A Stitch in Haste

Is that what they're calling it these days?

The U.S. border inspector who ignored a warning to stop a man who had contracted a dangerous form of tuberculosis from entering the United States has retired, officials said yesterday.

Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said the officer no longer works at U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The inspector, an 18-year veteran whose name has not been disclosed, was under investigation and on administrative leave. The inspector was criticized last week at a congressional hearing on the case of Andrew Speaker.

My question is a simple one: since when does someone get to "retire" after only 18 years of employment?

According to this follow-through link from DHS, federal employees — like most people — must work 20 years to receive a pension, which is the normal person's definition of "retire." The only possible exception is if "Mystery Agent" is over age 62. But if that's the case, then he would have to have been over 44 when he started working for the Border Patrol. Who starts a career as a tertiary-level law enforcement officer at 45?

The answer to that question is somewhat easier: no one, by law: Today at least, one must be under 40 even to apply to become a Border Patrol agent. Did the age requirement change in the past 18 years?

Moreover, if "Mystery Agent" is under 55, perhaps even 57, then he is flat-out ineligible to retire, one way or the other.

So, given that there is scandal (not to mention XDR-TB) in the air, would it be an infringement of "Mystery Agent's" privacy rights if DHS were to disclose his age, and nothing more? Just to confirm that he was in fact eligible for (bona fide) "retirement" under federal guidelines?