From: FIELD1@NIEHS.bitnet (Jack Field)
Subject: Re: Teen Agent, Can you Hear Me? Teen Agent, Can You See Me?
Reply-To: scheaffer@netcom.com, david@cats.ucsc.edu, jac54@cas.org
Organization: NIEHS/DIR/SCL
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 20:02:14 GMT

Gentlemen,

Please forgive the intrusion into your thread but I thought you might be
interested in a word from someone who had a TOP SECRET/CRYPTO clearance during
armed forces related occupation between the age of 18 and 24.

I joined the Air Force in 1972 after three years of Junior Army ROTC in high
school (figure that one out).  Upon completion of Basic Training at San
Antonio, I was sent directly to the 49th Tactical Fighter Wing stationed at
Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico.  My job skill was in administration.  In
May of that year, we were deployed to reopen a closed base at Takli, Thailand
for the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing stationed in Da Nang, Viet Nam.  Our orders
read "FROM:  Holloman AFB     TO:  * * * * * .   But we all knew the only game
in town was in Southeast Asia.  Our goal was to provide a place for the 366th
to move to from Da Nang so "we could get all our boys out of Viet Nam".  Since
part of my duties included handling mail, distributing classified documents,
and occasionally acting as a courier, I was given a CONFIDENTIAL clearance
after a brief investigation into my personnel files.  I was 18 years old at the
time.

After my temporary tour of duty in Southeast Asia ended and I returned to the
states, I applied for and received a SECRET clearance in order to request a
position the Air Force has open on the east coast (my real goal was to get
closer to home).  I received my SECRET clearance after a BI (Background
Investigation) was completed by the FBI and local police in my home town.  By
that time I was 19.

The job I mentioned I applied for was with the 7602nd Air Intelligence Group,
which was stationed out of Bolling AFB but had a compound on Ft. Belvoir, VA
just outside DC.  Immediately upon arrival, an EBI (Extensive Background
Investigation) was performed delving even deeper by the FBI and who knows who
else into my 19 year old past for hints of subversive activities and generally
un-American attitudes.  Upon successful completion of the EBI, I received my
TOP SECRET at the ripe old age of 20 and held it till I separated the service
at age 24.

During my stint, we were provided pseudonyms and fake addresses which we
utilized during covert correspondence with our sites in unfriendly country's
embassies when gathering air power intelligence.  Passwords to access phones
and message traffic were changed monthly.  All our desks and safes had
combinations known only to ourselves and the security officers in charge. 
Also, on many occasions I have shuttled document-ation from the Pentagon to the
NSA, to the CIA, to the DIA, and elsewhere in the course of my duties. 
Needless to say, I was neither a spy nor some sort of special agent.  I was
simply an administrative specialist who required a high security clearance in
order to perform my duties handling classified materials on a "need-to-know"
basis involving their maintenance and destruction.

Being in DC during the time of the fall of Viet Nam, the Watergate hearings,
and Nixon's resignation, it was apparent that a considerable amount of paranoia
permeated the intelligence community during that period.  Various branches
cooperated with great reluctance between one another and the leaks were
maddening.  (Excellent example was Jack Anderson's daily newspaper columns
which often carried the same info I had just seen that morning in intelligence
debriefings.  It turned out he had a nephew that worked for Naval intelligence
who was feeding him the data as fast as it came rolling in.)

I have said all this to simply say that I personally do not feel it is beyond
the realm of possibility for branches of our military services (which are often
used as tools of government agencies) to recruit young men and women, mold them
in the fashion they desire, and then offer them positions where the adventure
and excitement of such a life would be very appealing.  Especially if you feel
that you are someone special with unique qualifications.  Lee Oswald, from what
I have read about him (as much as I can get a hold of), seemed to fall into
that category.  I do not feel being a 18 or 19 year old spy is that far
fetched.  Thanks for your time.

JLF