Security Clearance Jobs Blog

This week a budget analyst at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency filed a lawsuit against the NGA, seeking reinstatement of his Top Secret/SCI security clearance, it having been revoked after his union with an Islamic women with a number of affiliations with groups of “non-United States origin.” In the period between Mahmoud M. Hegab’s security clearance investigation and his arrival to work with NGA, he had married Bushra Nusairat,a Fairfax citizen and U.S. resident, and a graduate of an Islamic school and current employee of Islamic Relief USA… Continue Reading »

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The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has posted 4 new Federal Investigations Notices (FIN) on their website all dated August 29, 2011.

FIN 11-04—“Continuous Efforts to Align with Reciprocity Goals and Timeliness Standards.” This FIN fully implements interim adjustments made to National Investigative Standards by a August 2010 joint memorandum issued by OPM and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).  This represents a significant retreat from the 3-tier concept approved in December 2008 and fails implement one of the major purposes of Executive Order 13467.  E.O. 13467 called for a system where “Each successively higher level of investigation and adjudication shall build upon, but not duplicate, the ones below it.”  As long as suitability/fitness investigations are based on an SF85 or SF85P, there is no possibility that these investigations, no matter how current or comprehensive, can be used to grant a national security clearance, which must be based on the submission of an SF86. Continue Reading »

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On August 3, 2011 the National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC) report for March 2011 was posted at their website.  NISPPAC is made up of representatives from Government and industry and meets two to three times a year.  Meetings usually include presentations by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) on industrial security clearance processing metrics.  The March meeting also included a presentation by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on the activities of the Joint Suitability and Security Clearance Reform Team… Continue Reading »

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Federal prosecutors, the district court judge and a number of others are asking how Army Reserve 2^nd Lt. Scott Allan Bennett was able to obtain a top-secret clearance and work as a defense contractor, despite a 2008 misdemeanor conviction for lying to government officials, the Tampa Bay Online reports.

The story unfolds like something from a television crime drama….or an issue of the Onion satirical newspaper. Over the past five years Bennett has repeatedly lied to government officials, bluffed his way into meetings, offices, and in his current conviction, housing at MacDill Air Force Base.

An Army Reserve spokesman stated that Bennett’s TS/SCI clearance was obtained four months prior to his entrance into the 11^th Psychological Operations Battalion (a somewhat fitting occupation for a man of Bennett’s persuasion). Almost everyone seems to agree that regardless of how it happened, allowing such a person access to sensitive information is risky for a number of reasons.

ClearanceJobs managing director Evan Lesser, quoted in the Tampa Bay Online, says that government agencies need to investigate how Bennett got his clearance, what information he had access to and what he may have done with that information.

“It seems really difficult to believe that he did not have red flags from past behavior,” Lesser said. “Should somebody be concerned about this person? I would say most definitely. He had high level clearance and access to a fair amount of classified information at a very high level. It seems like somebody dropped the ball on this particular person.”

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Our popular ongoing series allows you to ask your most complex questions regarding security clearances and our regular contributors of present and former clearance investigators and adjudicators will try to answer them. The rules are listed below. Failure to abide by them will mean your question will be deleted.

NOTE: Due to the volume of questions we receive, we cannot answer all of them. Selected questions that have not been answered in the past will likely be answered.

If you would like a guaranteed private answer to your question, please see here.

Note: All questions are moderated. After you post, it can take up to a week for the question to be “live” on the site and our panelists to see it and answer it.

1. Please do not address a contributor by name to ensure anyone who has knowledge might answer.
2. Do not include your own name, email address, or other information that can identify you. This is a public forum and clearance holders have a responsibility for covertness.
3. If you have questions regarding careers, job hunting, salaries, interviewing, or other career-related topics, see the other threads dedicated to this purpose.
4. Provide full details about your case in your initial question thread.
5. Do not post your questions in previous versions of this thread.
6. Understand that the suggestions and comments contributors provide are their opinions only. The owners of this site are not responsible for the suggestions and guidance from outside contributors.

Note: If your post does not appear on this site, you may not be following the rules above.

If you would like a guaranteed private answer to your question, please see here.

Please read over previous threads to see if your question has already been answered. Use the Search tool to locate specific keywords.

Related Articles:

• Employment Suitability Versus Security Clearance
• Criminal Conduct and Security Clearances
• Drug Involvement and Security Clearances
• Rebutting and Appealing Security Clearance Denials
• Alcohol Consumption and Security Clearances
• Personal Finances and Security Clearances

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The Washington Times is reporting that investigators have falsified hundreds of top secret security clearance investigations, claiming to have conducted research that never took place. Court records showed 170 falsified interviews and more than 1,000 that could not be verified.

Individuals quoted in the Washington Times story report that the push to adjudicate clearances as quickly as possible, as well as the increased outsourcing of investigation specialist positions, contributed to the falsification. Others cited simple greed on the part of investigators who over-promised and weren’t able to deliver completed investigations.

“The monetary loss sustained by the government does not, nor cannot, represent the cost associated with potential compromise of our nation’s security and the trust of the American people in its government’s workforce,” said Kathy L. Dillman, associate director in charge of investigations at the Office of Personnel Management.

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The idea of a polygraph examination can make even those with the cleanest conscience a bit nervous. Like most looming events, the more you think about it, the worse it can seem (or in fact, turn out to be). The latest Cleared News article at ClearanceJobs.com offers sage advice for those with a polygraph exam in their future. Tips include:

• Don’t ask others who have taken an exam what theirs was like.
• Follow your usual routine before an exam – including that AM cup of coffee, prescription medications, and as your mother would tell you, a nice breakfast (if you usually eat one).
• Don’t believe what someone tells you about sexual related behavior being a standard polygraph question.

Read the full article for all of the tips and information.

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Interim security clearances are critical for many security clearance applicants. Unlike final clearances, which can take months, interim clearances can be processed in as little as a few days. They’re also crucial for agencies who need to fill positions quickly, without waiting months for the security clearance adjudication process.

If you’ve been denied an interim security clearance, don’t assume all hope is lost. Only about 1 percent of final security clearances are denied; the rate is 20 – 30 percent for interim clearances. Often issues that come up in the denial of an interim clearance can be mitigated through the interview and adjudication process.

Read the full article on interim security clearances and tell us your experiences in the comments section.

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It seems BRAC (the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure) is impacting just about everything these days – and security clearance adjudication hasn’t escaped the hit. At the heart of the matter is personnel – with 10 Department of Defense Central Adjudication Facilities moving to a joint location at Fort Meade, Md., expect some growing pains.

Five CAFs are already located within a 3-mile radius of the Pentagon, and not far from their new facility at Fort Meade. The problem will come from the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) and the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) personnel transferring from Columbus, Ohio. Many personnel from those facilities won’t move to the Washington, D.C. area and the process for recruiting, hiring, training  and certifying new personnel security specialists can be a lengthy one. As many as 80 percent of DISCO workers aren’t expected to make the move and with a competitive hiring environment in the Fort Meade area (we have hundreds of open positions around Fort Meade posted at ClearanceJobs.com) they face challenges in filling their open positions.

What you can expect is a longer than usual processing time for pending security clearances and additions to the adjudication backlog.

Read the full story here, and tell us if you’ve noticed delays with the adjudication process.

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DOD News Release on Security Clearances:

“The Department of Defense (DoD) released information today [February 25, 2011] about improvements made to the personnel security clearance process.  Over the past four years, the DoD has worked with the Director of National Intelligence, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Office of Personnel Management to streamline processes, make changes to policies, introduce extensive information technology improvements, and eliminate a backlog of approximately 100,000 pending cases.  These improvements led to a 72 percent reduction in the time it takes to process an individual’s security clearance – from an average of 165 days in 2006 to 47 days today….”

“The Department of Defense was steadfast in its commitment to substantially improve performance in this area,” said Deputy Chief Management Officer Elizabeth McGrath.  “Not only because of the personal inconvenience experienced by individuals when navigating the clearance process, but also because delays in processing security clearances can cause delays in placing highly-qualified individuals in the cleared positions that need them. . . .”

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