The term “need to know” is over-used I know, but perhaps ‘risk in knowing’ is more apropos. From my military experience, when someone said “you don’t wanna know” they were usually serious and right. True ‘black’ operators don’t give a [bleep] about the big picture or anything else except what is directly related to their mission - they don’t want to be bothered with it and they damn sure don’t want anything to keep them from doing what they choose to do best. These guys worked hard just for the “privilege”. Each one always wants to be in on the next op and will do all he can to make sure there are no ‘disqualifiers’ that could keep them from participating. Knowing too much of the right/wrong kind of info could make anyone too ‘valuable’ to risk in (likely) contact operations. For these and operational reasons, unlike their portrayal in movies, operators are in the habit of keeping their mouths shut and seeming unremarkable, if not totally anonymous - the last thing you'll hear is him bragging about his work. Last, most declassification protocols measure sensitivity “half-lifes” in overly cautious terms like 50 years and more, so security restrictions tend to outlive those who ‘were there’. Sharing classified info to those not cleared for it will get your ass burned big time - whether you’re still in uniform or not.
So the outrageous war stories not withstanding, I call ‘bullshit’ and hope his rotten ass is 'outed'.
