Orson Swindle
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| Orson Swindle | |
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| Born | March 8, 1937 Thomasville, Georgia |
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Florida State University Georgia Tech |
| Occupation | Federal Trade Commission |
| Spouse | Angie |
Orson Swindle, a decorated Vietnam War POW, was sworn in as Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States on December 18, 1997. He had previously served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce during the Reagan Administration.
He previously served as State Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1994 and in 1996 he was a Republican candidate for Congress in Hawaii's 1st Congressional District. In 1996 he held the incumbent, Democrat Neil Abercrombie, to 50% of the vote. Swindle served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel.
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[edit] Education
Swindle received his Bachelors degree in Industrial Management from Georgia Tech in 1959 and a Master of Business Administration from Florida State University in 1975.[citation needed]
[edit] Marine Corps Career
After graduating from Georgia Tech, Swindle reported to Marine Corps Base Quantico for The Basic School (TBS). After earning his wings in May 1964, he was stationed at MCAS Beaufort. On Feb. 1, 1966, he deployed with VMF(AW)-235 ("The Death Angels") to DaNang Air Base and flew more than 200 sorties in the Vought F-8E Crusader.
On Nov. 11, 1966, Capt. Swindle's Crusader was shot down while on a mission over the Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. It was his last scheduled fight. Captured by the North Vietnamese near the city of Vinh Linh, Capt. Swindle spent the next seven years being shuffled around various prison camps, including the notorious Hanoi Hilton complex. While in captivity, he shared a cell with future senator and presidential candidate, John McCain.
[edit] Politics and Lobbying
Swindle is a Senior Policy Advisor at the lobbying firm of Hunton & Willimas in Washington, DC. His specific charge is within the firm’s Center for Information Policy Leadership, which was founded to “develop innovative, pragmatic approaches to privacy and information security issues from a business-process perspective while respecting the privacy interests of individuals.” Their clients include American Express, Eli Lilly, GE, Microsoft, and Wal-Mart.
Swindle is also on the board of Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), an independent political advocacy group that seeks to eliminate waste, mismanagement, and inefficiency in the federal government. While CAGW describes itself as non-partisan, it has endorsed John McCain for president and donated $11,000 to his campaign or groups controlled by him. CAGW also has ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
[edit] In Popular Culture
"Orson Swindle" is the nom de plume of Spencer Hall, a college football blogger for Every Day Should Be Saturday.
