It’s a common question: What types of things can prevent someone from being approved for access to classified information or a security clearance altogether?
Adjudicators grade people on the whole person concept, so things like smoking pot in college aren’t necessarily a cause for security clearance denial (financial issues is the number one cause of denial if you’re tracking by the numbers). If you have a pattern of bad behavior and that bad behavior was recent and affected a few of the adjudicative guidelines, you may not be in the best position to gain access. But there are few hard and fast rules – don’t rule yourself out.
That being said, background investigators have seen it all. From subject interviewees refusing to talk to outright “What the hell were you thinking when you applied in the first place?” Think your background is saucy? These investigators have seen worse:
alanis Morissette is belting ISN’t it ironic
“SUBJECT had a brother who was in prison for smuggling people into the United States. SUBJECT was applying for a job with Customs and Boarder Patrol (CBP).”
Money, it’s a gas; Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
“How about the SUBJECT that was fired from a major employer, listed on the SF86 for the DoD contracting job he wanted but declined to discuss it. Told me his former HR told him that he was not allowed to discuss the termination, not even with the federal government.
Denied having any arrests in the last 7 years, even though I stressed having to report sealed or expunged records.
Then the bomb, “during the course of the investigation…” 1) I confronted on the two expunged misdemeanors he had recently paid to expunge (in a neighboring state) 2) the criminal investigation about him embezzling from his employer and their customers (reason for termination) 3) the upcoming court trial for the embezzlement charges. The trial was in less than two weeks.
He yelled so loud threatening me bodily harm among other things that the FSO popped into the interview room and sent the SUBJECT home. That was the end of the interview and the SUBJECT did not return to work, or the interview the next day.”
ALL MY SINGLE LADIES, Put Your hands up
“I used to be in a reserve unit with some investigators. They had some good stories. One that can be shared was the time a guy was doing a interview with a reference and asked, does Mr. Smith have any financial problems? And the response was something like, well, he does have it tough with two ex-wives but he does OK.
And the investigator thought to himself… two ex-wives? Did I miss something? He checked and there was no mention of them anywhere on the forms. Suddenly the investigator understood why a highly-paid engineer at a major aerospace firm was living in a room above a garage.”
And a little bit of CHICKEN FRIED
As field investigators are, well, in the field, you don’t expect to run into wild animals that YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY FIND IN A FIELD. But, sometimes you run across some creatures (both human and animal) and long for the retreat in your car as you commute home. Former security clearance attorney, Sean Bigley, noted once that “he has plenty of stories when it comes to the security clearance process: everything from being attacked by wild chickens to being cursed at to being threatened, but it was kind of just a part of the job.”
Best bet is to let your reference interviews know that a conversation is coming… especially if you’re from a rural area where the chickens may need to be put up in the coop.
It’s important to note that the whole person concept is there for a reason – we’re all human, and we all engage in youthful hijinks to some degree, and for some of us, into later ages. Patterns and recency are important, and I even heard of a two decade cocaine addict obtaining a security clearance in the later 90s. Hey, it was the sex, drugs, rock and roll of the 70s-80s. And they grew up.
I’ll end with this. One background investigator put it perfectly: “We could tell stories all day long, but only the adjudicators are going to be able to tell you what’s disqualifiable.” So, grade yourself against the adjudicative guidelines honestly if you are trying to break into the security clearance industry, and shoot your shot. Background investigators have probably seen worse.
