The Headlines Are Only the Cover Story

Thirty years in the rooms that shape national security. Now he's briefing you.

Whether you want to work in this world or understand it, start with someone who's been inside.

Plain-spoken intelligence, strategic analysis, and the unredacted reality behind the headlines, from the military to the State Department, INTERPOL, and the global coalition to defeat ISIS.

Join the Breaking-In Circle → Read Declassified

30 Years Inside

U.S. Navy✦ State Department✦ INTERPOL✦ FBI✦ DHS

Ingram, Dexter · "Dex" · Washington, D.C.

Who am I

Three decades where the decisions get made.

From Navy cockpits to the State Department, INTERPOL, and the 89-nation coalition to defeat ISIS. Now I'm pulling back the curtain. Whether I'm advising executives on threat strategy, writing about espionage history, or mentoring young professionals, I share what actually works.

No marketing fluff. Just plain, serious assessments from the inside.

More about Dexter →

Career Offerings

The right start matters.

Targeted coaching for individuals entering the national security community. The plain truth about clearances, interviews, and real-world expectations.

Membership · $300/year founding rate

The Breaking-In Circle

A live monthly group call with Dexter, the full career toolkit, member-only Q&A, and a small founding group breaking in alongside you.

Explore the Circle →

1:1 · Application-based · Limited spots

1:1 Career Coaching

Personalized mentorship for students and professionals, including resume and interview prep. Your situation specifically: your background, your target roles, your interview.

Apply for 1:1 Coaching

Free · 3 Minutes

Not sure where you'd fit? Find your pathway.

Six questions. A clear read on where you belong in national security, and the exact next step to get moving.

Take the free assessment →

The Books

Two #1 Amazon bestsellers.

National Security Careers

The ultimate guide to breaking in.

Buy on Amazon →

The Spy Archive

Hidden lives, secret missions, and the history of espionage.

Buy on Amazon →

Want a signed copy? Dexter signs and ships books only for Breaking-In Circle members.

"Dexter Ingram has lived the national security career most people can only imagine… a rare insider's view of the people, principles, and purpose that shape this vital work."

Jonna Mendez · Former CIA Chief of Disguise

"Dexter Ingram launched IN Network with the goal of reaching and helping to guide underserved youth and young adults towards careers in national security."

Ambassador Marcia Bernicat · Former Director General, Department of State

The Newsletter

Get the analysis the news can't give you.

From someone who led the teams and sat in the rooms, with global partners and competitors alike. Plain assessments. No spin.

Get the newsletter →

The Breaking-In Circle · Founding Membership

A successful career in national security starts here.

From someone who has spent 30+ years inside.

You can scroll LinkedIn, YouTube, and every job board at 2 a.m. and still not find the way in, because this field runs on people, not postings.

The Breaking-In Circle puts a 30-year insider in your corner, live every month, with the tools and the room to open the door.

Become a Founding Member → See what's inside

30 Years Inside

U.S. Navy✦ State Department✦ INTERPOL✦ FBI✦ DHS

Sound familiar?

You've done everything they told you to do. The wall is still there.

The career center. You went to the talks, paid attention in class, and nothing translated into real-life results.

The LinkedIn cold-connects. Requests to strangers, coffee-chat asks, messages that go nowhere.

The 2 a.m. scroll. Endless "how to break into national security" videos, hoping someone posted the answer.

The applications. Every big internship rejects you, and nobody tells you why.

If you're chasing a career in national security with no network, no clearance, and no clear way in, none of this is your fault. This field runs on people, and nobody handed you the map.

Here's where the standard playbook breaks: intelligence, diplomacy, and security careers run on trust, and trust moves through people. The real pathways get passed from the people inside to the people they choose to bring in.

"You don't have to be someone else to make a difference in this space. You just have to start where you are."— Dexter Ingram

The Breaking-In Circle is where you start, with the plain truth about clearances, interviews, and real-world expectations, from someone who has lived all three.

"Dexter is the kindest, most attentive person who truly cares about the younger generation and providing them with the proper tools and support to help them get to where they want to go."

Colleen · Student Success Story

"Dexter Ingram has lived the national security career most people can only imagine… a rare insider's view of the people, principles, and purpose that shape this vital work."

Jonna Mendez · Former CIA Chief of Disguise

Your guide inside

Dexter Ingram spent 30 years in the rooms you're trying to reach.

Now he spends his time showing the next generation how to get there, through his nonprofit IN Network, his writing, and this Circle.

Ingram, Dexter · "Dex" · Washington, D.C.

Three decades across the Navy, State Department, INTERPOL, the FBI, and DHS, from countering violent extremism to global counterterrorism coordination.

Founder of IN Network, the nonprofit national security academy mentoring youth into the field.

Author of two #1 Amazon bestselling books on espionage and breaking into national security.

Spy Museum advisory board member and NCITE Research-to-Practice Fellow, still inside the conversation every week.

Writer of Dexter Ingram: Declassified: inside national security, intelligence, and counterterrorism for 2,000+ readers. Unredacted.

"If you want the real story — not the sanitized version — you're in the right place."— From Dexter Ingram: Declassified

What's inside the Circle

Everything you need to break in.

A membership for people serious about breaking in. The free guides show you what to do. The Circle is where Dexter helps you do it, live, every month.

Live · Every Month

A live monthly group call with Dexter: bring your real questions

Career pathways, applications, clearances, agencies, the tradecraft of getting hired, asked and answered live by someone who has actually held the jobs you want. Between calls, member-only Q&A keeps the answers coming.

The Toolkit Shelf

The full member toolkit

The Federal Resume System with editable two-page template, the Interview Prep Kit, the Security Clearance Self-Assessment, the 90-Day Career Planner, and the Career Pathway Assessment, plus every new guide Dexter releases, included.

The Room

A small founding group breaking in alongside you

Not a webinar audience. A room small enough that Dexter knows your name and your target role, with exclusive access to industry professionals.

The Full File

Every member-only word of Declassified

The free posts are the briefing. Members get the full file: the complete archive, artifact deep-dives, and subscriber-only threads.

Signed & Shipped

A signed copy of Dexter's book

Circle members are the only people Dexter signs and ships books to directly. A field manual for the way in, with your name in it.

Founding membership is open for the first 50 members.

The Circle launches this August. Break the price down and it comes to $25 a month, for a live monthly call with a 30-year insider, the full toolkit, and the room. A single coaching session anywhere else costs more.

And it's one investment: $300, once, for the entire year.

First 50 Members Breaking-In Circle · Annual

$300/year

= $25/month

One payment. Twelve months of everything below.

✓ Live monthly sessions with Dexter

✓ Career Pathway Assessment & guides

✓ Full Declassified member access

✓ Signed copy of Dexter's book, shipped

✓ Founding Member status, year one

The $300 founding rate is for the first 50 members. After that, it's gone.

Become a Founding Member →

Secure checkout via Substack · powered by Stripe

On the record

From the people who've been working with Dexter.

"Dexter Ingram has lived the national security career most people can only imagine. National Security Careers offers not just a roadmap, but a rare insider's view of the people, principles, and purpose that shape this vital work."

Jonna Mendez · Former CIA Chief of Disguise; Advisory Board, International Spy Museum

"Dexter Ingram launched IN Network with the goal of reaching and helping to guide underserved youth and young adults towards careers in national security — more vital than ever, given the multiplicity of actors on the global stage."

Ambassador Marcia Bernicat · Former Director General, Department of State

"Dexter is the kindest, most attentive person who truly cares about the younger generation and providing them with the proper tools and support to help them get to where they want to go… His personal background and story are invaluable and have helped me to better understand what I am stepping into."

Colleen · Student Success Story

Questions, answered

Before you ask.

Who is the Breaking-In Circle for?+

College students and early-career professionals who want a career in national security, intelligence, diplomacy, or counterterrorism, and don't have the network, the clearance, or a clear map. If that's you, this was built for you.

When does it start?+

The Circle launches in late August. Founding Members who join now are first in the room, and your membership includes everything from day one, including full Declassified access immediately.

How do the live sessions work?+

Live video sessions with Dexter every month, open to all members, with no cohorts to wait for and no application windows. Join any time and come to the next one.

Do I need a security clearance or experience?+

No. That's the point. The Circle exists precisely for people who don't have the clearance, the connections, or the résumé yet. It's how you start building all three.

How do I pay?+

One payment of $300 for the full year: that's $25 a month, but you pay once and you're done. Checkout is handled through Substack's secure system (powered by Stripe): one click, no duplicate forms, member access the moment payment clears. The founding rate covers the first 50 members.

Is this connected to IN Network?+

Dexter founded IN Network, a nonprofit national security academy that informs, inspires, and mentors young people into the field. The Breaking-In Circle is his membership community: same mission, direct access.

One decision

A year from now, you'll either still be scrolling for the way in, or you'll be inside the Circle.

One investment: $300 for the year, $25 a month when you do the math. Live monthly access to a 30-year insider, the full toolkit, the full Declassified file, and a signed book at your door. First 50 members only.

Become a Founding Member →

Free · 6 Questions · 3 Minutes

Find your pathway into national security.

Analysis, operations, diplomacy, or technology. Answer six questions and get a clear read on where you fit, plus the exact next step to get moving.

Career Pathway Assessment 1 / 6

Prototype demo: in the live build, results connect to the email nurture sequence and your inbox.

Get your pathway

Your result maps your strengths to the roles and agencies where they actually fit.

Get the guide

A pathway-specific guide lands in your inbox, with the first moves to make this month.

Get in the room

When you're ready for a 30-year insider in your corner, the Breaking-In Circle is open.

Two #1 Amazon Bestsellers

Read your way into national security.

One shows you exactly how to break in. The other shows you the world you're breaking into. Both come from 30 years of living it.

The Guide

National Security Careers

The ultimate guide to breaking in.

The pathways, the clearances, the interviews, and the insider lessons. Real stories and career paths from the people who've done the work, for the people who want in.

Buy on Amazon →

The History

The Spy Archive

Hidden lives, secret missions, and the history of espionage.

The stories behind the tradecraft: the operatives, the operations, and the history that shaped the intelligence world.

Buy on Amazon →

Dexter Ingram at the Spy Museum book signing

"National Security Careers offers not just a roadmap, but a rare insider's view of the people, principles, and purpose that shape this vital work."— Jonna Mendez, Former CIA Chief of Disguise

Want it signed?

Dexter signs and ships books directly only for Breaking-In Circle members. It comes with the membership, along with everything else.

Join the Circle →

About Dexter

Thirty years where the decisions get made.

Navy cockpits. The State Department. INTERPOL. The 89-nation Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. And now, the next generation.

U.S. Navy. Where the discipline, the standards, and the mission-first mindset were built.

State Department. Countering violent extremism and coordinating with partners across the globe, including the 89-nation coalition to defeat ISIS.

INTERPOL. Global counterterrorism coordination across borders, agencies, and legal systems.

FBI & DHS. The home front: threats, task forces, and the interagency reality nobody explains in class.

Today. Founder of IN Network, advisory board member at the International Spy Museum, NCITE Research-to-Practice Fellow, bestselling author, and writer of Dexter Ingram: Declassified.

The Mission

IN Network: the national security academy.

Dexter founded IN Network, a nonprofit that empowers and educates young people ages 13 to 26, regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic background, through the compelling narratives of the people who've lived this work. Inform. Inspire. Innovate.

The Breaking-In Circle carries the same mission, with direct access.

Join the Circle → Visit IN Network

Dexter Ingram speaking on an IN Network panel

"You don't have to be someone else to make a difference in this space. You just have to start where you are."— Dexter Ingram

Contact

Let's talk.

Coaching applications, speaking requests, media, or a question about the Circle. Every message gets read.

1:1 Coaching

Application-based and limited. Tell Dexter your background and target role, and you'll hear back on next steps.

Speaking & Media

Keynotes, panels, classrooms, and press on national security, counterterrorism, and career pathways.

Everything Else

Questions about the Circle, the books, or IN Network. Use the form and it lands in the right inbox.

Prototype note: form routing and public contact email to be confirmed before launch.