John F Walker

Early life

Even at an early age, John had demonstrated his gift of a very inquisitive mind and had shown keen interests on human psychology and social interactions. He joined the United States Air Force (USAF) in September 1979 and by the following January, he was serving the US government as a Security Specialist.

Walker’s military career took off and in 1986, he was recruited to become a Special Agent in the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI). He conducted, administered and supervised hundreds of criminal, counterintelligence, and anti-terrorism investigations and operations globally. He gained extensive operational knowledge of four geographic theaters, namely: North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Walker is a decorated veteran of the first Persian Gulf War, serving in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain, respectively.

John retired from active duty in September 1999 and became a corporate security consultant and has since been associated with Pinkerton, Securitas and G4S.

US Government career

John F. Walker started his professional career in 1979 by joining the United States Air Force. He was assigned as a Security Specialist protecting weapon systems and facilities. It was during this time that Walker became interested in physical security and excelled in the early applications of basic electronic security of the day.

In 1985, he was recruited into the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI). John enjoyed and excelled as a criminal investigator. After several years, however, he got bored chasing after criminals and considered to leave the government to pursue a more financially rewarding jobs in the private sector. Afraid of losing a brilliant military asset, his superiors in AFOSI persuaded him to try his hand at counterintelligence. Believing counterintelligence would be more interesting and provide him with invaluable skills that he could use in the private sector, John agreed to give it a try. He soon found himself assigned to the US Embassy in Manila, Philippines at a very dangerous and tumultuous period in Philippine history.

In early 1989, Walker was instrumental in the successful investigation of the assassination of a prominent and senior U.S. military officer in Manila, Colonel James N. Rowe. At great personal risks, his actions resulted in the first successful arrest and prosecution of a terrorist attack on an American national in a foreign land and the four assassins continue to serve life sentences in a Philippine prison.

Later that year, John found himself involved in the first (of what would be many) coup d'etat attempts against the administration of then Philippine President Cory Aquino. In that particular attempt, Walker and another agent were holed up in the area of Makati City, the central business district of Metro Manila. Nearby, rebel soldiers were occupying several five-star hotels and holding the hotel guests hostage in an attempt to shut down business in a desperate attempts to compel the government to capitulate to their demands. While collecting vital intelligence for the US government, John and his comrade were in constant danger from sniper attacks and in one instance a sniper’s bullet just missed his head. The siege lasted for five days and ended when the US Air Force at Clark Air Force Base flew American fighter jets over Makati in a show of support for the Aquino administration. The rebel soldiers later surrendered and were given orders to return to the barracks by then Philippine Secretary of Defense Fidel Ramos. While the back-to-barracks order was in effect, John and several other agents took over and commandeered several buses to rescue stranded hostages that were still trapped in hotels. Walker was praised for his courageous and decisive efforts and later was personally commended by then US Ambassador, Nicholas Platt.

At the start of the Persian Gulf War (Desert Shield) in 1990, John was instrumental in developing direct evidence against Iraqi Embassy that found them complicit in directing terrorist activities against the US Government facilities and personnel in the Philippines. Ironically, one of the facilities targeted was John’s office which was located in Makati City, Metro Manila. As a result of this activity, the entire Iraqi diplomatic mission were expelled from the Philippines by then President Corazon Aquino and her Secretary of Foreign Affairs Raul S. Manglapus.

After assignments to the Persian Gulf, Washington, D.C., and Korea in 1995, John was assigned to Japan as the Chief of Counterespionage Operations in Asia. During this time John received numerous accolades for his ingenious input to the various aspects of the assignment. It also was during this tenure that John was referred to as "one of the most prolific counterintelligence operators in the US community".

Corporate career

Walker retired from active duty in September 1999 to start a career as a corporate security consultant. His initial work was as a special project manager for Pinkerton Consulting and Investigations in the Philippines. Soon after arriving, John was promoted to the country manager position and worked for Pinkerton Philippines for five years. He was credited with working the largest fraud investigation in the history of Pinkerton (at US$97 million). He often jokes that if he had been in the US, the FBI would have never let him run the case.

After Pinkerton, John conducted an 18-month security consultancy with Aboitiz Transport Services (ATS) in the Philippines. This consultancy was successful and provided the blueprint for a total corporate security mechanism that installs complete policies and procedures for one of the largest transport companies in Asia. The foundations laid by John are still in use by ATS to this day, as well as other security joint ventures between ATS and G4S.

Close to the end of his contract with ATS, Walker was asked by the Philippine country manager for G4S to join the company and assist in building a consulting and investigations business and at the same time assume the role of project manager for foreign embassy security contracts for G4S Philippines. This included the United States Embassy, in Manila, which is one of the largest outsourced embassy contracts in the world and (arguably) the most threatened facility in Southeast Asia.

In September 2006, G4S asked him to move to Singapore and develop the consultancy business there. This path eventually led John to being based in Bangkok, Thailand, as the Director of Risk Management and Consultancy Services.

John has over 30 years experience in progressive and complex security roles with 22 of those years working and living in the Asia Pacific (APAC) Region. He currently supervises and manages numerous security related programs, investigations, and enforcement actions in concert with various global law enforcement agencies. These activities include, but are not limited, to the following: intellectual property (IP) protection programs, major theft and fraud investigations, physical security assessments, due-diligence inquiries, protecting international investment and joint venture activities, the development of crisis management and business continuity planning (BCP), anti-terrorism training (including, defensive driver’s training), as well as the planning and implementation of VIP protection operations in high-risk environments.

John still works closely with many foreign services to include the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP), the Japanese National Police, the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, and the Government of Singapore on counterintelligence and anti-terrorism matters of mutual interests between the U.S. and allied governments.

John holds degrees in Criminal Justice and Industrial Security. He is also a graduate of two U.S. federal law enforcement academies and had advanced trainings which includes: Counterintelligence/Counter-espionage Operations, and Intelligence Management, Protective and Anti-terrorism Services. John also holds certifications as an Information Security Manager (CISM), a Corporate Security Officer (CSO).

Personal

Walker considers the Philippines his adopted home now. John's religious and political views are generally conservative but he tries to refrain from discussing his specific views leaving it to politicians. While he is a Catholic, he admits he now leans more towards deism these days. In his private time, John likes to read history books and is a Sudoku puzzle master. He is avid sports fan and likes American football and rugby. He is also fond of boxing and lifts weights and excels on the bench press. John is married and has four children.