Classified carelessness is disturbing

To the editor:

I noticed two recent editorial cartoons that touched on the recent leakage of classified information.

One depicted a homeowner hiring a plumber and the plumber replying to the homeowner’s inquiry asking how bad the leak was, and the reply was, “Pentagon Bad.”

The other asked how a 21-year-old could “steal” classified information.

It’s pretty apparent that the handling of classified information has really gotten lackadaisical in recent years.

Both the current sitting U.S. president and the previous one were caught “red handed,” so to speak, with classified documents in their private residences.

Neither will likely ever be punished to the fullest extent of the law over this issue, however I would be willing to bet the lowly national guardsman will be.

As a person who once held a top-secret level clearance myself, in the performance of my duties as a logistics coordinator for a deployed U.S. Navy Battle Group of Warships and Squadrons, I can assure you that it was drilled into our heads on a quarterly basis, with constant refresher training, just how serious the divulgence of highly classified information and documents was to our mission and to national security.

We were held to very strict standards as to how we processed such information and, more importantly, what we did once finished with it.

Taking it off of the base or ship to your private residence, or even to your personal berthing compartment quarters, simply was not an option.

We would have been subject to extremely strict punishment, up to and including a full court martial and even imprisonment had we been caught with classified documents outside of the scope of our workspace or assigned areas.

It’s quite apparent that if the commanders in chief are so lax and careless with handling it, that it’s something that literally goes all the way to the pinnacle of the chain of command.

It’s disturbing to say the least.

Respectfully,

James D Fulks III

Dunkirk