Maybe it's because I've held a Top Secret security clearance once...

[MineralMan]

60. Once I left the USAF, I left that entire business behind.

I didn't work in the field long enough, or at a high enough level for anyone to come asking if I wanted to work for them. Since I've been self employed since the mid 1970s, nobody has asked for any information on my security clearance, except for one time:

I got an assignment to write an article for a tire company. They had supplied the special tires for the "MX Missile Transporter," so my article would be about their tires in that particular use. To do the article, I visited the test center for that Transporter at the Nevada Test Site. That was an unusual situation, and the visit was delayed for a couple of weeks, while my clearance was rechecked. It was OK, and I made my visit, complete with camera gear, etc.

I did get a briefing about what could and could not appear in the article, of course, but I got a full tour of the facility, and even a ride in the Transporter, which was way cool. My military clearance level was enough, I guess for them to let me poke around. I kept well within their guidelines in the article, which was sent to them for review before publication.

I had another article idea involving that piece of equipment, and gathered all the info I needed for it. I proposed a "test drive" article for Road & Track, which did an annual test drive of some weird vehicle at the time. Sadly, that article didn't get written, because it got into areas that were classified at a higher level. I was disappointed, and so were the editors at Road & Track.

Life's interesting.