| EQUALIZER | The ___, US ex-CIA operative crime drama series (9) |
| NEESON | Liam, actor who plays ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills in the Taken film franchise (6) |
| ULTIMATUM | The Bourne _ _ _ _ _ _ , 2007 film in which Matt Damon played an amnesic ex-CIA assassin for the third time (9) |
| CORVETTES | US ex-serviceman welcomed by order of escort vessels (9) |
| EXCITABLE | Belt EX-CIA agitator when worked up (9) |
| GOLDBERGS | The _, US family sitcom set in 1980s (9) |
| NICKLAUS | Jack, US ex-golfer who won the Open three times (8) |
| HOMELAND | U.S. TV drama series starring Claire Danes as a CIA operative (8) |
| BRYANMILLS | Retired CIA operative played by Liam Neeson in the Taken film series (5,5) |
| AMNESIA | A condition suffered by ex-CIA agent Jason Bourne in the Bourne series of books and films (7) |
| DEUTCH | Ex-CIA director John, whose journal diskettes can't be found by the Pentagon |
| SOPRANOS | The ___, US crime drama - and the love story of Tony and Carmela (8) |
| POLICE | The ___, US police crime drama series (6) |
| VET | US ex-serviceman, seventy-five today? Much less than that |
| AUTOBIOGRAPHIES | Many books by US ex-presidents |
| FLOYD | ___ Mayweather Jr., undefeated US ex-boxer (5) |
| ESL | What many US ex-pats teach; abbr. |
| REACHER | Jack, US ex-military policeman created by British thriller writer Lee Child (7) |
| ELLEN | - - - DeGeneres, US ex-talk show host (5) |
| ROSEBUSH | Stood by US ex-president, one making bloomers (4,4) |