Jack Gregory Downing (October 21, 1940 – June 27, 2021) was an American field officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

[1] His father, John, served as an officer in the United States Navy and was killed in the Pacific Theater at the start of World War II, when Downing was only a year old.

He was also special assistant to Stansfield Turner during the latter's tenure as Director of Central Intelligence under the Carter administration.

When he took over the post, the agency was plagued by management turmoil and budget cuts, which led to a reduction in the number of case officers and poor morale overall.

[5] He worked with Porter Goss to increase funding for foreign espionage operations,[2] warning field officers in his first address to them after taking the reins that "trying to do more with less only means we will do nothing".

[1] Downing was also responsible for speeding up recruitment, enhancing training for spycraft and foreign languages, and resuming operations of stations in Africa.

[1] Together with former director Richard Helms, Downing played a key role in establishing the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation.