Some people took exception to my comparison between actual “operators” or “warriors” and the average civilian gun carrier commuting from his suburban home to his office park and back. One commenter pointed out that being an “operator” is a question of skill and being a “warrior” is a question of mindset. Neither are restricted to trained professionals.

I thought of this exchange this morning when I received the following email. I get alot of these kinds of emails and usually just skim and delete, but one line in this one caught my eye: “What a badass you would be like a real James Bond or Jason Bourne.” Who is the target audience for this kind of enticement?

Although the link in the email I received was dead, it is easy to find that the offer to do training that is “SO close to CIA training” that the CIA issued a cease and desist letter is offered by Jason Hanson, a REAL LIFE JAMES BOND!

Again, who is the target audience? I am not sure. But when I look at the in-person courses being offered on Spy Escape and Evasion, I see almost all of the 60 person classes are “closed” — which I take to mean “sold out” — at a discounted rate of $997 (down from $2,500!):

Who are the 100s of people who are taking these classes? I wish I knew.