Staff Writer

NEW BRITAIN -- Pick a number between five and 10 and look deep into the eyes of former U.S. counterintelligence agent Dr. Archie Savage.Avoid a quick blink of your eye and that twitch in your cheek, or else he’ll guess your number every time.

And if you are hooked up to a lie-detector machine, your chances of fooling the veteran polygraph examiner are almost nonexistent.Extensive training in the area of physiology and the physiological aspects of anxiety on people is his specialty.

In 1951, Savage recalls meeting two men who took him to a nondescript location and presented him with an offer he couldn’t refuse.They offered him a job as a counterintelligence agent.

"They told me that they could offer me a career and all the education, adventure and travel, and money I could want.Of course I said yes," Savage said.

For over 20 years, Savage moved from country to country, not staying in one place for more than two years at a time, working as a "spy catcher."

"My first experience in the field was great.I was trained in unarmed self-defense, lock-picking, and lie-detection,"Savage said."I wasn’t afraid."

According to Savage, his experience in lie-detection, coupled with his Masters degree inPsychological Counseling afforded him the opportunity to travel where he wanted.But making movements all over the world, including to Japan, France, Saigon, Vietnam, Bankok and Korea, he had to move his family often.

"To be effective, you have to keep moving, so I would move to another location, and then move my family to a different location. I think that was probably the biggest challenge for us as a family,"Savage said."Because they couldn’t move with me everywhere.

"Sometimes I would go away for a year and not see my family, and very often I would be in places of danger or in a place where only bad news was coming back to America, and I know that was hard on the family too."

Savage couldn’t divulge many details about the different assignments he had worked on, but he worked on some of the big cases in American history, including the John F. Kennedy assassination.

"I worked on elements of the JFK investigation, as well as that of Robert Kennedy -- investigating the reason that they may have been assassinated," Savage recalls."I was also involved in the exchange of a high-level Soviet spy for an American spy in the late 50s.

"Espionage is a very serious business.It is a very dangerous job, being captured and capturing spies.But it was much more exciting than what you see on television."

Savage retired from counterintelligence in 1973, and began a career working on behalf of diversity.

"I worked as the director of diversity, in affirmative action and equal opportunity at Central Connecticut State University and the University of Connecticut health center,"Savage said."I’m retired now from that as well, but I worked hard against discrimination.It’s very important to me, especially growing up in a time when I experienced it first-hand."

Savage was recently appointed to the Fire Board Commission and feels like his experience as a citizen is what will benefit the board.

"My professional background, and more importantly, my background as a citizen will help,"Savage said."I don’t know firefighting, but as a person with a lot of experience around the world, I think I can be of service to the Fire Board Commission," Savage said. "I don’t think that people are appointed to that board because they have some great firefighting expertise, or because of political affiliation. I’m honored to be selected by the mayor for this position and impressed by him and the fire chief. I think I can be of service just being myself."

Franchone Fraser-Ben Reuben Bey can be reached at ffraser@newbritainherald.com or by calling (860) 225-4601, Ext. 221.