People who I get to meet
So, usually, I get to meet lots of cool people. And most of them are nice people, too. It's kinda funny, though, when people keep calling me, "ma'am," especially when they are OLDER than I, sometimes by quite a bit. I keep wanting to tell them, "but I'm not old enough to be called ma'am," however, I refrain as it's nice to be treated with so much respect. Though, I think it may be the badge that does that for me... :-P Usually, people are incredibly helpful to me. I have yet to decide if it's my friendly, outgoing personality that wins them over, or if it's my "playing dumb," about military stuff... Of course, my stupidity isn't *all* for show - a lot of it is perfectly real! I have no qualms admitting that - yes, I'm stupid. I bet you never thought I would say that. You should definitely record that, save it and copy it somewhere, because you'll probably never hear it again. Anyway, the more stupid I seem about military stuff, the more helpful people are. They volunteer extra information about how things work. They also use their directory systems (that I don't have access to) to help me look up lots of information that I wouldn't be able to find on otherwise. It's so nice!
So, let me tell you about the one not so nice person who I met a while back... We'll call him Bob. I was doing a neighborhood check (which means I go and talk to neighbors of the person who I'm investigating and ask them questions about my subject). I knocked on one door, flashed my badge, explained who and what I was and that I needed to talk to him about his neighbor Joe (again, making up a name). Bob invited me in, I gave my little Privacy Act of 1974 speech, and then asked his name. Bob wouldn't give me his last name. I explained that I needed it for the record and Bob still wouldn't give it to me. He just said, "I've got nothing bad to say about Joe - he's a good guy. Why do you even need to talk to me?"
"We talk to neighbors basically to confirm information and ask if they've seen anything suspicious going on."
"Why do you need to know that?"
"Because we are investigating him for security clearance and have to make sure that he's been honest with us, and that he doesn't have any questionable associates who might be a threat to national security."
"Does Joe know you're talking to me?"
"Yes, I have arleady interviewed him, and he knows that I will be speaking with his neighbors."
"Well, I've got nothing bad to say about him."
"That's great - would you mind if I ask you some specific questions about Joe?"
"I guess so."
"So, Bob, would you please give me your last name?"
"No, I'll answer your questions - I've got nothing bad to say about the guy - but I'm not gonna tell you my name."
"Well, Bob, if I can't get your whole name, there's no point in my taking up any more of your time." Of course, in my head, I was thinking - and no point in wasting any more of mine... "Thank you and have a good evening."
So, I left and was not very happy. From the conversation, you can't really tell, but basically, Bob became more and more agitated as the conversation went on. I don't believe he was as familiar as others have been with the investigations process. This was my one and only bad experience, so far, and I'm hoping that I don't have another for quite a while!
So, let me tell you about the one not so nice person who I met a while back... We'll call him Bob. I was doing a neighborhood check (which means I go and talk to neighbors of the person who I'm investigating and ask them questions about my subject). I knocked on one door, flashed my badge, explained who and what I was and that I needed to talk to him about his neighbor Joe (again, making up a name). Bob invited me in, I gave my little Privacy Act of 1974 speech, and then asked his name. Bob wouldn't give me his last name. I explained that I needed it for the record and Bob still wouldn't give it to me. He just said, "I've got nothing bad to say about Joe - he's a good guy. Why do you even need to talk to me?"
"We talk to neighbors basically to confirm information and ask if they've seen anything suspicious going on."
"Why do you need to know that?"
"Because we are investigating him for security clearance and have to make sure that he's been honest with us, and that he doesn't have any questionable associates who might be a threat to national security."
"Does Joe know you're talking to me?"
"Yes, I have arleady interviewed him, and he knows that I will be speaking with his neighbors."
"Well, I've got nothing bad to say about him."
"That's great - would you mind if I ask you some specific questions about Joe?"
"I guess so."
"So, Bob, would you please give me your last name?"
"No, I'll answer your questions - I've got nothing bad to say about the guy - but I'm not gonna tell you my name."
"Well, Bob, if I can't get your whole name, there's no point in my taking up any more of your time." Of course, in my head, I was thinking - and no point in wasting any more of mine... "Thank you and have a good evening."
So, I left and was not very happy. From the conversation, you can't really tell, but basically, Bob became more and more agitated as the conversation went on. I don't believe he was as familiar as others have been with the investigations process. This was my one and only bad experience, so far, and I'm hoping that I don't have another for quite a while!