Declaration of Stephen Allen Cheney

30 January 2009

I, Stephen Allen Cheney, am an adult individual competent to make this declaration and have personal knowledge of the facts set forth herein,

I became the President of the Marine Military Academy (www.mma-tx.org) in Harlingen, Texas in June of 2006. Prior to that, I was the Chief Operating Officer of Business Executives for National Security (BENS; www.bens.org) in Washington, DC. I retired from the United States Marine Corps as a Brigadier General following over 30 years of service in 2001. My last two assignments were as Inspector General of the Marine Corps in Washington ('97 ~ '99) and Commanding General of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, South Carolina ('99 -'01). While the Inspector General, I had oversight responsibilities for every intelligence-related program the Marine Corps had, including those with the Central Intelligence Agency. I was also responsible for handling all high level (general officer) ethics investigations. I had the maximum clearance you could obtain.

I have known Mr. Piltch for an extended period, having both first hand and direct knowledge of him and his work for and with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Last year we admitted him as one of our board members for the Marine Military Academy. As is customary in such circumstances, I undertook a background check on him, including discussions with a number of former senior CIA officers. He is a man of integrity and conviction who possesses the traits that we Marines hold so dear - honor, courage, and commitment. Otherwise, I would have never recommended him to be a Board Member. Further, I have never known him to mislead or tell a lie concerning who he is or what he has done.

In addition to Mr. Piltch's relationship and employment with the CIA, I also have first hand and direct knowledge of agency work product produced by him. This work product includes, but is not limited to, work and knowledge concerning Game Theory. Given the nature of his work and work product with the CIA, Mr. Piltch would have had to undergone the typical training and proficiency examinations for these performing such work. This training includes, but is not limited to, work in a broad range of mathematical as well as actuarial science, risk assessment and other needed skill sets.

Mr. Piltch has had extensive time working for the CIA in the late '70's, mid '80's, and again in the '90s. Based on my knowledge of how work for the CIA is channeled through many entities, I find it no surprise that they would not, or could not, produce direct evidence of his employment there. It is in their interest - and the interest of national security - not to reveal the historic status and background of an individual as well as what they, he or any employee has been working on. In fact, employment status for certain job types such Mr. Piltch's is rarely listed as being within the CIA for such matters as the name of the employer and thus Social Security record purposes. To do so would place individuals at undue risk. As an example, when I was the inspector General, we had several Marines that were working for the CIA, but were never carried on their roles and would never appear in their personnel files. And I myself worked for the CIA in 2004, as the attached citation, medal, and picture attest - but you won't find me in any of their records either.

Mr. Piltch has been a dedicated public servant, and unfortunately much of his work can not be released to the public. I declare, under the penalty of perjury and the laws of the State of Texas that the foregoing is true and correct and executed this the 30th day of January 2009 in Cameron County, Texas,

Stephen Allen Cheney
Brigadier General, USMC (Ret)
President, Marine Military Academy