Gina Osborn was born “ready to roll,” chasing Cold War spies, foiling terrorist attacks, and tracking down cyber-criminals in her 28-year law enforcement career.
Law enforcement officials use the phrase to describe stepping into a precarious situation—where there’s no turning back. “Effective leadership starts in the trenches,” she said.
As a teenager living through the 1980s, known as the “Decade of the Spy” where espionage cases dominated headlines, Osborn aspired to become an international woman of intrigue working for the CIA.
After reading the “The Spy Who Wore Red,” written by Aline Griffith, about an undercover OSS agent during World War II, the character inspired her to pursue a career where she could make a difference accomplishing missions on a global scale.
“My father was a Marine, and my grandfather had sacrificed his life during World War II,” she said. “Though military service was a proud part of my family’s history, it had never been part of my plan.”
Enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1986, Osborn found herself chasing spies as a member of the Army’s Counterintelligence Program. She served six years, immersing herself in the highest-profile espionage cases in the European Theater.
During Operation Desert Storm, an Army specialist named Albert Sombolay sold sensitive troop deployment information and samples of U.S. chemi-cal protection equipment, exposing vulnerable allied forces weeks before the air bombardment of Iraq.
Racing against time, Osborn and her team’s investigation led to his arrest. She witnessed Sombolay being taken into custody.
“The Sombolay case exemplifies the gravity and impact of counterintelligence work,” she said. “It wasn’t just about stopping an individual but protecting lives and preserving the integrity of the mission during war.”
After she left the Army in 1992, Osborn became a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. She was assigned to the Los Angeles field office with duties in the Santa Ana office, a city over from her childhood home.
Osborn had numerous assignments, including investigating Asian organized crime on a task force in the Little Saigon District of Orange County, supervising counterterrorism investigations in Southeast Asia and leading the bureau’s most significant cyber investigations.
“As the sole FBI agent assigned to the task force, I worked alongside incredible partners on cases ranging from loan sharking to murder-for-hire. It was one of the most fulfilling times of my career.”
After 9/11, as the counterintelligence program coordinator in Los Angeles, Osborn established 15 new counterterrorism squads throughout the division to meet the unprecedented national security challenge.
Osborn retired from the FBI in 2018 and now hosts the podcast “Making Maverick Moves” to celebrate trailblazers and offer a masterclass in boldness to achieve maverick potential.
“Landing my dream job as a former spy catcher and FBI agent feels like the culmination of a lifetime of ambition, dedication, and resilience,” Osborn said. “That’s the real joy—knowing I lived the dream and made a difference.”