Jeffrey Ringel

Jeff Ringel is Director of Operations for The Soufan Group. In addition to managing day-to-day operations, he is responsible for all security matters and maintains liaisons with outside agencies.

Jeff is a 21-year veteran of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was Crisis Management Coordinator for the New York Office, handling the rapid deployment and operation of the NYO’s response elements, and supervised a counterterrorism squad responsible for investigations of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS. He rose to the rank of Coordinating Supervisory Special Agent for the NYO Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) Extraterritorial Branch, managing the investigations and deployment of JTTF personnel throughout Europe and Africa.

He started his career in 1995 in the FBI’s San Francisco criminal division, conducting gang investigations. In 1997 he transferred to the New York Office, where he conducted several high-profile gang investigations in the city. Following the 9/11 attacks, he was transferred to the Counterterrorism Branch. In the course of seven long-term deployments to Afghanistan, he collaborated closely with Department of Defense (DoD) and intelligence community agencies, along with host nation law enforcement, on a range of issues.

In 2007, he was on the initial joint FBI/DoD team that developed a program to locate and dismantle Taliban Improvised Explosive Device teams operating in Kabul, and effort that saved countless American and Afghan lives. In 2010, as Assistant Legal Attaché in Kabul, he was instrumental in developing a rule of law program for the Afghan legal system and received the CIA’s BG Richard T. Ellis Award for Excellence in HUMINT Collaboration award (2012) and the FBI Director’s Award for Excellence (2015). Assigned senior FBI advisor to the Special Operations Command, Central Command, he provided U.S. law enforcement expertise to military operational planning.

Jeff is a certified FBI SWAT operator, breacher, and sniper. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and was an officer in the Marine Corps, reaching the rank of major. He completed naval flight training and was designated a Cobra attack helicopter pilot. During Desert Storm he served as the air officer to an infantry battalion.