
Basic training isn't the same as experience in field work, knowing what to do doesn't mean knowing how to do T T.
Until now he has barely done any field mission in all those years (just two, one that did go south). And not being in his area of expertise, I can see why he would make so many mistake and fumbling around people that have experience doing it.
I would say he was contracted because his good in TI shit, is patriotic and has a clean history, field agents are gold but it's important to have people backing them up in tracing, hacking and information security
(For a fiction work it seems plausible, but putting a person like that in field is what the real CIA people wouldn't do at all, I HOPE).
I really want to see how peter joined the CIA. Like were the admission people high or what?