On September 9, 2016 I shared a few quick thoughts on national security community hiring standards since 9/11 and Iraq via Twitter. I felt the need to archive these tweets here in case I need them in the future. I hope you find them useful.
– Standby for some quick thoughts on U.S. national security community hiring standards since 9/11 & Iraq.
– After 9/11 & Iraq nearly every single U.S. Executive Branch department & agency related to national security activities grew.
– With this growth came some modifications to hiring standards.
– How do I know this?
– Before 9/11 & Iraq the Intelligence Community rejected me multiple times & after 9/11 & Iraq with plentiful billets & money they didn’t.
– In essence, 9/11 & Iraq opened some career fields to those deemed undesirable in peacetime (myself included).
– This was both good & bad.
– The good news is folks like me, who are not necessarily incompetent, were given opportunities.
– The bad news is that others slipped in that are incompetent & they now have titles on their resume that some may assume means competence.
– Fast forward to today, the current shrinking of the national security community, & punditry.
– Jobs in the U.S. national security community are harder to come by these days. Pre-9/11 & Iraq hiring standards seem to have returned.
– The pre-9/11 & Iraq hiring standards will now block opportunities for both competent & incompetent people.
– Regarding punditry, always research the Pundit before accepting what they have to say.
– Just because the Pundit has a certain title or background does not confer competency upon them.
– The Pundit may have been in the right place at the right time to earn a title & nothing more. Due diligence is your friend.
– End of tweet series.
