Clandestine service
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The Clandestine Service is the unofficial name for the United States Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Operations, which operates covertly in foreign countries. Clandestine Service officers are what most people mean when they think of a "CIA agent". Agents, however, are the sources recruited by the Clandestine Service officers.
The Clandestine Service consists of three different types of officers:
1. Collection Management Officers - they are the connection between the Operations Officer in the field and the US foreign policy community, both in the United States and abroad. They guide the collection of intelligence and direct the dissemination of that intelligence. Managing the collection effort requires contact with US policymakers to determine what they need to know, and then communicating those requirements to the Operations Officers in the field for collection. They must understand operations and local operating environments, as well as maintain substantive knowledge about the countries and issues against which the Agency is collecting information.
2. Staff Operations Officers - These officers provide the various forms of fast-paced operational research and case management support needed by their colleagues overseas. They develop substantive expertise on their assigned area in order to enhance their interaction with field-based officers, and provide advice and counsel on events in the field. This track requires officers who can work quickly to establish contacts throughout the entire Agency to meet field requirements.
3. Operations Officers - These officers are also known as "Case Officers" and are responsible for the actual recruitment of sources (agents) or collecting intelligence themselves. They work undercover, both diplomatic and non-official.