Security Clearance Jobs Blog

This afternoon I posted a brief overview of the already brief annual report on the security clearance process released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

The meager report is primarily data, leaving analysis to the reader.

The motive for demanding release of this data (I believe) is (1) general oversight of the number of security clearances granted by the government; and (2) that the reporting of investigation lengths serves as a check on agencies.

But only a few years after the 2010 law required the report’s publication, the Senate Intelligence Committee approved the ODNI’s request to axe it altogether.  Eventually oversight groups clamored and the committee backed off.

I’m curious to know:  Do you believe this is an apt accountability mechanism for the security clearance process, or is this report just a perfunctory exercise (and interruption for ODNI) mandated by law?  (And maybe it’s not enough oversight.)  And second, since what’s most important is not the report’s data itself but the conclusions gleaned from the (albeit cursory) information therein, what’s your insight/analysis on the numbers?

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Today, clearance veteran William Loveridge offered his insights for tackling the legendary “Standard Form 86” (SF-86)/”electronic Questionnaire for Investigation Processing” (eQIP).  Among his recommendations?

- Certain things you know are required, so start gathering the info in advance, such as: Employment history Address history Current copy of your credit report

- Be sure to familiarize yourself with accessing the eQIP website – it will fast become your friend.

- Sometimes you can ballpark dates, sometimes specifics are required. Loveridge will guide you on when you can use both.

- Generally, no single answer will be determinative of your clearance evaluation, so don’t be afraid to (indeed, be sure to) mention that DUI from a few years ago. Honesty is the best policy.

Oh, and you know how they always suggest printing a copy for your records?  DO IT.  Although the eQIP system is built to retain the info forever, poor Bill found out the hard way mistakes can happen.

Read more about completing your SF-86 here.

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Security clearance reciprocity, adjudication timeliness and leveraging technology to increase efficiency were all topics addressed at this week’s Security Clearance Reform hearing on Capitol Hill. Senator Daniel Akaka, Chairman of the Senate’s subcommittee on oversight of government management and the federal workforce, questioned a panel of government leaders on the progress of clearance reforms.

The general consensus was that much progress has been made over the course of the past several years, in moving the security clearance process off of the GAO hot seat and into a position to be, in some ways, a model for similar reform efforts in standardizing government processes. But despite the forward movement, much remains to be done, specifically in the area of reciprocity and communication across agencies.

The Performance Accountability Council (PAC) is responsible for many of the clearance reforms today’s applicants will note, including updating the security clearance application (SF-86) and instituting quality metrics. Today, initial investigations take an average of 44 days, compared to 189 days in 2005, noted Akaka.

Remarks from Gene Dodoro, comptroller general at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, emphasized the progress in security clearance reform as indicated by the removal of the program from the GAO’s high-risk list. Despite forward movement, however, he also emphasized that continued leadership emphasis and public attention would be needed to ensure reform efforts continue.

Dodoro specifically noted the need to reduce redundancy, leverage technology, and conduct an honest assessment of which positions require clearances and what level of clearance is required. “There’s a huge difference in the amount of money that’s used to implement a top secret versus a secret clearance,” Dodoro said.

“For fiscal year 2012 OPM’s standard base prices are $4,005 for an initial investigation of a top secret clearance, $2,711 for an investigation to renew a top secret clearance, and either $228 or $260 for an investigation for a secret clearance. As we reported in February 2012, these base prices can increase if triggered by the circumstances of a case, such as issues related to credit or criminal history checks,” noted Dodoro’s testimony. “Further, the cost of getting and maintaining a top secret clearance for 10 years is almost 30 times greater than the cost of getting and maintaining a secret clearance for the same period.”

Dodoro urged that requesting a lower level clearance when a higher one isn’t needed, as well as evaluating continued need for higher level clearances during periodic reinvestigations would likely result in significant savings for the federal government.

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Other testimony largely focused on the issue of reciprocity, and leveraging technology to facilitate timely adjudication for personnel, which is deemed both critical to safeguarding classified materials as well as ensuring a quality workforce.

“A timely process is important because delays in processing security clearances can cause delays in placing qualified individuals in the cleared positions that are needed to accomplish our many missions,” said Elizabeth McGrath, deputy chief management officer, U.S. Department of Defense. “In some cases delays may result in highly qualified applicants withdrawing themselves from consideration for positions and the government losing out on these potential key contributors to our workforce.”

When it comes to clearance reciprocity, McGrath made the case for DoD’s Case Adjudication Tracking System (CATS), initially developed by the Army and now in use across the Department of Defense as well as the Department of Energy. McGrath noted that the Social Security administration was set to deploy cats in FY 2013. The CATS e-adjudication capability as greatly reduced the amount of manual processing required, said McGrath.

Merton Miller, associate director of the federal investigative service of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) noted that Electronic Questionnaires for Security Clearance Processing (eQIP) is the “gold standard” for electronic application throughout the federal government and has made a significant impact on clearance processing times and accuracy. OPM currently receives over 99 percent of its applications through e-QIP, Miller noted.

Overall, future clearance reform will focus both on leveraging technology to increase agency reciprocity programs, as well as continued emphasis on the topic of overclassification – both in terms of classified materials themselves, as well as the numbers of cleared personnel.

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As the person who reviews the comments posted to articles at ClearanceJobs.com, I can tell you the clearance process produces a lot of questions. Despite efforts to make the security clearance application (SF-86) more understandable, oftentimes questions remain as to what to include – and what not to.

It seems Steve Jobs had the same problem.

Documents related to Jobs’ security clearance continue to be released by Wired, who requested them through a Freedom of Information Act request. (Some have been surprised to learn that SF86 information has been deemed publicly releasable, and wonder if the same would hold true for the average citizen).

Wired reported that Jobs had not included a 1975 arrest for a traffic infraction on his Personnel Security Questionnaire. When investigators found the arrest and interviewed Jobs, he said he hadn’t included it because he didn’t consider the minor incident an “actual arrest.”

Like other security clearance applicants who face a difficult clearance process, Jobs had to provide a written response to clearance concerns. In it he outlined his occasional drug use and purchase of drugs, the traffic infraction, and even how he constructed a Blue Box device at the age of 14, which was capable of making long-distance phone calls.

The Jobs security clearance files point to both how complex the security clearance process can be as well as how critical it is to be completely forthcoming on any illegal activity. Most issues – from drug use to criminal conduct – can be mitigated over time. But failing to include such details on your SF-86 will cause investigators to question your honesty, not your memory.

If you can’t remember how often you used drugs or if you don’t know if that run in with police at a bar in college was really an “arrest” air on the side of inclusion, rather than leaving it out. Then take the time to explain the incident in question.

Also keep in mind that if your behavior was particularly egregious, you’ll want to bring in a few character statements from those who can confirm you’ve changed your ways.

Jobs eventually got his top secret security clearance.

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If you ask around the common perception seems to be that getting a security clearance costs sponsoring companies or agencies a lot of money – this is a case of perception not meshing with reality, however. The cost of investigations is published, with the average cost for OPM investigations at $1,230 per investigation.

The most significant and in many cases difficult to assess cost is in non-productive time while an employer waits for an employee’s clearance to be processed. It’s a key reason why already cleared personnel remain in demand – it’s because they’re easier, and cheaper, to get on the job quickly. That said, as processing time continues to decline even this cost is decreasing.

Read the full article on how much security clearances really cost here.

COMPARE:  Prices of OPM’s investigative products for Fiscal Year 2008.

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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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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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The Defense Security Service (DSS) recent issued its “Stakeholder Report 2011,” summarizing its history and mission and detailing its recent achievements and notable cases. The report includes some statistical data for fiscal year 2010 (page 8). Of interest to most cleared contractor personnel is a brief explanation of “Incident Reports” (page 16) and how they are handled by the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO). An Incident Report is submitted whenever a company Facility Security Officer becomes aware of adverse information concerning a cleared employee. “DISCO receives about 8,000 incident reports a year and typically recommends about 120 interim suspensions a year to the DSS Director.”

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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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On December 22, 2010 the Office of Personnel Management announced that in February they will begin a phased implementation of the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) version of the new March 2010 Questionnaire for National Security Positions (Standard Form 86—SF86). A copy of the new SF86 has not yet been posted to the OPM forms site, but was to be distributed to other investigations service providers before the end of December.

The last version (July 2008) of the SF86 was phased in over a period of about 5 months from September 2008 to January 2009.  DOD contractor personnel were among the last to begin using the form.

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