“When the Pentagon auditors see an eleven-thousand-dollar monthly default tied straight to your Social Security number, they’ll suspend your clearance.”

“How long do I have before the automated system locks me out entirely?” I asked.

“The change of command ceremony is September fourteen,” the lawyer said.

“The automatic flags will set off a full command review next Tuesday morning at zero eight hundred hours.

Unless this debt is shown to be completely fraudulent and cleared by federal authorities before then, your career is over.”

I gazed at the framed military prints on the office wall.