Working In The Black World-Classified

By Major Van Harl USAF Ret

Black World
Working In The Black World-Classified
AmmoLand Gun News
AmmoLand Gun News

Wisconsin –-(Ammoland.com)-  The Colonel was being assigned to Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I was teaching high school in Mississippi and it was the best paying job I had, had since I retired from the Air Force. So moving and losing my teaching job was not really what I was looking for.

Something however happened that had never happened before. I was approached before I even got to New Mexico to get a hold of a private security firm as soon as we arrived in Albuquerque. A job interview was waiting for me and I did not even have to ask, “they” came looking for me.

At that time there were over 80 tenant units on Kirtland AFB, many working on things that had nothing to do with flying airplanes. Most of what goes on at Kirtland is known as working in the “black world.

The “black world” is the classified world, the world of secret, top-secret and top-secret with lots of letters after the word secret. It is the world of black-money that comes from the Government and very few people know where it goes and how it is used. And if you do not have a classified clearance you will never find out who is paying for what, and just what is happening behind those closed doors. Even if you have a classified clearance that does not mean you have a “need to know” anything.

The first week I am in Albuquerque I put on my suit and head for what I believe (because they came looking for me) is a slam-dunk job opportunity. A retired AF Chief Master Sergeant met me at the door all smiling and genuinely very happy to see me. He ushered me into a retired AF Colonel’s office and a very cordial interview began. My degrees were discussed. My years as an AF “cop,” including, being a commander, teaching at the police academy, being on two civilian police departments and teaching high school were reviewed. They were very happy with my credentials and my abilities.

Then the question of my security clearance was asked. When they did the public math working backwards from the current date to the day I had retired from the AF the smiles vanished and the interview ended right there. I did not have a current, active top-secret clearance and their original belief I did, was the true reason I got the interview, not all of my training, ability and leadership experiences.

As I was shown to the door I was advised by the retired Chief that if I went to work for someone else and got my top-secret clearance back please, get a hold of him.

A first-term Airman with a high school diploma and none of my resume filling background, but who had a job in the AF that required a classified clearance was and still is more marketable in the “black world” than me.

The military will hire a new active duty member and pay them sometimes over a year while they wait for a classified clearance to come through. A civilian contractor has no room in their budget to hire, pay a salary and pay for a background check and have a person not working in the classified world they are being paid to work in.

This is why an alleged mentally ill, first term, ex-Navy Seaman, can get a job working for a company who has a contract to provide services in the “black world” of the Department of Defense (DOD) and then use that access to kill twelve employees on a Naval Yard. Sadly in the contracting world a warm body with an active, current, security clearance is more important than the potential unreliability of that person who has demonstrated personality, mental health or even low grade criminal problems.

The “black world” is about money and appropriations that the normal world need not worry its’ pretty little head over. Every time you take a classified uniformed position and replace that Soldier with a DOD civilian or (allegedly to save the taxpayers more money) a contractor-civilian you increase the chances of problems.

I am not trying to cast aspersions on civilian employees. The overwhelming majority, do an excellent job in the defense of our Nation, but they do not fall under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. If they want to create a crisis for America and then skip town or skip the country (to visit Mr. Putin) it is a lot harder to pull them back to justice if they do not wear a uniform.

Always remember the contractor does not issue the security clearance to their contracted employee, the DOD does. DOD owns’ the clearances and have great power to control the use of the clearances and punish those who fail the Nation.

However, it is about money and it will always be about money. If you want to hire a third party to do your classified life-saving or life-threatening work, sometimes you truly get what you pay for.

Major Van Harl USAF Ret. / [email protected]

About Major Van Harl USAF Ret.:Major Van E. Harl USAF Ret., a career Police Officer in the U.S. Air Force was born in Burlington, Iowa, USA, in 1955. He was the Deputy Chief of police at two Air Force Bases and the Commander of Law Enforcement Operations at another. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Infantry School.  A retired Colorado Ranger and currently is an Auxiliary Police Officer with the Cudahy PD in Milwaukee County, WI.  His efforts now are directed at church campus safely and security training.  He believes “evil hates organization.”  [email protected]