Another year has passed with COVID-19 still dominating the headlines. The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) reported continued improvements in background investigation timeliness and a stable number of investigations in the inventory. The Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals (DOHA) Board reviewed 462 initial DoD security clearance denial appeals in 2021 as of their last posting. Of those 462 appeals, 335 denials were upheld, and 127 were granted clearance eligibility. As in previous years, financial issues continue to outpace all other issues combined. There was a marked increase in the number of denials involving illegal drug use, mostly stemming from the increased number of states who have legalized marijuana use.
Allegiance to the U.S. once again produced no security clearance denials. Misuse of IT Systems and Handling Protected Information produced fewer security security clearance denials in 2021 over 2020.
BREAKDOWN OF DENIALS BY ADJUDICATIVE GUIDELINES
Below is a breakdown by adjudicative category of the types of issues involved resulting in the initial denial (Note – many cases involved multiple issues):
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RESOURCES FOR CLEARANCE HOLDERS
For those seeking or already holding a clearance visit ClearanceJobs.com and the ClearanceJobsBlog forum to browse through the enormous amount of valuable information posted by subject matter experts and those who have already gone or are going through the security clearance process. It’s normal to be worried about how different life events might impact your clearance process. No one wants to see their career in national security end before it really gets a chance to start, so be sure to check for completing your SF-86, getting through your background investigation, or other tips.
