the green flame

a reply to: Zaphod58

is it possible to develope something that can fly equally well at hypersonic and modestly supersonic speeds?

like dash at hypersonic speeds to target for time considerations. then slow down to only mach 3. release payload. climb n hit go fast juice and book out of dodge. let sat or other asset guide bomb in while you skedattle.

all you would need to do is make the platform reasonably stealthy within the required parameters?

I would figure there would be a lot of issues to tackle, and significant challenges to defeat to make the thing ultimately stealthy enough to manage the mission requirements, but that it may be possible if people really want to make it happen.

probably easier Said than done but hey, billion dollar budgets n all, who knows.

a reply to: Sammamishman

If the "green lady" had strike capabilities, would that not make more folks in the know? I.e. it seems easier to compartmentalize an ISR platform with say a contractor or small team running the missions and simply providing commanders the resulting intelligence, rather than having radar types dealing in real time with utilizing assets in a strike package?

I guess it could still be an asset to the most squirrely agenices or commands, but it wouldn't really be available for conventional means. I would picture a black project that still has strike capabilities as something that would say, take out a nuclear site in Iran or someplace.

I'm just curious how these black assets are utilized and keep their compartmentalization I guess is what I'm getting at.

originally posted by: SonOfThor
a reply to: Sammamishman

I'm just curious how these black assets are utilized and keep their compartmentalization I guess is what I'm getting at.

By having the DIA so far in your pocket that if you cough they can tell what the cafeteria served for lunch that day.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I guess someone has to make sure people stick to there NDAs. I can't remember if I mentioned it on a thread here, but I remember getting a phone call about someone who the DIA were looking into. The reason I got the call? Because I went on like 3 dates with his daughter and we hooked up a few times (I never met or knew the man once). Kind of crazy how far their reach goes when you think about it. Not saying it is a bad thing - we need to protect our secrets.

a reply to: SonOfThor

my guess is people can indeed keep secrets if motivated properly.

a reply to: SonOfThor

The DIA is the one organization I hope I don't piss off. Very few people have heard of them, but I've heard some horror stories about people that screwed up. And yes they do watch ATS. A fairly well known poster on here posted what was to us a fairly innocuous picture. Not long after he received a phone call stating he WOULD take it down and stop talking about it.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: SonOfThor

The DIA is the one organization I hope I don't piss off.

Yup.

"I just had a long painful first discussion with the two mid-level DIA analysts that are assigned to find who you are" is really sort of a downer.

a reply to: Bedlam

I've heard you have to have your sense of humor surgically replaced to work for them.

a reply to: Bedlam

I wholeheartedly agree, not the folks to piss off. It was interesting when the DIA contact on the phone asked me how well I knew the guy's daughter, as well as recommended I steer clear from her (this had been like months later and hadn't spoken to her since), but it was definitely kind of a wake up call to the fact that there is and always has been extremely active counter-intel going on.

I do a podcast with my Canadian friend about Liberty, and we joke about the NSA being our most loyal listeners. Maybe I should go ahead and ask them for some HD copies of our material...

a reply to: Zaphod58

I can vouch for that. When he asked me about how well I knew the daughter of the guy they were investigating I made a semi-off color comment that would make most people with a brain chuckle, but the dude was colder than ice. Actually pretty creepy.

Also creepy was when I saw a pretty prominent Washington Post article about this guy like a year later and made me double glad nothing got serious between me and his daughter...

a reply to: SonOfThor

NSA ain't got nothing on the DIA. They're legally allowed to do what the NSA was doing since they're responsible for monitoring the security of black programs.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Bedlam

I've heard you have to have your sense of humor surgically replaced to work for them.

Having to have heart-to-hearts with those guys or DOE is an interesting experience I'm not in a hurry to ever repeat.

a reply to: Bedlam

Speaking of DOE, we think we went past the entrance to one of their facilities out by Creech. Long dirt road heading back over the mountains, big scary gate facility.

a reply to: Zaphod58

There's nothing up that road but an agricultural research station.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Bedlam

Speaking of DOE, we think we went past the entrance to one of their facilities out by Creech. Long dirt road heading back over the mountains, big scary gate facility.

While I mostly interact(ed) professionally with the two Tampa groups or the MSIC guys, I thought I knew about all the major DIA installations, and I am not aware of one at Creech. YMMV.

eta: yeah, what he said.

a reply to: Zaphod58

We were thinking it was the gate for Yucca mountain maybe.

a reply to: Bedlam

I had a job interview (I'm a Contracting Officer by trade) with some interesting folks in Tampa. I have my Master's and Bachelor's and around 5 years experience as a GS-13. The interview went fantastic, then they called me back the next day to tell me they hired someone who had 2 MBAs, a Law degree, and 25 years contracting experience.

Needless to say that "dream CO job" will have to wait until the later stages of my career. Hey - at least its a nice place to retire!

originally posted by: SonOfThor
a reply to: Bedlam
I had a job interview (I'm a Contracting Officer by trade) with some interesting folks in Tampa.

There is more crap that goes on in Tampa than you can shake a stick at.

I wish I could tell the whole story of my summer jobs there after I got out of the Army. It took years for me to untangle who I was working for and what I was doing.

originally posted by: Krakatoa
a reply to: Zaphod58

There's nothing up that road but an agricultural research station.

good good......let the conspiracy flow through you.

DIA ?
I though "The Acivity" handled all the the USAP stuff and weird stuff.
THEY are the tactical unit anyway.