or the situation. Even if you're not sure why, it's probably important to get back in touch with the agency back home and report what's going on and what your suspicions are about the targets. Use your gut instincts and work hard to hone your intuition while you're in the field. In your entire career, it's likely that you'll never catch someone on a wiretap saying, "We're going to bring in the cocaine tomorrow at noon." Criminals aren't stupid, and you've got to learn to look for patterns in behavior and "read" the people you're trailing to learn what it is you want to know. Spy and Surveillance gadgets can be essential to the job, and it's likely you'll end up using high-tech equipment as your eyes and ears. Bugs are as small as a microchip these days, and you'll likely be briefed on how to use them before you go into the field. Depending on the nature of your assignment, you might have to set aside a considerable amount of time to monitor these surveillance media, as well, so get ready for a lot of long hours sitting by and listening to static, or listening to the CEO of the weapons complex talk about horses with his concubine. A good secret agent always has a bag with essentials packed up around so in case of emergency is ready to take. Include a type of survival kit, all weather clothing, and an emergency transponder in case you need to disappear into the night to escape your enemies, but the good guys need to know where to find you.
تعلم كل شيء حول الثقافات والأوضاع السياسية للأماكن التي يحتمل أن تجري بها مهامك. اختلق قصة تغطية جيدة وتأكد من بناء علاقات تواصل مع الأفراد المحليين. تعرف شخصيًا على الهدف الذي تراقبه. اندمج كليًا وسط الأماكن التي تحاول التنكر وسطها. كن مدركًا لأدق وأبسط التفاصيل الصغيرة التي تحدث من حولك. اجمع المعلومات. امتلك الأجهزة والبرمجيات الخاصة بالمحترفين. جهز حقيبة الهرب.