No DD-214, no job.

For about a year I had a day job writing training materials for King of Prussia, Pa.-based Allied Security (now Allied-Barton).

I don't breathe well in cubicles and I eventually fled that job, but I liked the company. One of their organizing principles is the idea that high turnover increases costs and decreases quality in the private security industry. The company thus tries to retain and reward good employees by paying a living wage (substantially above the industry average) and offering decent benefits to all full-time workers. I liked that about them.

Anyway, part of my job was training the company's site managers in "recruiting and retention." This is where I learned about the all-important DD-214.

Many of the very best people in private security have prior experience in law enforcement or the military. Some of the very worst people do too — but in their case that service usually ended badly. You want to hire as many of the former as possible while avoiding the latter at all costs. That's where the DD-214 comes in.

This form, the "report of separation," tells you why and under what conditions a person has left the military. Produce a DD-214 that shows you met your military obligations honorably and you're on the company fast track. Produce one that says otherwise — or fail to produce one at all — and your job interview is over.

I am not interested in the typographical capabilities of the IBM Executive Model D typewriter. Nor am I interested in the latest round of questions about gaps in President Bush's record of service in the Texas Air National Guard. Why bother with the "latest round" of questions when the first round of questions remains unanswered?

I want to see the man's DD-214.

Right now, of course, George W. Bush is not applying to work as a security officer at the mall. That's good news for him, since without producing a DD-214 he cannot get the job. Instead he is applying for a second term in office as the president of the United States. Lucky for him, the electorate — and the press corps — are not as demanding as the recruiters for the private security industry.

(P.S. If you've never seen a form DD-214, there's a .pdf file of one here. It notes that Lt. John F. Kerry served honorably.)