In a world violated by terror, the old lines have blurred. Meet the next generation of covert ops.
John Dempsey’s life—as an elite Tier One Navy SEAL named Jack Kemper—is over. A devastating terrorist action catapults him from a world of moral certainty and decisive orders into the shadowy realm of espionage, where ambiguity is the only rule. His new mission: hunt down those responsible for the greatest tragedy in the history of the US Special Ops and bring them to justice.
But how does a man torn between duty and revenge walk the line and preserve his soul?
As Dempsey struggles with the games of spies, the case propels him across the globe in a desperate effort to prevent a new, horrifying attack on American soil.
Once, John Dempsey followed orders blindly. Now he sees behind the curtain, and the security of the civilized world rests on one question: Can a Tier One Navy SEAL adapt and become the world’s most lethal spy?
John Dempsey’s life—as an elite Tier One Navy SEAL named Jack Kemper—is over. A devastating terrorist action catapults him from a world of moral certainty and decisive orders into the shadowy realm of espionage, where ambiguity is the only rule. His new mission: hunt down those responsible for the greatest tragedy in the history of the US Special Ops and bring them to justice.
But how does a man torn between duty and revenge walk the line and preserve his soul?
As Dempsey struggles with the games of spies, the case propels him across the globe in a desperate effort to prevent a new, horrifying attack on American soil.
Once, John Dempsey followed orders blindly. Now he sees behind the curtain, and the security of the civilized world rests on one question: Can a Tier One Navy SEAL adapt and become the world’s most lethal spy?
Q: By definition,
Tier One and Special Operations Task Forces, like the one you were
deployed with as a SEAL, are covert. Missions, even identities, are
rooted in deception. In a line of work where the only truth you can
believe is your own, how—and who—do you learn to trust?
Jeffrey Wilson:
Without exception you trust your team. The bonds of brotherhood that
are formed in war are deep and lasting, and are not unique to the
Special Warfare community. It has been often said that in combat you
no longer fight for ideology, or cause, or even country. You fight
for the man beside you. You fight for that brotherhood. In covert
operations there is a suspicion of those “outside” of your own
brotherhood. We try to bring that forward in the book.
Q: Some veterans
return from combat, never to speak of it outside the family they
fought with. Not you. Your deployments inform your storytelling. Just
how real is your fiction? Is re-living the danger through your
characters a thrill, or is it therapy?
Brian Andrews: It
would be disingenuous to say that our military experience doesn’t
inform our storytelling, but the mechanics of that influence are not
what you might think. It’s not the tactics, the weapons, or the
nitty-gritty details that we resurrect for our readers—it’s the
emotions, stakes, and the human toll. These are things that matter in
conflict and combat. These are the things that drive human decisions,
in both fiction and real life. For me, the act of storytelling is
cathartic and exciting because it poses questions that matter to the
widest possible audience within the context of a thrilling adventure.
So when you read TIER ONE, keep the following in mind: What message
are these guys really trying to communicate? How many layers deep in
TIER ONE do I have dig until I hit the bedrock of truth?
Q: In TIER ONE,
Senior Chief Jack Kemper, already estranged from his ex-wife and
teenage son, "dies" to protect his family, as he creates a
new covert ops team to take down the enemy. How does the death of his
identity mirror his reinvention from SEAL to secret agent? What's
harder for him to lose— the people he loves or the job that defines
him?
Andrews: One of the
most fascinating epiphanies as writer is recognizing that characters,
like people, have differing degrees of self-awareness. If you were to
ask Jack Kemper what matters most in his life, his answer would be
family, but as readers, we might disagree. As readers, we see that
Kemper’s actions speak louder than his words. As the story unfolds,
we learn that his wife has already left him because when forced to
choose between duty and family, he always chooses duty. But through
the process of reinvention, he finally gains a level of
self-awareness he’d not had before. The tragic irony of his
character, is that only “in death,” does he actually desire to
place family above country, and only in death, is that opportunity
truly lost to him.
Q: In the book, both
sides use honor as justification to avenge the deaths of their loved
ones. Infidel or jihadist—if one's a villain, does that make the
other a hero? Or do we have more in common than we'd like to believe?
Wilson: That is
absolutely correct! We work hard in the TIER ONE series to show just
that, and I believe it is imperative to make the villains as
realistic, complex, and motivated as the heroes if you want a story
to resonate as true. To the Jihadists, it our Ember Team that are the
villains and they are as passionate about their cause as John Dempsey
is about his own. To not do this is to lower the stakes in your
story.
Q: "Radical
Islam" is a term used by some to describe ISIS and al Qaeda.
Others believe it confers a religious legitimacy on terrorists that
they don't deserve. Aren't the suicide bombers in the book—and in
real life—motivated as much by politics, retaliation, and altruism
as they are by religion?
Andrews: Yes, I
believe so, but don’t discount the power of indoctrination, peer
pressure, and the desire for elevated station in the afterlife as
contributing factors. The decision to become a suicide bomber is not
one that is made on a whim, rather it is a gradual process of
psychological corruption. Even the most benevolent mind can be
usurped, when exposed to a lifetime of religious dogma and
manipulation.
Q: In TIER ONE, the
bureaucrats and the boots on the ground are equally driven, equally
flawed. Ideologues set the agenda, and the few who seek compromise
seem to be played for fools. So you think the suspicion and
stereotypes too entrenched to be overcome?
Wilson: God, I hope
not. In TIER ONE we created an entity in Ember that could operate
outside of the bureaucracy for the greater good of America. In this
truly diverse and highly “joint operations” environment, those
stereotypes must be overcome for the unit to reach its potential and
achieve its goals. Of course, someone—in the case of our fictitious
Ember that is Jarvis—has to serve as the bridge between the
bureaucracy and our team of driven operators. By being that
self-sacrificing buffer he allows Ember and Dempsey’s Special
Activities to operate with a purity of purpose. I hope very much
there are teams like our fictitious one out there somewhere.
Q: At the end of the
book, it's revealed that a high ranking U.S. official betrayed his
country in an effort to manipulate public opinion, trading the lives
of the SEALS for a hard line foreign policy with Iran. “(He)
thought he was an American patriot, but in reality he was an American
jihadist." What's the difference?
Wilson: When your dedication
to a cause allows you to step over the line to put your agenda above
the safety and well-being of American citizens or warfighters then
you are no longer a patriot, in my view. You can’t pursue a greater
good for your country by sacrificing its citizens, most especially
those most committed to her defense. That blind zeal that makes your
cause more important than the lives it affects is the difference
between patriotism and Jihad.
Q: In TIER ONE, the
wife of a SEAL declares her son's Bar Mitzvah "an acronym-free"
celebration. "No one but you guys know what a ‘SCIF’ is,"
she says. What is a SCIF, and what is it about the acronyms, the
"invisible tether," and other rituals that brand a Team
identity and forge an unbreakable bond?
Wilson: Well, a SCIF
is a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. It is essentially
a secure building, or area within a building, where highly classified
information can be reviewed and discussed. Only those with adequate
security clearance (SCI level clearance) would be permitted to even
enter a SCIF and no cell phones or other electronics would be
permitted.
Q: The Iranian
ambassador to the UN is one of the more complex characters in the
book. His wife believes "he wanted to be the voice of a
rational, peaceful Islam," yet the reader can't help but
question his motives. You've said that you create "characters
(who) face the same moral crises that we all face...." What is
it about this terrorist that makes him relatable?
Andrews: As one of
only a handful of POV characters in the book, we get to see the world
through his eyes. He’s a brother, a husband, and a father. He’s
professionally accomplished and respected. Like all people, his
motivations are driven by his wants and needs which are under
constant pressure from the people in his life whose opinions matter
most. In the case of Modiri, his brother and wife fill the
metaphorical roles of the devil whispering in one ear, angel in the
other. Ultimately, his moral compass is swayed by grief, fear, and
insecurity— forces which I think everyone can relate to—and he
chooses the path of vengeance.
Q: You dedicate the
book "To the heroes of Extortion 17, who gave the ultimate
sacrifice for freedom on August 6th, 2011." Tell us about the
mission that caused the single greatest loss of American life in the
Afghan war, and the 38 souls who died.
Wilson: The loss of Extortion
17 was the greatest single day loss of life in SEAL Team history. I
can't give any specifics about what happened that day because the
details of the mission are still classified and even if I could that
day is difficult to talk about on a personal level—I lost a number
of friends that day and also suffer along with other friends who were
not aboard but share the loss. What that day, and the loss we
suffered because of it, means for the Naval Special Warfare Community
is broader—and simpler. Like those brave men—the SEALs, the NSW
support personnel, the aircrew, the Afghani partners—it is
imperative that each of us remain committed to never give up the
fight—whatever that fight may be today. This is part of the culture
of Special Warfare. I have no doubt that each of these men, given the
knowledge of what may happen that day—that they were perhaps being
targeted—would have still, without hesitation, kitted up and
boarded that helicopter. There were brothers in need and enemies at
the gate.
Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson are the co-author team behind the TIER ONE covert ops series and the Nick Foley thriller series, penned under the pseudonym Alex Ryan.
Midwest born and raised, Brian Andrews is a US Navy Veteran who served as an officer aboard a 688 class fast attack nuclear submarine in the Pacific. He graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a degree in psychology. He is a Park Leadership Fellow and holds a Masters degree from the Johnson School at Cornell University.
JEFFREY WILSON
Jeffrey Wilson has at one time worked as an actor, a firefighter, a paramedic, a jet pilot, a diving instructor, a Naval Officer, and a Vascular and Trauma Surgeon. He also served two tours in Iraq as a combat surgeon with both the Marines and with a Joint Special Operations Task Force as part of his service with an East Coast based SEAL team.