NORFOLK, Va. - What do you think of when you hear "FBI?"
Does the a special agent wearing a windbreaker and sunglasses come to mind?
Leaders with the FBI Norfolk Field Office say they’re working to demystify ideas surrounding their organization.
News 3 is getting an exclusive inside look at the FBI over the course of the next several weeks.
News 3 Reporter Margaret Kavanagh was selected to be part of the FBI Citizen’s Academy to gain more information about the how the FBI operates.
We've shown the public when the FBI gets involved in cases like the tragic deaths of Cynthia Carver and Ashanti Billie.
We showed you when the FBI investigated after multiple places, including city and federal buildings, received bomb threats this past December.
The FBI helped take down a $19 million drug trafficking conspiracy in Hampton Roads this past fall.
Special Agent in Charge of the Norfolk Field Division Martin Culbreth said there are a variety of people working for the agency that most of the public isn’t aware of.
“Two-thirds of our organization is made up of non-agents. We have intelligence analysts. We have electronics technicians. We have language specialists and evidence clerks. We have other supporting administrative roles,” said Culbreth. “We cannot do our jobs as agents without all that support.”
After five years in the Marine Corps, Culbreth said he joined the FBI.
“I tell people all the time: In 24 years of working for the Bureau, I can count on my hand the number of days I didn’t want to come to work,” said Culbreth.
He said right now they are looking to hire people.
“Right now we have a critical need for agents, intelligence analysts and language specialists, and we’re always looking for people who have a good cyber background,” said Culbreth.
Now, he said they want to recruit more people and educate the public on what they do and who they are.
“We are part of this community. Everyone that works for the FBI in this office is part of the Tidewater community. We live here. We work here. We are people's neighbors and friends, and this community means as much to us as it does to anybody else that lives here.”
The FBI is giving News 3 inside access to their organization and we will be showing you what we learn over the course of the next two months.
Click here to view the open positions on their website.
