Thomas (Tom) McNear is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army and the first member of the Army Stargate program to be personally trained in coordinate remote viewing (CRV) by the father of remote viewing Ingo Swann, and the only member Swann trained through Stage VII (phonetics). Tom was a member of Swann’s five-person team that on June 15, 1984 remote viewed the planet Mars, and the only member Swann trained through Stage VII (phonetics). In 1985, Tom wrote the first CRV manual, Coordinate Remote Viewing Stages I-VI and Beyond, based on his training with Swann.
Author Jim Schnabel, in his book Remote Viewers: The Secret History of America’s Psychic Spies, stated that “Swann considered his true protégé to be Tom (McNear)... the formal prototype for the CRV-trained military remote viewer, the best that could be achieved.” Author Jim Marrs quoted Ingo Swann as saying, “Tom was ‘the first to finish all seven stages. He was better than me.’”
After serving in the Army’s remote viewing program from 1981-1985, Tom continued a successful career in counterintelligence and counterespionage. He was the leader of a team that neutralized eight persons committing espionage against the United States. He retired from uniformed service in 1997 and continued to serve as a civilian intelligence officer until 2019, culminating in 45 years of service.
Tom has a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Saint Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.