Sylvia M Longmire's Biography

Ms. Longmire is a [medically] retired Air Force captain and former Special Agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. During her eight years with AFOSI, she conducted numerous criminal investigations and worked extensively in the fields of counterintelligence, counterespionage, and force protection. During her last assignment, Ms. Longmire worked at HQ AFOSI as the Latin America desk officer, analyzing issues in the US Southern Command area of responsibility that might affect the security of deployed Air Force personnel. From Dec 2005-Jul 2009, Sylvia worked as a senior intelligence analyst for the California state fusion center and the California Emergency Management Agency's Situational Awareness Unit, focusing almost exclusively on Mexican drug trafficking organizations and southwest border violence issues. For the last six years, she has regularly lectured on terrorism in Latin America at the Air Force Special Operations School's Dynamics of International Terrorism course. She holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of South Florida in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, with a focus on the Cuban and Guatemalan revolutions.

Ms. Longmire has been published in Henley-Putnam University's Journal of Strategic Security, as well as in the Journal of Energy Security. Her writing has also been featured in Homeland Security Today magazine, which includes “Creativity in a Bad Cause” (March 2011), "Hitting the Narcos at Home" (October 2010) and "Al Capone's Lessons for Today's Cartels" (December 2009). Ms. Longmire has been interviewed extensively by national, international, local, and Internet news outlets, including "Geraldo at Large" on Fox News Channel, CNN International, CNN México, AOL News, BBC Radio, the Miami Herald, and the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Ms. Longmire is currently an independent consultant and freelance writer, and is a correspondent for Homeland Security Today magazine and website. Her first book, Cartel: The Coming Invasion of Mexico’s Drug Wars (Palgrave Macmillan), is hitting the shelves in September 2011. She also provides services as an expert witness for Mexican immigration and asylum request cases. Ms. Longmire is available for public speaking engagements and interviews.