Karl Pflock was born and raised in San José, California, and read philosophy and political science at San José State University. While best known to forteans as an eclectic ufologist, he also managed to cram several conventional careers into his span on Earth. For two years after graduating cum laude in 1964, he worked for IBM in San José. From 1960 to 1966, he served in reserve units of the US Marine Corps and US Air Force, and then in 1966 joined the Central Intelligence Agency as an intelligence officer. He began freelance writing and editing in the early 1970s, and in 1972 joined the American Enterprise Institute as full-time senior editor.