He certainly seems to be in the know on all this. I've thought he must be ex-something or other. But maybe not.
You might want to check out Flynn, he knows his stuff too. I'm enjoying so far the first one of his that I've read.
He's a former something alright, a former insurance agent, who just happens to be a good storyteller, and is smart enough to talk to the real experts about the technical details, although he still gets them wrong on occasion.