A Classified Information Review of The Defect by Jeff Bailey

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At a recent event, an associate of mine raised the question of a ‘classified information release’ review of The Defect. I have had a security clearance for most of my life. The federal government issued my first clearance to me when I was 19, in support of my work on the Army Nuclear Weapons Program. I’ve had a clearance issued for virtually my entire working career (save the year that I was a real estate agent earning money to return to school.) As such, even though I’m retired, I have certain responsibilities for the safeguarding of the classified information that was part of my assignments.

I talked to a Classification and Intellectual Properties attorney from the national laboratory where I worked for seventeen years. All of my most recent classified work was for the laboratory. I received some surprising answers and a wealth of supporting information during the interview.

First, let me say that I was extremely well received. The classification review attorney took my inquiry seriously. Even though the meeting was formal, the attorney that I talked to was courteous to the point of friendly. He even made several suggestions for future reviews.

Now, as to the results of the interview, I’m limited in what I can say. I can say is that there was an interview. As part of classified information protection protocols, I was cautioned not to pass on what we talked about, what decisions were made (if any), or what actions I must take (if any.) Anything that I write might be coupled with other information to imply a classified detail.

If I suggest that he liked The Defect, it would suggest that he did conduct the review. If I suggest that the attorney expressed a desire to read The Defect when it comes out, that would imply that he did not read the book as part of a classified materials review. All I can state as fact is that I inquired about my obligations in the matter and that the attorney and I are satisfied with the results.

Even information that is no longer classified is closely protected. If the government releases a fact that is no longer classified, the knowledge of what was once classified may lead to someone imply what is now classified. The attorney used the example: we know that the American’s had flintlock muskets at the start of the American Revolution. An enemy sympathizer could overhear the soldiers complaining about extra rifle training. He could couple this fact with a newspaper article noticing that the government market for musket balls was waning. Together, the seemingly unrelated facts might lead to the conclusion that the Americans had probably developed a better weapon. I can’t say that I removed classified information from the book or that I am releasing the book with some seemingly harmless declassified information included.

I approach this sensitive, but complex, subject in my current project, Wine Country. One of the investigators asks one of the antagonist if he recognizes the person shown in a picture. The antagonists doesn’t respond in any way (smart). He realizes that he is setting a precedent if he denies knowing the person in this picture and is willing to deny knowing the person. If he doesn’t commit on the person in the next picture, then his actions imply that he does know the second person (because he didn’t deny it.) Better to say nothing. The smallest piece of information can and will be used with other information to form a complete picture.

I did request a 'classified information release' review for The Defect. The classification review attorney and I are satisfied with the results of the interview. Deer Hawk Publications will release my book, The Defect, on schedule at the end of May 2016.

I based the story line for The Defect on my years of experience building, testing, starting up, and operating nuclear power plants for the U.S. Army, private utilities, and in research. I also derived elements of the story from the true events surrounding the meltdown of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Station in Pennsylvania and the assault by a hooded gunman on the Watts Bar Nuclear Power Station in Tennessee.