sounds like he Was the security officer - light colonel
here’s an interesting opinion that argues most ‘classified’ is overclassified and pretty much useless after 5 years
https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/op-ed/mc-opi-classified-documents-goodman-20230128-hnwkk2hkt5guzo4utzfjitprqq-story.html
As I recall President Carter changed the classification rules allowing the entry that a cable was either downgraded or declassified in three(?) years. When he left, so did that change. I agree, over-classification is a problem.