Orson Swindle

Orson Swindle (born March 8, 1937 in Thomasville, Georgia), a decorated Vietnam War prisoner of war, was a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States from December 18, 1997 to June 30, 2005. He had previously served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce during the Reagan Administration.

Swindle 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.

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.

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 February 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 November 11, 1966, Capt. Swindle's Crusader was shot down while on a mission over the Quảng Bình Province, North Vietnam. It was his last scheduled flight. 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.

Politics and professional relationships
Swindle served as executive director of United We Stand America and spokesman for Ross Perot's 1992 presidential campaign.

From late 2005 until August, 2009, Swindle served as a Senior Policy Advisor at the law firm of Hunton & Williams LLP in Washington, D.C. His specific charge was 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." The Center has approximately 40 corporate members including American Express, Eli Lilly, GE, Microsoft, IBM, Procter & Gamble, and Wal-Mart.

Swindle serves 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. Throughout its history, CAGW has been accused of fronting lobbying efforts of corporations to give them the appearance of "grassroots" support. In part, this is because CAGW has accepted donations from Phillip Morris, the Olin Foundation, the Bradley Foundation, Microsoft, Merrill-Lynch, and Exxon-Mobil. CAGW also has ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. 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.

On September 2, 2008, he gave the opening speech on the second day of the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota, during which he introduced veterans and fellow prisoners of war in the crowd. He also introduced President George H. W. Bush, who ran against Swindle's candidate Perot in the 1992 presidential election.