Assistant Director Walter Skinner is Mulder & Scully's immediate superior and appears to have little time for Mulder's methods of investigation although he appears to concerned with the conspiracy that Mulder & Scully are slowly uncovering. It is obvious that the Smoking Man had some influence on his decision to shut down the the x-files investigations. As time has gone by Skinner has worked to free himself of the Smoking Man's influence and he re-opened the x-files, telling Mulder, "That's what they fear the most". A former US Marine who volunteered for duty in Vietnam on his eighteenth birthday, plays it by the book. Skinner spent a traumatic three months in Vietnam which culminated in an out-of-body experience when his unit were ambushed by North Vietnamese. Skinner admits that the experience was extremely frightening and he isn't brave enough to go and find the truth himself. It's unclear how much Skinner knows but his actions in securing the contents of the DAT tape show that he is ready to assist Mulder & Scully to some extent.