[OT] USA - TSA Obstructing Armed Pilots?

On Wed, 24 Dec 2003 22:43:18 GMT, "Dudley Henriques"
wrote:


"Ed Rasimus" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 24 Dec 2003 18:23:28 GMT, Mike Marron
wrote:

"Dudley Henriques" wrote:

I don't have a clue what DH is alluding to.

Basically, what I'm "alluding to" is that although there's no problem at all
discussing security clearances in the generic sense as you have done here;
if you personally have a security clearance, or even HAD a security
clearance, discussing that clearance, and anything associated with it's
relationship to you personally is bad juju! In fact, I would even go so far
as to say with all due respect, that although the generic information you
gave is fine, I would not have included the fact that you personally had a
clearance, even though the fact can be assumed. A quick call to any local
FBI office will I'm sure confirm this for you if you have any question about
it.
Dudley Henriques

Well, although you may have good reason for what you say, in my
experience, both in the military and in industry, there was never any
problem in the statement that one possessed a security clearance. In
fact, in industry, your company ID badge displayed stars to quickly
identify the level of your clearance. Two stars = secret, three stars
= TS. And, your access to specific compartmentalized programs (i.e.
"black") was displayed with a letter and number code in an "egg crate"
at the bottom of your badge. It was easy to determine if someone had
access to a program by looking at your badge and theirs--same numbers
and in a cleared location, OK to discuss if they reasonably had "need
to know".

The FBI had nothing to do with security clearances for active duty
military and AFAIK, nothing to do with industrial access which was
handled by an NSA sub-office called "DISCO".

Seriously, there's nothing magic about security clearances. The
security issue is not who has one, but what is accessible after the
fact. There is little to be gained in status by possession of a
clearance and nothing to be added by ascribing some sort of "bad juju"
to the system.



Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8