Are you ready for an occupational change? If you are serving in a government job as a civil servant, military, or contractor and speak out against U.S. foreign policy, you will probably need to find a new line of work. Or – maybe not. Just ask Franz Gayl.
One might say that Marine Corps Major Franz Gayl, is a professional whistleblower. Gayl received his first notoriety in 2007 as a science advisor to the Marine Corps, where he leaked a key document to Wired Magazine. Even though his name did not appear, the article “Military Dragged Feet on Bomb-Proof Vehicles,” rapidly gained national attention and caused congressional hearings that winter.
Clearance Revoked, Reinstated, And Suspended
Gayl’s document criticized military leadership’s decision for not delivering protective armored vehicles called Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAPs) to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. After losing his security clearance over the incident, Gayl was subsequently defended by The Project On Government Oversight (POGO), a nonpartisan non-profit organization that investigates and exposes waste, fraud, abuse, and conflicts of interest in the U.S. federal government. POGO enabled Gayl’s reinstatement. Not long after, Gayl retired from the Marines.
With his clearance restored, for well over a decade, Gayl has worked as a civil servant in the Pentagon. In the last few months, he has once again secured national attention as a “whistleblower” at the Pentagon. As before, Gayl’s security clearance is suspended, and he is now the target of a second counterintelligence investigation. Why? Gayl has recently published two op-eds slamming U.S. foreign policy in the Chinese state tabloid Global Times. On April 27, Gayl published “Why US will Lose a War with China over Taiwan island”, and then a month later, he published “US ‘othering’ of Chinese could be Prelude to Taiwan Conflict”. In the articles, Gayl describes Taiwan as a ‘renegade’ regime led by a ‘separatist’ political party.
Over the weekend, Gayl made headlines in the Global Times for a third time, as the tabloid published an article that recaps his current situation, stating the Marine Corps and the Pentagon view the 64-year-old as an unacceptable “whistleblower.”
Trying to appear altruistic, Gayl says he is extremely concerned about soldier’s lives and a war with China over Taiwan. Just like his first whistleblowing incident, he knew the articles would land him in hot water, but he believed the outcome would be worth it. Fourteen years later, Gayl has again gone to the media with a similar effort to seemingly protect American service members.
He told the Washington Post on Sunday that he has no regrets. “If we don’t talk about this now, we are going to sleepwalk into this conflict,” as Gayl discussed a potential Chinese war. “I’m glad that I did it … but it was probably a step too far….”
“I knew it would get everybody’s attention,” Gayl told The Washington Post. “And man, did it.” Earlier this year, he began submitting similar op-eds to American newspapers. When none of his submission were run, he sent the op-ed to Global News, an outlet he felt certain would publish. “But what I really wanted was a big splash,” Gayl told the Post.
Goodbye Security Clearance
Is Gayl truly noble and selfless or does he seek notoriety? Why does he continue to test government tolerance for sharing information without pre-publication review? Some say Franz Gayl is a celebrated American whistleblower, who has even been praised by then Sen. Joe Biden (D-Delaware). Others accuse him of treason for the articles, published during an era of elevated tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Having already survived a counterintelligence investigation, Gayl knows the challenges associated with a second investigation. He has stated that he does not want to put his family through it again and instead plans to retire. If he leaves, he will lose his security clearance, keeping him out of many traditional jobs in Washington DC. “But that’s okay,” Gayl stated to the Washington Post on Friday. “I’m ready to do something different.”
So, what will Gayl do next? Write a book? Become the feature of another documentary, as in the 2013 film, War on Whistleblowers? Try full time op-ed writing for Global News? Interestingly, his public altruism incidents occurred after his military and subsequent civil service retirements were secure. In 2011 Gayl personally characterized himself as, “…a contentious figure” and “Everyone who has associated with me, they all think I’m a little … well, wack.”
