Dr. Shoe Clerk among the Fighter Pilots of National Security Law

One of the read-aheads that I was sent for the third Legal Roundtable on national security reform tomorrow -- this time on the topic of intelligence reform -- is a 1997 classic article titled, "Fighter Ops for Shoe Clerks."

The article was written by two Air Force lieutenant colonels as a serious attempt to give attorneys an overview of Air Force operational language of the era, but it begins by highlighting the subcultural differences between attorneys and Air Force operators:

Shoe Clerk (shoo klurk) n. generally speaking, a person with close-set eyes, a sloping forehead, and thick spectacles; one who does not fly jets; a fighter pilot wanna-be; placed into groups, they constitute a FPLSS (fighter pilot life support system). "The pilot looked on with disgust as the shoe clerk, a man with cokebottom glasses, eagerly filled out the paperwork." See Paper Pusher, Lesser Being, Pencil-necked Geek.

Fighter Pilot (fi-tur pi-let) n. one who flies airplanes to avoid work; a graduate of pilot training, a program for ego-maniacs who aren't smart enough to get into law school; obsessed with fashion, wears a leather jacket to distinguish himself from shoe clerks; sells insurance to shoe clerks upon retirement. "The judge advocate looked on with compassion as the fighter pilot, crippled by attention deficient disorder, struggled to understand the issue." See Prima Donna.

I suppose the attorneys identify with "shoe clerks" and strive to be seen as legitimate by the national security "fighter pilots." But my suspicion, having worked for a Washington law firm before deciding to get my Ph.D., having watched one of my sons go through law school, and having worked in 2009 with a large group of attorneys at the Project on National Security Reform, is that Ph.D.'s are the shoe clerks and attorneys are the fighter pilots.

At the last legal roundtable, the five national security Ph.D.'s spoke very little, and the thirty-five national security Ph.D.'s were very loquacious, self-confident, and decisive.

Washington has been an attorney-run town for two centuries, and that is not likely to change tomorrow -- so I will have to check my ego at the door, despite the fact that I will be the only person in the room who wrote his dissertation on intelligence reform. So DrNatSecMgt and his overly large ego must put himself to sleep and wake up tomorrow morning as DrShoeClerk to spend a productive day among the valiant fighter pilots of National Security Law.