Security clearance mobility is a frequent hot topic. But beyond clearance reciprocity and transferring eligibility, suitability and credentialing are often equally important. One common factor that comes with suitability or a need for access is a Common Access Card. In short, yes, you can have multiple Common Access Cards with your signature to physically access your government worksite and respective networks/systems. And you will likely need multiple CACs if your position requires multiple work locations or agencies.
A CAC is essentially your ID card that is issued to get onsite at military installations and for access to government networks. CACs are distributed to all types of eligible national security personnel, including active-duty military, civilian employees, and contractors. Like security clearances, contractors must be sponsored by a government entity who validates that they fulfill the eligibility, background, and identity vetting conditions.
One ClearanceJobsBlog subscriber writes:
Does anyone have experience with or know of a contractor supporting work at two (2) separate agencies (e.g., Marine Corp and Air Force) at the same clearance level? This is work as a Contractor, not a government employee (civilian). All work would be completed under one company. Hoping to be able to use separate CACs with separate contractor emails and access.
Thanks in advance.
MULTIPLE COMMON ACCESS CARDS
After being hired on to a contract, the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) helps in issuing your CAC. Your CAC is either for active military (.mil), as a civilian (.civ); or a contractor (.ctr), and the login token is your CAC email signing certificate, which is basically the last part of someone’s email.
Having multiple CACs is fairly common. Under ‘Dual Persona’ from Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) policy – the agency under the Office of the Secretary of Defense that manages personnel, manpower, and other data for the DoD – personnel can have two or more active identities, each having an individual CAC.
Most are aware of this ‘Dual Persona’ or having multiple CACs, but sometimes you run into an individual who may not be aware they have this designation, which may happen when someone has transitioned from one DoD role to another like transitioning from active duty to becoming a contractor or federal employee. Each CAC has the same signing certificate so DMDC can recognize the correct identity during login.
While some may welcome the multiple CACs and separation provided by differing email domains, others have pointed out the headache of managing multiple badges simultaneously. At an Intelligence and National Security Alliance event earlier this year on security clearance reform, President and CEO of Peraton, Stu Shea noted that he had four separate badges for IC agencies, and implementing an approach to access that is more streamlined could prevent headaches.
