High Stakes & Hidden Truths: Derrick Jackson's Journey from Jet Mechanic to Special Agent

In this riveting episode of Living the Dream with Curveball, we sit down with Derrick Jackson, a 21-year Air Force veteran whose career reads like a high-stakes thriller. From his beginnings as a jet engine specialist to becoming a special agent with the Office of Special Investigations, Derrick shares his incredible journey filled with danger, intrigue, and personal growth. He discusses his transition from the technical world of aircraft maintenance to the complex realm of federal law enforcement, shedding light on the challenges and triumphs he faced along the way. Derrick also introduces us to his book series, *Shadow 1*, which is inspired by his experiences in the military and offers a fictional yet authentic glimpse into the life of a special agent. As he navigates themes of grief, identity, and the cultural dynamics between African Americans and Africans, Derrick emphasizes the importance of emotional depth in storytelling. Join us as we explore his insights on counterintelligence, the complexities of military life, and the creative process behind his writing. This episode promises to inspire and entertain, showcasing how Derrick is using his experiences to engage readers and spark meaningful conversations.
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Transcript

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 0:00

Welcome to the Living the Dream podcast with Curveball. If you believe you can achieve. Welcome to the Living the Dream with Curveball podcast, a show where I interview guests that teach, motivate and inspire. Today's guest is a 21 year Air Force veteran and his career kind of goes like a high stakes thriller. And that's because in many cases it was. Derek Jackson started as a jet engine engine specialist until he was recruited by the Office of Special Investigations by the Air Force as a special agent, which he worked for over two decades. And Derek retired in 2014. So thank you again Derek for your service. And he's also the author, he's working on the Shadow 1 book series, just released the Shadow 1. It's going to be kind of talking about his career and everything that he went through in the Air Force. So we're going to be talking to Derek about his career and his book series and everything that he's up to and going to be up to. So Derek, thank you for joining me.

>> Derek Jackson: 1:26

Good afternoon. Curtis, thank you so much for the invitation.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 1:29

Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself.

>> Derek Jackson: 1:33

Sure. my name is Derek Jackson. as Curtis said, I am a veteran of the United States air force serving 21 years. I joined the Air Force, immediately after high school and my first 10 years in the Air Force, I worked as a jet engine mechanic. I worked on, initially the big transport planes, C5s, C17s and 141s, and then I made my way over to the fighter world where F15s for a little bit. But while I was working on those planes, you know, I was, I was maturing growing up a little bit and then I, I was really focused on what was my future going to be. And though I really enjoyed working on the, the aircraft, I thought I wanted to, you know, give us, give myself a chance in federal law enforcement. And there was an opportunity looking directly at me within the Air Force and it was with the Office of Special Investigations, osi. And for any of your, your listeners who are not familiar with The Air Force OSI, if you think of the television show NCIS, that's the Navy version of what the Air Force OSI is all about. so after I served, 10 years in the Air Force, the opportunity for me to cross train, become a special agent was there, did my initial training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training center in Georgia. And after about six months of training, I began my probationary time as a Special Agent. initially I was at Tinder Air Force Base, working criminal investigations. I, then moved to, Osan Air Base, South Korea, continue into criminal investigations. Got some counterintelligence experience. But it's at this point where the majority of the first book, Shadow One, begins. I, did a year in Korea, and after that I had my choice of assignments, and I chose to go to a brand new team. it was the counterintelligence team that was assigned to Air Force Special Operations Command. And for the next four and a half years, I traveled the world. I probably went to about 20 countries in about four years conducting, threat assessments, in advance of special operations missions. We would collect that threat data and bring it back to the people who are actually going out to carry out those missions. And depending on the level of the threat, sometimes we would go with them during those missions. More, of a threat detection, surveillance detection operation to make sure that those people were safe while those missions were being carried out. And that mission for me is the setting of the second book, which is about to come out. after that, four and a half years, I went to Andrews Air Force Base, where I was the Chief of the Economic Crime Division. And then I retired from the air Force in 2014.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 4:05

Okay, well, talk to the listeners about what that shift was like. going from jet engine specialist to special agent.

>> Derek Jackson: 4:14

yeah, good question. It was a big shift. It was what I wanted. I kind of expected would be different, but, you know, as a jet mechanic, I wore uniforms every day. You know, came home from work dirty, had to change my clothes in the garage because I couldn't wear my clothes inside the house because after a while they were just, just covered in jet fuel and hydraulic fluid and, engine, engine fuel. So going from that to wearing suits to work every day was, Was a big change. And it's a completely different mindset as far as, you know, troubleshooting aircraft. What's wrong with it? Is the airplane safe to fly? And now you, you're a federal agent, where you're expected on day one to, to be a professional. You know, the phone rings. No matter what people are reporting, regardless of how long you've been in that position, you're the agent. You need to go handle it. And so, the first 12 months for me, and I guess probably for, for most agents were kind of difficult. You're learning a brand new career field, and there are certain things that you have to be trained on. And within the first 12 months from you Know, different types of interviews where it's interrogations or witness or victim interviews, searching crime scenes, handling evidence, maintaining your proficiency with your firearms. there's a lot of things that you have to approve, within that first 12 months. And if it was just the work, you know, it had been a little bit easier. But then there are other things that come along with the additional duties. whether it's maintaining the weapons program, maintaining the ammunition, and other things that just seem to eat up your time as you're struggling trying to learn your way in the new career field. It was tough, but, it was somewhat enjoyable.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 6:02

Well, let's talk about Devin Jackson. In your book, how much of Devin Jackson story was inspired by your experience and where does fiction take over?

>> Derek Jackson: 6:13

Yeah, so Shadow One, is based on true events, but it's a fictional tale. first book, which is called Shadow 1, is about 60, 65 true in some way of fashion. And the main character, Devin Jackson, is absolutely based off of me. So as the story starts, especially in the first book, a lot of what you read actually happened. I, did my due diligence to make sure I changed names and I mixed some things around to, to make sure I protected people. And, then I did go and add some, some fictional, inspiration to it. but as you read through it, his personality is my personality. but the further we go along in the, in the trilogy, then that character starts to separate itself from me as the initial inspiration from that. That was a little bit difficult because I didn't want to write a character that's based off of me that was perfect. And so every chance that I got to make him make mistakes, he made mistakes. And that was kind of hard because I had to have him, make decisions that I normally wouldn't make because, you know. Right again, I know that this is the wrong decision, but I had to do that because I didn't want people to think that I was trying to present myself in a certain way. So, if you're reading this book and you're getting a little frustrated because, man, he. He's trying hard. He wants to make the right decision, but he keeps making the wrong decision. And every time he thinks he's pulling himself above the water, something else happens. Usually because of his own doing that Knobson back down. And, towards, towards the end of the first book, he experienced a very tragic moment in his life and he has to decide whether or not he wants to give up or not. And sort of like the Story of Rocky, he has to find a way to pull himself up and keep punching. And it wasn't necessarily about winning. It was just being able to finish the fight.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 8:04

Well, I know that counterintelligence work is complex and often classified. So how do you transfer that world into gripping fiction without compromising authenticity?

>> Derek Jackson: 8:17

Yeah. So, the first thing is being very, attentive to what I'm writing. You know, even though I may have stories in my head that I think I can write, I really need to take my time about it and think, is this something that. That could, potentially be classified? And before, because the story is based on, what I did in the Air Force, I couldn't just publish it as soon as I finished writing it, even before I sent it to an editor, I had to send it to the Department of Defense for them to review it and to scrub it and to give me the go ahead, to, to release the information. So the first book, it took them about five months to review it, and then they approved it as it was written. There were no changes. the second book, which is coming out in about four weeks, it took them a little bit longer, took six months. And this time they did request, that I change a few things. Nothing that would change the story, but just change, a few titles along the way. So, you know, it took me about a couple hours, just made those changes. But after that, you know, it was good to go. And I'm glad that that's there because I don't want to release anything classified, and I don't want to release too much tradecraft, but I want to write it in a way so that people understand that, you know, do have this experience, and I do know what I'm talking about. But I don't want to write the stories as a procedural, type of novel. You know, I don't want to get so far. And I did this, and then investigators did that. I'm trying to create it as a, dramatic story that includes some police procedure that helps it along the way.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 9:46

Well, in the Raven Sh Shadow, Devin Jackson shifted into Special Operations Investigations. Ah. So talk about how you experience and supporting global missions shape the international scope of this story.

>> Derek Jackson: 10:04

Yeah. So, when I left Korea, as I mentioned, there was a brand new team, that was created at the request of the Air Force Special Operations Command. They went to OSI and they asked for, dedicated counterintelligence support. Because these guys are going, you know, all around the world a lot of times. In places that you would never hear about, you know, you would never, you know, see a news article written about, you know, a lot of things that they do. But because they're focused on that mission that they're carrying out, sometimes, things were happening to them, you know, suspicious things, and they didn't want things to get to the point where, you know, there could be an event that takes place. And so they asked us to come there. And our, our goal was to get there in advance whenever we could to figure out, you know, where are the best places for them to stay. You know, do the threat assessments on the different routes. So they could travel from the air bases or the hotels or the hospitals or through the villages, wherever, you know, they may be traveling, develop those local contacts, come back and, you know, give them that briefing, you know, at a nice, you know, crisp report. Here are the people that we develop, that we know that you could trust. Here are the places that you can go, places you should stay away from. And, a lot of times they would take that and go out and complete the mission. And, you know, if, if the threat was at a certain level or, you know, they just felt like they need a little bit more support, we'd go with them on those missions. And while they're carrying out that mission, we'd be a few layers back trying to detect if anyone was watching them. So we will, if that was the case, maybe we'd be watching the people who were watching our people. And so, you know, to go from criminal investigations to counterintelligence is, you know, it's a little bit of a different mindset, but you still use the same skills that you trained in, when you attend flexing.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 11:54

Well, I know the story examines grief, vulnerability, romance, and emotional intelligence, or emotional vulnerability on side of high stakes action. So why was it important for you to be able to balance and show tactical realism along with emotional depth?

>> Derek Jackson: 12:15

Yeah, so I wanted to, introduce people to a world that they probably, you know, never even knew existed. Usually when you see any movies about the Air Force, it's involving fighter pilots or fighter jets or they're just the extras in somebody else's movies. But the majority of the Air Force is enlisted. the majority of OSI agents aren't enlisted. And so I wanted to create a world where readers can, can see behind the curtains of what happens in the lives of special agents. You may hear about the investigations, you may read reports about who got arrested, these companies that owe $50 million because of some fraud investigation. But I Wanted to pull the curtain back and allow people to realize that the people who actually conducting these missions, conducting these investigations are real people and they go through the same that you go through at home. And so, yeah, that's a lot of, you know, police talk, counterintelligence talk through in it. There's some really good investigative work that you'll read about in the first or second book. But I really wanted to focus on developing the characters. And so initially when I, the first thing I wrote was the outline. and that outline actually became the second book. So after I wrote the. The first outline, I realized I had a good story, but I was starting from a kind of a peculiar place and I needed to go back and then create this world that I'm talking about in the second outline. Well, the first outline that I wrote. And so the second outline actually became the first book. It's the introduction to the characters, their background, and you understand why they do the things they do and why they feel that way. But after the first book ends and the second one begins, it's about a year and a half difference. And you're going to see a, change in Devin's personality because of what he suffered in the first book. He's not the same laid back, you know, easygoing person that you saw now. He's a person who really has no patience. He's traveling around the world, dealing with all different types of cultures, different languages, a whole lot of bad guys. And he has very little patience for anyone, trying to mess up his day. But at heart, he's the same guy. He's the same kind of guy. He's. He's really hard working. And, I think every good story has a little bit of romance in it. And in the first one, we see that Devin has to make a decision early on because his goal, his lifelong goal, was to be a federal agent. And the opportunity was right there. But the person that he thought he was about to marry, the person he had been in a relationship for years, wanted absolutely nothing to do with the police because of family history with law enforcement. So early on in the first book, he has to make a decision. You know, do I, do I stay with the person that I, I'm pretty sure I'm in love with, or do I go and I follow my dreams? And, I guess you can see that because we're on the second book. You can kind of. You kind of guess which decision he made. But that decision stayed with him for years to come after that, throughout the first Book. And it even shows up again in the second book, even though there's a different, romantic partner in the. In the second book, the friendship that he had with the initial woman in the first book, Maze. And, she happens to be the person that can always pull him up when he's at his lowest.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 15:29

Okay. Well, cultural tensions between African Americans and Africans, play a role in the book the Raven Shadow. So why did you decide to explore that dynamic in a, thriller, series?

>> Derek Jackson: 15:48

Yeah, so I wanted to, you know, make a. Or write a book that had multiple layers into it. And with the. We're in the Raven Shadow. we're going to five different countries. We're in Colombia, back in South Korea again. we're in Burkina Faso, we're Nigeria, and we're Thailand. But the majority of the story, the meat of the story happens in Nigeria. And I wanted to write, again, a story that had multiple layers in it. The main story is a counterintelligence story. An American airman has gone missing. And it is Devin's job to figure out where he is. And so to do this, he has to work with two rival, Nigerian warlords. one of them might have the American, and the other one suspects that he does. One of them wants to keep him and figure out what to do, and the other one wants to kill the American in front of the whole world just to make a statement. And so Devin's role is to go in and figure out where is this guy and have those conversations about, let us work with you to get this guy back, get him back to safety, and maybe we can help you. But the conversation is. Is going back and forth because they're looking at him as an African American, and they're saying, you might look a little bit like us, but you're not one of us. The only thing African about you is the little bit of the title that they give you. African American. You're you. You know, your ancestors came from here, but you know nothing about this place. And so I wanted to bring that into the story as his overall counterintelligence, mission is playing out. So those conversations are happening where he's trying to convince people to work with him instead of working with the people that they've grown up with their whole lives. And I guess I picked up on that. You know, just being on social media, you, ah, see a lot of arguments. You see some. Some African Americans, you know, saying a whole lot of negative things about African immigrants that come to this country. And you See a lot of African immigrants saying a lot of bad things about African Americans. But at the same time, you see some that come to this country and they appreciate how they can come here. You know, a lot of them are really educated and they come here and, you know, they get really great jobs, doctors and lawyers and, you know, business owners, and they're doing really well. And some of them realize that the reason that they could do that is because of the struggle that African Americans went through for centuries. Have we not been able to, you know, pull ourselves up to this point that they wouldn't be able to come here and be as successful as they were? And so I wanted to introduce that conversation in there. So it just wasn't dependent on, on a, on a military mission, but it brings a little bit of a, you know, dramatic dialogue to a, to an action fiction novel.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 19:52

Well, as someone who worked economic crimes and protective services, how much does financial crimes and political power shape the conflicts in your story?

>> Derek Jackson: 20:04

Well, that's a lot as far as, political. I, didn't touch too much on the economic crime. I think that's going to be a, more of a subject that I get to with the third book. But in the second book, the Raven Shadow, there are a lot of, political, decisions that need to be made. for one, Devin and his partner Al Sparks, in order to carry out that mission to find this missing American, they have to kind of go rogue a little bit. And they, they know that OSI is not going to, approve of what they think they have to do to find this guy. But every move that they make is causing more tension between the American government and the Nigerian government. Because the Nigerian government doesn't really want too many American troops in the country because that's going to cause, the terrorists who are operating in the northern part of the country to fight more against the Nigerian government. And the American government just wants to go in and, and take them all out. But there's a balance between the two because Americans can't work on, you know, within the Nigerian borders without the Nigerians consent. The Nigerians kind of want the Americans to come in, but they don't want things to get worse up in the northern part of the country. And so there's a balance going on as far as who's helping who and who's willing to provide, more aid to, to kind of get this job done.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 21:24

Well, I know that many veterans struggle with identity after retirement. So how did you decide that writing fiction was going to become your next mission.

>> Derek Jackson: 21:33

Yeah, I'm one of those veterans who struggle. I was lucky because I, I lined up a job maybe about two months before my retirement date. And so my transition was really smooth. I retired from the Air Force and went right into a position in corporate investigations. but I struggled. I mean, I could do the job, but, you know, inside I didn't feel fulfilled, you know, that had a lot more free time, which was good. And then I had to decide what was I going to do with all this free time. I struggled with the types of investigations we were running. Important for the country, I mean, for the, for the company I work with. Absolutely. but the stakes were not as high as they are. You know, in osi, there's. You're not working a murder investigation, you're not chasing terrorists and spies. We're investigating someone who violated company policy while, you know, promoting a certain type of product. That's a big drop off. And so it was a great job. I was really appreciative, to have it, but I didn't feel as fulfilled as I did. And so now I had to find something to fill the gaps. So initially, I didn't think I would do it, but I started painting and I did that for maybe two or three years. And they started to, you know, it took up that, that space that was, that was missing. I got to be creative and I started thinking about, you know, a lot of the things that I went through in osi, and talking to one of my partners, who's still one of my best friends. he was stationed in Osan with me. And we talk about, you know, a lot of the cases that we had. And I remember thinking back then in Korea that, hey, one day somebody should write a book, because nobody's ever going to believe all the crazy stuff that we're dealing with over here. And so we would laugh about it and just keep going. I never thought I would be the one to write the book until fast forward, years later, I've got all this free time, and I started thinking, well, maybe I should write the book. But initially I just wrote it as a, as a, as an outline. And he was the first person that read it, and he loved it. And then the feedback that I got was, you've got a great story. You should turn this into a book. I never thought I'd be a writer. I never wanted to be an author. But I've written, you know, several different types of reports of investigations, from criminal to Counterintelligence to fraud to corporate investigations. And I use everything that I learned writing those reports, plus my own writing style, to. To write the first book. I was, I was lucky enough to get a really good editor, who taught me a lot. And I incorporated everything that I learned from the first book into the second book. And I really, really proud about how they both came out.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 24:11

Well, talk about, what do civilians often misunderstand about military intelligence, and how are you working to correct that through storytelling?

>> Derek Jackson: 24:23

I, would think what they misunderstand the most is that it's not automatic, it's not easy. a lot of times it's us, getting out of our offices, going out to locations and just talking to people, talking to them, developing those contacts. A lot of times people don't want to deal with you, you know, especially you're coming from some other country, because they'll wonder, why are you here? Why are you asking me these questions? Are you someone I could trust? So every, you know, every mission that the military carries out, intelligence is a big part of it. And there's a difference between the, the regular intelligence that, that you're thinking of and then there's counterintelligence. And we're trying to figure out who's targeting us, who's trying to get information from, from us. You know, there could be people targeting, the, the troops when they're out shopping, when they're in their neighborhoods, when they're out eating at restaurants, you know, sending phishing emails. And so part of our job is to make sure that our people are aware that people are trying to target them, not necessarily to harm them, but to get that information from them. And so every little piece of information they may get bit from person one and a little bit from person two and a little bit from person six and seven. And then they start putting all that together. And now they know where we're going, when we're going to get there, how long we're going to be, what types of airplanes we're going to be flying over, because they got a little bit from everybody. So what I, I think I want people know is how much work goes into educating people, to be smart about what they say, where they're traveling and, and how to take care of themselves when they're away from home.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 26:00

Well, as the Shadow 1 book series continues, how do you see Devin evolving and what themes are you most excited to explore next?

>> Derek Jackson: 26:10

Yeah, I'm really excited about, the evolution of the main character, Devin. You know, I said earlier that, you know, the further along we go in the series, the more disconnect there is between myself and the character. when you think of James Bond or Jason Bourne, when you see those characters, you know, James Bond is already 007 the first time you see him. And that's not the type of fictional, character that I wanted to create. I wanted to create a character that takes you on a journey and you see how that person, evolves, ups and downs, mistakes and all, and then becomes the person that you respect. So when you see the, the COVID of the book, Shadow one, you're thinking, oh, this is, this is the next James Bond. But no, he's a regular guy. You're going to see it and you. But throughout the first book he changes. Throughout the second book he's a little bit more different. And you're going to see in the second book the things that he starts to do. So by the time we get to the third book, especially by the time you get to the end of the third book, he is going to be that guy that you expected him to be the whole time. But it's going to be fun watching him, watching him getting there and going on that journey with him. my goal was initially to write a trilogy. So, I definitely have one more. I've got the, the outline written for the third book. But I, you know, I'll be honest, I have some ideas about potentially writing a fourth book. But for right now, I'm just looking forward to, to promote the second book, which is coming out March 27th. March 27th, Raven Shadow. And a few months from now, maybe towards the end of the year, I'll go ahead and write the third book.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 27:43

Well, besides your books, tell us about any upcoming projects that you're working on that listeners need to be aware of.

>> Derek Jackson: 27:50

Right now I'm really focusing on, promoting, I do have some, outside of Shadow one, I've got some ideas about some things that I want to write, but I want to make sure that I take care of this trilogy first. So, I'm trying to get out to some book signings, trying to get in some bookstores to meet some people. I'm going to be putting all that information on my website, which is Derek M M Jackson. So if you're interested, you can, you can join me there, send me a message. And if you have the book and just want to drop a comment, I'll be happy to follow up with you. Just let me know what you like about it what you don't like about it?

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 28:24

Well, that was going to be my next question. Website Derek mjackson.com so close us out with some final thoughts. Maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about, that you would like to touch on any final thoughts you have for the listeners.

>> Derek Jackson: 28:36

Well, hey, I am, I'm a person who never thought I'd write, but I learned that writing has become one of the most rewarding things I've ever done in my life. You know, I go to work every day, and sometimes when I'm in the middle of writing, I sometimes daydream at work a little bit. Don't tell my boss I said that. But I'm thinking about, you know, how am I going to get through this next scene? I, learned in the first book as I was writing that if it's a very important scene, don't try to force it. Just let it come to you and try to find the inspiration. And I didn't know it, when I was writing the first book, but music is my biggest inspiration. And I can't look for a certain song. It's just, I'm listening to music and I'll hear a certain song and it will remind me of a scene that I have to write. And then I would listen to that song over and over and over. Sometimes I just walk around the house or walk down the street through my neighborhood. And sometimes that I'll do that for days, just listen to that same song over and over. And I can see that scene, scene play out in my head as though I'm watching a music video. And all the emotions from the song are, kind of seeping into my mind as I'm planning out how I'm going to write it. And then I'm able to use those emotions from the music. And I put that into my writing. And I think it makes the writing in the scene a lot better.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 29:54

Ladies and gentlemen, Derek M. Jackson.com. please check him out and pick up them at Book Series and Derek, once again, thank you for your service and listeners. Please be sure to, follow rate, review, share this episode to as many people as possible. Also, please sign up for the Living the Dream newsletter and follow the show. Keep up with everything that the podcast is up to. Share the show and the website to everybody. That website is www.craveball337.com. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And Derek, thank you for all that you're doing and thank you for joining me.

>> Derek Jackson: 30:31

Thank you, Chris.

>> Curtis Jackson (also known as DJ Curveball): 30:33

For more information on the Living the dream with Curveball Podcast. Visit www.craveball337.com until next time, keep living the dream.