The Guy in the Yellow Tie: The Untold Battle to Expose Corruption, Reclaim Honor, and Fight for the Soul of a Nation

5 Star Review

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Editorial Book Review:

By Sebastian Mercado

Some stories take years to tell because the fight they describe hasn’t finished yet. Adam DeRito spent more than a decade writing The Guy in the Yellow Tie, and the length of that process is itself part of the story.

DeRito attended the United States Air Force Academy beginning in 2006, serving undercover as an informant reporting cadets for sexual assault. On what should have been graduation day in 2010, he was pulled aside and told he would not receive his diploma or his commission. The official reason was fraternization with a subordinate. DeRito has spent every year since arguing that the real reason was retaliation for his whistleblowing, and that the Academy added false mental health diagnoses to his record to discredit him. In 2019, the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records expunged those diagnoses, finding no evidence to support them. He has since been promoted to captain in the Colorado Army Reserve, a moment he publicly called a day of vindication.

Written with co-author Lynn Smargis, the book lays out that long arc in full: the original betrayal, the institutional resistance, the paper trail of appeals and corrections, and the personal toll of fighting a bureaucracy that had every reason to outlast him. DeRito frames it as a battle not just for his own record but for the principle that those who report wrongdoing within military institutions deserve protection rather than punishment.

Books like this one matter because the systems they describe prefer silence. Whatever one makes of the unresolved disputes still surrounding his case, DeRito’s willingness to put the full record on paper and let readers assess it is itself a form of accountability. The Guy in the Yellow Tie is a combative, determined memoir from someone who has refused to let the official version stand unchallenged.

About the Author

Adam DeRito

Adam DeRito is a military veteran, intelligence professional, whistleblower, educator, podcast host, and political advocate whose life reflects the cost of standing up for the truth.

As a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy, he helped expose misconduct, only to face retaliation and institutional betrayal. Despite these challenges, he continued serving with the 19th Special Forces Group, deploying to the Middle East and experiencing events that reshaped his understanding of service, sacrifice, and faith.

Following his military service, DeRito dedicated himself to teaching, advocacy, and exposing abuse of power through the Dark Sabre Podcast and Tuxes & Tomahawks Podcast. He also championed the Military Mental Health Justice and Protect Act, known as the DeRito Act, seeking greater accountability and protection for service members.

His book, The Guy in the Yellow Tie, chronicles resilience, faith, personal transformation, and the courage to challenge powerful institutions. Outside his advocacy, he enjoys fitness, history, travel, and time with Luna, his beloved dog.