Those of us who have been there know that you don't get access to anything without "the Need to Know." How much does an Eighty year old retired General have "the Need to Know?" Zilch!
But it’s those connections. It’s those phone calls. It’s those drunks at Happy Hour.
“Hey buddy, what’s going on? I still have a clearance. Technically. What’s the harm?”
And since they’re using that clearance and former positions to make money, the info flows until the baton is passed to the next guy.