My character needs a job!

[cloudy]

I want her to work at the pentagon, something fairly high up, but not necessarily in the military. The only requirement is that she has to be "in the know" when things go from bad to worse, etc.

Help?

 

[feeeriek]

what about having them work for an organization like mitre?

 

[Zeb_Carter]

There are all kinds of civilians in high places at the Pentagon, some are advisors, department heads, consultants, all of which could be in the "know".

There was a short lived TV show called the...I think it was called the "D Ring", which is where all the covert plans are made, etc. There were civilians in that section that would have been in the "know".

I hope this helps. She could be an Assistant Undersecartary of Intelligence or some such.

 

[only_more_so]

I want her to work at the pentagon, something fairly high up, but not necessarily in the military. The only requirement is that she has to be "in the know" when things go from bad to worse, etc.

Help?

There are all sorts of possibilities that aren't military, but most of them would fall under the category "consultant". Engineers, psychologists, politicos, civil planners... There are also the former military, and of course secretaries who would definately be in the know.

 

[glynndah]

She could be ex-military working as a consultant.

 

[TE999]

I want her to work at the pentagon, something fairly high up, but not necessarily in the military. The only requirement is that she has to be "in the know" when things go from bad to worse, etc.

Help?

NSA, DIA, DSA and the CIA all have highly placed civilians in their ranks, to name a few.

Or there could be a fictitious agency if you're not trying for complete authenticity.

 

[cloudy]

NSA, DIA, DSA and the CIA all have highly placed civilians in their ranks, to name a few.

Or there could be a fictitious agency if you're not trying for complete authenticity.

Shows how ignorant I am....the only one of those I recognize is the CIA.



I'm not planning on going into great detail about her job, but she does have to be in place to see the world situation deteriorate, and actually know what's going on. (any more info, and I'll be giving my storyline away )

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

I want her to work at the pentagon, something fairly high up, but not necessarily in the military. The only requirement is that she has to be "in the know" when things go from bad to worse, etc.

Help?

I'm sure you're way to young to remember the Iran/Contra hearing's back during the Reagan years or the testimony of USMC Col. Ollie North and especially that of his admin. assistant, Fawn Hall.

She was a knock-out and everyone assumed she was like the non-typing bimbo's congressmen loved to hide on their payrolls. They were wrong. She was a classified employee with first-rate performance reports and opened her remarks to the comm by saying, "I'm Fawn Hall, and I know how to type." She then went on to run circles around the comm members.

http://students.westport.k12.ct.us/elsalvador/the%20working%20life_files/image003.jpg

Rumple Foreskin

 

[cloudy]

I'm sure you're way to young to remember the Iran/Contra hearing's back during the Reagan years or the testimony of USMC Col. Ollie North and especially that of his admin. assistant, Fawn Hall.

She was a knock-out and everyone assumed she was like the non-typing bimbo's congressmen loved to hide on their payrolls. They were wrong. She was a classified employee with first-rate performance reports and opened her remarks to the comm by saying, "I'm Fawn Hall, and I know how to type." She then went on to run circles around the comm members.

http://students.westport.k12.ct.us/elsalvador/the%20working%20life_files/image003.jpg

Rumple Foreskin

No, I remember the hearings....even watched them some. I must be older than you think, but thank you.

 

[glynndah]

Shows how ignorant I am....the only one of those I recognize is the CIA.



I'm not planning on going into great detail about her job, but she does have to be in place to see the world situation deteriorate, and actually know what's going on. (any more info, and I'll be giving my storyline away )

Good, now they won't have to kill you and TE for giving away secrets.

 

[slyc_willie]

There are numerous ways in which a civilian could have a job at the Pentagon, from being an aide to a civilian advisor.

She would almost certainly have to have a Government Service rank (and thus be employed directly by the Department of Defense). I would suggest nothing less than a rank of GS-9, which is comparable to a US Army rank of Second Lieutenant (the lowest officer rank), but her rank could be as high as GS-14 (equivalent to a Colonel).

Being employed by the government would, of course, mean your character has had a lengthy background check, which means she would not have any felony convictions, no history of drug abuse, etc. Depending on how 'paranoid' you want to portray the government in your story, she may also be subejct to random checks of her email and telephone records, etc.

Not knowing much about how the government and military work, you would probably not want your character to have a high rank, thus limiting how much actual interaction she would have with the higher brass. But even a GS-9 could have ultra-high top secret clearance, if that's what you're after.

 

[cloudy]

I'm leaning away from secretary, etc., because in the storyline I have planned, my protag is away from the pentagon when things go to shit, and she needs a position where she would be in constant contact, etc.

Damn, I sure do make things hard on myself.

 

[only_more_so]

The question is what sort of information should she be in the know of? The reason I ask is because top secret information is conpartmentalized meaning only the people who need to know the information would have access to it. Although that is the really juicy stuff, the only kind of juicy stuff might only be secret.

Anyway, if you know what sort of information the person would be getting, it would make it easier to narrow down who might be given access to that information.

 

[TE999]

Shows how ignorant I am....the only one of those I recognize is the CIA.



I'm not planning on going into great detail about her job, but she does have to be in place to see the world situation deteriorate, and actually know what's going on. (any more info, and I'll be giving my storyline away )

You are far from ignorant, pretty lady.

They are not exactly household words or common knowledge.

DSA--Defense Security Agency

NIA--National Intelligence Agency

NSA--National Security Agency

Rumple is also correct--often mid-level personnel are privy to most information, they just have no control over what goes on.

 

[cloudy]

okay....see if this would work, for those of you who know more about this than I do:

If she was some sort of CIA type, maybe the one that several operatives report to, and things started going bad starting in the area where her operatives are, would she know the whole situation, or most of it?

And what would her title be?

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

No, I remember the hearings....even watched them some. I must be older than you think, but thank you.

Bless you, I needed that.

Just a last thought on jobs. You can always call her a "consultant" in whatever field is involved.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[slyc_willie]

okay....see if this would work, for those of you who know more about this than I do:

If she was some sort of CIA type, maybe the one that several operatives report to, and things started going bad starting in the area where her operatives are, would she know the whole situation, or most of it?

And what would her title be?

I'd suggest making her a GS-11, civilian advisor to the pentagon via the NSA (National Security Agency). She would have her own office and those working under her, and when the shit hits the fan, she would be 'in the know' regarding most of it.

 

[slyc_willie]

She could also be employed by one of many civilian companies that have regular military contracts, such as Boeing, McDonnel-Douglas, Microsoft, or nearly any communications company.

 

[cloudy]

She could also be employed by one of many civilian companies that have regular military contracts, such as Boeing, McDonnel-Douglas, Microsoft, or nearly any communications company.

I should know more about this, since my dad had a top secret clearance (head of a division of Raytheon that designed guidance systems), but I guess I was too young/didn't pay much attention.

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

She'd be the control agent, sometimes called, a handler. Jargon will vary from agency-to-agency, country-to-country, and between time periods.

I like TE's suggestion. And add to slyc's list: Halliburton. Under normal circumstances, I'd think she would be in the know. Of course, what she might not know, but should, could be key to a plot.

As for lingo, you might try this link: http://www.themasterofdisguise.com/glossary.html

Rumple Foreskin

 

[only_more_so]

okay....see if this would work, for those of you who know more about this than I do:

If she was some sort of CIA type, maybe the one that several operatives report to, and things started going bad starting in the area where her operatives are, would she know the whole situation, or most of it?

And what would her title be?

Either the CIA or the NSA would be good for what you're talking about. The thing to remember about "developing" situations is that even the best information is going to be only so-so if it comes from on the ground operatives. They can only see so much of the picture and quickly relate a smaller portion of it.

There are also a lot of people who analyze satellite data, or data from other sensors. This could mean monitoring phone usage (even phone calls), radio broadcasts, even tapping into alarm systems. Basically assume any electronic information can be processed and intercepted. Again the question is how much of it can be understood at any given time.

So assume half the information is wrong at first, maybe even 90%. The magnitude of the situation might be clear, but not how its going to fall out.

 

[cloudy]

She'd be the control agent, sometimes called, a handler. Jargon will vary from agency-to-agency, country-to-country, and between time periods.

I like TE's suggestion. And add to slyc's list: Halliburton. Under normal circumstances, I'd think she would be in the know. Of course, what she might not know, but should, could be key to a plot.

As for lingo, you might try this link: http://www.themasterofdisguise.com/glossary.html

Rumple Foreskin

Coolness! Thanks, Rumply!

Either the CIA or the NSA would be good for what you're talking about. The thing to remember about "developing" situations is that even the best information is going to be only so-so if it comes from on the ground operatives. They can only see so much of the picture and quickly relate a smaller portion of it.

There are also a lot of people who analyze satellite data, or data from other sensors. This could mean monitoring phone usage (even phone calls), radio broadcasts, even tapping into alarm systems. Basically assume any electronic information can be processed and intercepted. Again the question is how much of it can be understood at any given time.

So assume half the information is wrong at first, maybe even 90%. The magnitude of the situation might be clear, but not how its going to fall out.

Thanks...that helps.

 

[drksideofthemoon]

You could make her a translator, or an intelligence analyst...

 

[Guest]

Just don't let Karl Rove find out her name, or your story will end too soon.

 

[rgraham666]

Just don't let Karl Rove find out her name, or your story will end too soon.

On the contrary, having him blow the character's cover would be a great way to have the bottom fall out.

The bad guys go, "I know her! Crap. Time to dump the Lysergic Acid Diethylmide in D.C.s water supply."

Oh wait. Who's going to notice massive weird and psychotic behaviour in D.C.?