The military is a community just like any other. It has its own social norms and stigmas. Its own cultures and subcultures. The intelligence community — and all its disparate and freaky sub-subcultures — is no different: a microcosmic analog of its macrocosmic parent. That microcosm has all the trappings of any community, complete with its own lingo, legends, and lore. What follows is an example of one such nugget of lore.
I say it’s lore since I can’t verify it. Doesn’t mean it’s not the truth, it just means *I* can’t tell you it’s the truth — no matter how many times I’ve heard it. This tale was originally told to me by an old Counter-Intelligence Warrant Officer. This guy had spent the vast majority of his career in Cold War Germany, and of that, a signifcant portion working in Berlin itself.
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