Age Is Not the Problem
As a lieutenant in the US Army, at one point I was in charge of message center operations for the US Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) Vietnam. I was assisted by another lieutenant. My assignment also included serving as Top Secret Control Officer for the unit. When my tour of duty began March 1, 1962, I was 24 years old. The officers’ commissions held by my assistant and me were the result of our having successfully participated in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) while earning our undergraduate degrees.
In order to carry out my duties as OIC I relied in part upon my fellow lieutenant, and we both depended upon a group of a dozen or so enlisted personnel. Among them were three senior noncommissioned officers with significant years in the military. It was these noncoms who exercised direct supervision over their respective work shifts.
Several of the other enlisted personnel were in their teens or early twenties. They read the message traffic and directed distribution to the proper MAAG office or personnel under the general guidelines provided. The noncoms would periodically review the distribution and occasionally consult either my assistant or me regarding a distribution decision. I am not aware of any breach of national security occurring in the MAAG Vietnam message center operations during my 13-month tour of duty.
Information that had appeared in the message center operation was on occasion revealed publicly during that time, but the breach came from other sources with access to the information. US military advisors were the most likely source. Disappointed with the response of their advisees or skeptical of the sufficiency of US support, US military advisors would share their concerns with members of the press, who were always willing to report the views of experts “on the ground.”
The recent flap regarding disclosure of classified information by a 21-year old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman has led some to question the age of anyone allowed to work with classified information. Acting in this manner would ignore reality and, in fact, insult the many young military, and civilian, personnel that our national security operations currently depend upon.
Lt. General L. Scott Rice (ret.), a former commander of all the country’s National Guard units, told WBUR, a Boston-based nonprofit news organization, that the military routinely trusts young enlisted members with deadly weapons and top-secret information.
“It’s a highly responsible job we give our youth. And most of the time---all the time, in fact---they perform accordingly. Every once in a while we have a gap. And seeing that is devastating, deadly and very, very sad.”
Rice might have also mentioned that the average age of US military personnel is 27 and most new recruits come from the 17-19 year old age group.
It also should be noted that Daniel Ellsberg was 40 years old when he provided the New York Times and the Washington Post the Pentagon Papers, a damning chronicle of the US role in Indochina. Edward Snowden was 30 years old when he leaked highly classified information about intelligence-gathering surveillance programs run by the US National Security Agency.
A breach of national security by a person of any age is ruinous and requires immediate and comprehensive rectification. In the Massachusetts case, it appears that the guilty party was motivated by hubris, not necessarily a characteristic confined to young persons. On the surface it would appear that local controls and oversight were too lax. The temporary assignment of the Massachusetts intelligence unit’s former mission to other US Air Force organizations seems to reflect that assessment. Age is not likely the key culprit.
It is a complaint we have voiced before. The American news media today talks too much about age as if it should be a determining factor in defining the value of someone. Some politicians have sought to take advantage of this propensity.
In 2022, the Democratic nominee for governor of South Carolina attempted to make age a campaign issue by arguing anyone over 72 years of age should not be allowed to hold public office. Joe Cunningham lost 58-42 percent.
Undeterred by Cunningham’s folly, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley began her quest for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in February 2023, by calling for mental competency tests for politicians over the age of 75. Haley, 51, has yet to offer any explanation as to how such a “competency test” would be drafted, nor who would do the drafting.
Sadly, the American news media continues to enjoy bantering on aimlessly about “age” as a factor in choosing political candidates. Joe Biden is the target at the moment. He is the first sitting president to reach 80 years of age and has announced he will seek re-election in 2024. If Biden wins, he would be 86 at the conclusion of his second term.
The likely GOP candidate for president in 2024 is Donald J. Trump who is 76 years old. There are frequent comments in the news media about his age as well, but Trump also has other baggage the media finds easy to reference.
The age of any candidate should not be a barrier to serving in public office. Minimum ages are listed in the Constitution for congressional offices and for the presidency, but no maximums. At the time of the Constitutional Convention life expectancy in the United States was 35, but thirty-seven of the 55 delegates were over 40, fourteen were over 50. Benjamin Franklin, the oldest delegate, was 81.
Biden’s age has not been identified as a detriment to his performance as president thus far. In some respects it probably has been an asset. He has been in positions of responsibility before where he has had to take the long view, where he has had to say no to supporters, and where he has had to endure the opposition’s power to block his goals. Experience can foster wisdom, which is never too abundant in human relations.
When candidates and the news media spend time and resources speculating about the impact of age, they are distracting the public, not informing us. There are serious issues and problems to be addressed, and age is not one of them.
https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/04/14/massachusetts-military-secrets-national-guard-charges-teixeira
https://www.wyff4.com/article/joe-cunningham-sc-politician-age-limit/40391130
https://teachingamericanhistory.org/resource/convention/delegates/age/