publ.cly available information is still classified, or that there Is a differerce
as to who you are or what position you hold in determining whether you ey
waive standing security cequiremenrs.
In a similar vein is the classification of the fact of an ai !rop,
Ex.
perience has dcmonstrated that the crew of a drop aircraft coc~ates under
such pressure during a dirup test thut code communicsaticns + re not pra’.
cal for transmitting essemial information fer operationa’ and safety pur-
poses, Therefore, airdrop Informatics is transnittced in the clear over
radio, which definitely indicates the fact of an airdrop anu bomb-vreivar
time. According to the guide such information would be pvide Confidentia!
Defense Information but, us noted, it is practically hindled as unclassif,ed
“In other words, the gu’te is waived for voractieal vuiposes but leayos
the Individual members of the Task Force subject to che threat of sreurte
violation for simtlar handling of the information.
It fs ccmelrtely digcon-
certing when one reads in a rcws mugazine tle fact of 4 classitied airdr~and the increased accuracy of that drop over the drop j,"blileiy announecd,
Mention should be made of the fact that there is a Jefinite Utference
of opinion between AEC ‘Vasiiington and the several field Sroups in ifc use
of Top Secret. Information which is routinely handled as Secret, a vers
hizh level of classification, at home stations and during fleid upere‘ions ‘s
effen geaded Top Secret at the Washington level, Such informatio. ca not
‘o sreded Top Secret and have operations cortiaue in the fleld. In wne
ciuatio.. a Top Secret RD teictype was received containiry caly inforrcauan
iat would have been graded, according to existing quides, ao higter than
Confidential Defense Information.
*An illustration of the us? of 3ec ‘nity elassiceation for ro isens of 2*ministrative privacy with the doeecer of strapment of per3zonnel we: the
eloasification of the inaccuracy of the, \icherokee) drop. It \-as
an open shot observed by unclearea newsmen With the gvtirul koouled * «f
all participants of the open nature of that detonation. It sas also common
kaowledge tnat the dctonation mircsed the target by a substantia! distance.
he decision to make the fact of that raiss Co: identia! Deternse inferm:.t194
not oaly seemed {nconsisteit with the. fact of an open shot and tke veoera'
philosuphy for classification of information, but also failed to .ccurnize chat
such incidents cannot be kept from the public even tnou¢h an atfempe cs
made to identify such inforimation as affecting the natio-2' defense snd secu-
city, with threatened prosecution fo. any pubiie leak. Past exp ri nce was
confirmed by the information leaking “t a number of potris, “whe us* of
security classification fur reaso.g of administrative priv>cy undermine. the
se. 'y program internally ag well as in the view of the Ame sic a ri’ tic.
*The fact that te open rhut pr. fdcd ictess by uncieared newsiren ¢>
the atoll ana “*: installu cog has shanged
lone stardime situation su tat
ope Ne
roecp
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