clancy despised marines... so, he could have been only 'so' smart... and, that betrays his connections- as in the realms he tapped into there is a very healthy competition that extends well beyond rivalry. the thing is, when the spooks recruit for their black ops teams, they usually go no further than the Marine Corps and their specialized units... when the action requires more than a few well equipped men to do it, they'll call in the Army's Compartmental Elements (ACE, the former Delta Force), and if they can't do it they'll bring in the Squeals of the old 'team six' now called DEVGRU (special developmental warfare unit), the only 'counter terrorist' group the seals own (the rest are anti-terrorist). if that won't do it, they'll tap a Marine MUESOC to do it..... each level lower getting larger and with more opportunity to be compromised.
it was a hot topic with some folks i used to work with.
the group Clancy was closer to was high enough to know things happening but not in the groups doing those things. and that group has a healthy dislike of Marines, and something Clancy adopted.
it's amazing how knowing just a few factors can give away a position.... else, Clany's contacts WERE Marines and he played that game as a diversion. ....could have been. who knows...
now insofar as anything Secret- there really is no such thing... everything leaves a trail. the trail that's hardest to cover is the logistics... diversions are used liberally. it's something i've always found funny/strange. for instance, my team was tasked with guarding a nuclear submarine in Mare Island Naval Shipyard... which we did... easy job and close enough to Valejo and wine country to get some weekends up there... then, they were loaded on trucks and shipped across the country... freakin common carrier i shit you not... taco bell/pepsi trucks to be precise... they had a lead and a follow with a team of naval personnel and DOE guys running interference at weigh stations- pulling in and flashing credentials saying "turn your closed lights on" waiting for a good long while after the principle had passed- and then saying 'thanks' and leaving...
missions and information is secret- not the personnel running the missions or collecting/using the information... watch those guys and you can also learn a lot.
