Security Clearance questions

[Guest dhmorgan]

Hello all,

I am a senior in ROTC and commission in May. I have been waiting for a year and a half for me secret clearance to go through, is that unusual? I was born in Australia and am techically a dual citizen but I only lived there for a year and have lived the the States since! Is this the effect of the US Patriot Act?

[Guest BBC]

Depends on the level of clearance. One of my classmates in the RAG was a dual citizen (here and Thailand) and for his TS he had to renounce his Thai citizenship. Don't know about lower levels.

[Guest dhmorgan]

I have been waiting for my secret clearance. A investigator interviewed me for 4 hours asking me if I would renounce my Aus. citizenship and of course replied "yes". I have a pilot slot, so I still have to apply and wait for that! Is this happening to anyone else?

[Chuck17]

Morg,

A guy I was in UPT with is going to fly 17s and was in a similar situation. He lived in Australia for several years, then moved back to the US and went to college here. He didnt recieve his SC for a LONG time, I believe well into his senior year and near the time he commissioned. Nonetheless he went to UPT and hasnt had any problems since. No worries, just hurry up and wait.

[M2]

Morg

Clearances take forever, especially the higher ones. I did a five-year update interview before leaving for Belgium two years ago and I still think it is being processed. I filled out the paperwork for the update 18 months before the interview. So at this rate by the time they get done I will be ready for my next five year update! But, In the mean time, I still have full access to everything you could imagine.

The collateral (secret) clearance all officers hold is pretty straightforward. I was born in Germany and I had no problem getting mine. Now I hold clearances that many people have never heard of. Heck, we always joke that our jobs are so secret even we aren’t allowed to know what we do! It’s all a part of the wonderful life we live in our giant bunker below Belgium. Florescent lights, stale recycled air, putrid walls without windows…are you sure you want that clearance?!?

Chuck's got it right, don't sweat it. Australia is a close ally of the US and having lived there won't effect your ability to get a clearance. Most likely it is just the administrative bumpf that has to happen before you are blessed to know "America's deepest and darkest secrets!"

Cheers! M2

[Guest JGriffis]

Hey guys, since this is my first post here i'll tell you a little about myself. I'm currently 23, a private pilot working on my commercial, and recently graduated college. I'm looking into joining a couple of local Guard or Reserve Units. I've already passed physical and ASVAB. I'm looking to go in as maybe a flight engineer or loadmaster, and then working and networking my way up the ranks with the hope of someday getting a pilot position. My question is when I enlist, will it hurt me or affect me having had a misdemeanor. I received a public intox ticket 3 years ago. What should I expect?? Thanks for all your help. All advice much appreciated.

[Guest drelyn8]

Don't sweat it. I had three misdemeanor's (sp) back in college for a college prank-- most fun I've had up to this date.

Since then I have been an Army pilot, Airline pilot, intelligence officer and starting in April an Air Force Pilot.

The only time things get really ugly is when DUI's are involved. Something no one wants to mess with.

Good Luck!!

[Guest JGriffis]

What will they ask me about the Public Intox ticket? So basically you're saying not to sweat it, just be upfront and truthful with them about it, right?

[Guest drelyn8]

As far as the Intox goes, just be truthful. Tell them the circumstances, tell them that you learned from it. You were young and having a good time and things got out of control. Basically you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. If someone gives you a hard time for that, then shame on them. We all have our bumps and bruises.

Take Care

[Guest Brandy]

Im wondering what information they will need for you security clearances? Do they what peoples names and phone numbers from how far back? High School? I talk to absoulutely no one from High School anymore nor would I know anyones phone numbers from way back when. I heard you also put people from the places youve worked. Ive had about a million jobs since I was 16 some of them only for a month or two and truly and honestly can not remember people I worked with names or phone numbers. I also attended a community college and did not talk one single person and I was told you have to put people down from there too. Who am I supposed to put down if I didnt talk to anyone? Anyway, let me know if my info is all crap and fill me in on any info about who/how many/from where I need to put down. Obviously if its REALLY in depth I should start doing some resarch of my own to find names and phone numbers, etc.

Thanks for any help!

[Toro]

You will need-

Every address you've lived in for the last ten years and somebody who knew you at the last five or so addresses. This includes dorm rooms (you need the building number, street address, and room number)

All your school dates, degrees, and addresses of the schools.

All your jobs in the last ten years to include employers and supervisor's name, address, and phone number.

The names, addresses, and phone numbers of three people who know you well (not used as references in any other portion of the form).

Names, addresses, phone numbers, date of birth of all your immediate family.

All your foreign country travel dates in the last seven years - even weekend trips.

Those are the detailed questions that most people have trouble hunting down. There are also the slew of "have you ever..." questions relating to illegal activity and police records as well.

[Guest jtpuro]

Has anybody ever messed anything up or accidentally forgot to list something on there? Anyone know someone who has been screwed by the security clearance??? Just curious if anyone has any stories...

[Toro]

Originally posted by Paul Campbell:

Please let me know if I'm incorrect, but I'm pretty sure that you back 10 years OR until your 16th birthday.

Depends on the question. Some ask "have you ever", some ask, "in the last 7 years," some ask "in the last 7 years or since the age of 16, whichever was shorter."

I don't know if they've gone from 7 to 10 years, but when I re-submitted mine a little over a year ago, it still said 7.

Originally posted by jtpuro:

Has anybody ever messed anything up or accidentally forgot to list something on there? Anyone know someone who has been screwed by the security clearance??? Just curious if anyone has any stories...

I'm sure somebody has. As long as it's an honest mistake, it's not a big deal - and you always have the chance to clarify things with the agent who interviews you. I don't think you can get 'screwed' by the security clearance unless somebody maliciously lies about your past. Generally if you got screwed, it's because you screwed up in the past and/or you tried to cover it up.

[Guest driftsight]

Anybody ever heard of an officer/pilot candidate denied a TS clearance?

I'm concerned I might have some problems getting one again (had a TS/SCI from prior service 6 years ago). I've had some financial problems the past few years - 60 days late on a couple of bills, an electric bill finally paid after a year, a ticket I didn't pay for 4 years (didn't know till now, money must have been lost in the mail). Other than that I'm golden. Should I worry?

[Guest JPritch]

Let me add to this post with a question of my own:

Can investigators weed out people who seem to have a vengeance against you? A coworker of mine was fired two days ago for poor performance. The bosses used my performance and name when confronting this guy about his performance. He has since called my employer and said that I, along with my supervisor, and other people on the job are all doing dope during breaks, steal from the job, and who knows what else was said. If, during the TS interview process, this guy is interviewed, am I screwed? Are their BS detectors finely tuned, or what?

[M2]

Drift/JPritch

First, I am not a Defense Security Service (DSS, http://www.dss.mil/) employee to take that into consideration, but I do have a TS/SCI and some other clearances I can't talk about, and I can tell you from personal experience that it takes a lot more than what you've described to be denied a clearance. Interviews and minor discretions that can be explained won't matter, convictions and more serious stuff like that will. the best free advice I can give is to be 100% honest with the DSS guys and if you are denied, then address it with DSS. However, if you are caught lying there are tons of ramifications ("falsifying an official document", etc).

Drift, I also had a clearance from my enlisted days that elapsed. That was more of a pain in the *** than anything else. They kept asking me why it elapsed, and I kept telling them it was because after I got cleared I didn't need it (it was for a different job I was being put into that never fell through).

Regardless, DSS does a pretty thorough background check for clearances, and more likely as long as you have never done anything seriously wrong, and you are honest about everything you have done, you shouldn't have a problem.

Cheers! M2

[Guest Cider]

First be honset...these guys are looking for a reason why you are trying to conceal something from your past. That will send up the red flags. I think most of the finacial questions are geared toward "are you a liability to be bought off by the bad guys?"

Another big thing to all out there. When you fill out that damn form 58, 59, or 69 (whatever it is, keep it all on disk. Reason being, you won't have to spend extra time trying to tract down references in your past. Surely most folks who've experienced the pain will agree!

[Guest laurendenise28]

driftsight,

I am worried about the same thing! I deferred a student loan, and now I am told it is not deferred and I am way past due. Some other stupid mistakes on my part from years ago and a huge pay cut to become a flight attendant while I wait for my exception to policy for my eyes... Being a flight attendant is a lot more fun than being in an office (but alot less money than the office) and here I sit worrying about my debt to income ratio and fico score for clearance.

[Guest jk227]

I have applied for a TS clearance. So far, the secret portion of it has been completed. It is just waiting for final a final signature. My investigation has been closed now for 7 months. I was told that due to the backlog of applications, they will process as soon as they can. Is there anything else that I can do to speed this along? Also, with just an interim secret, can I still be involved in any TDY type jobs until UPT begins? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Toro]

Originally posted by Joey:

Is there anything else that I can do to speed this along?

The only thing I would suggest is to kindly query your security manager or the security forces guy to check on the status of the application. I recently had to redo my TS and it took nearly a year and a half from the time I got my interview.

Also, with just an interim secret, can I still be involved in any TDY type jobs until UPT begins?

It depends on what you're doing. If your TDY doesn't require any clearance (I can't think of many pre-UPT casual jobs that would), then you're fine. There are plenty of people in the AF who have an interim or no clearance.

[Guest f16guard]

I was wondering about Bankruptcy. I have attended graduate school and have accumulated some debt and am considering bankruptcy. I have been accepted by a guard unit, it's been approved at the bureau, and I'm ready for AMS. If I declare bankruptcy, will that affect my clearance and/or my standing as an Officer in the military? It wasn't any foolish spending, just trying to get by during grad school with my wife and kids. Any help or experience in this question is greatly appreciated.

[Guest Wxpunk]

I'm pretty sure it will affect your security clearance. I think the train of thought is that you have financial deficiencies and you may be susceptible to a bribe in the future.

Obviously this isn't necessarily true in all cases, but it has to cross the clearance people's minds. Let's face it; they're paid to be paranoid.

My only advice would be to try all other avenues first. Find a legitimate, non-profit credit agency with a good history. See what they say. They may be able to help.

Another thing, you can request a hardship student loan deferral. Remember, these loans are usually backed by the government and have that option built in.

I guess what I'm saying is to apply bankruptcy like a tourniquet, use it as a very last option. Bankruptcy might very well crush your military aviation dreams, so think long and hard before doing it.

Good Luck!

--------------

Wxpunk

[Guest f16guard]

Here's the deal, I have a clearance now and wondering if that would be revoked if I did file for bankruptcy. Or, will the fact that I already have a clearance have any influence on the outcome of a new or updated clearance after bankruptcy. Thanks for the input. Any and all is appreciated. I start my AMS, UPT, ... in the next couple months.

[GreasySideUp]

Talk to the finance guys and the security people at your unit, they will help you analize the situation and take proper action. Those guys have probably seen most of these situations before and now that you have a slot they are going to help you keep it. You can get a lot of advice on this board from people that think they know what is right but you could still lose your slot if you don't talk to your people and do things properly. Give them a call or if you live there stop by with a bag of candy and see what happens. At the very least they will point you in the right direction. I can tell you for sure if you do declare bankruptcy on your own without consulting them and it comes back as a problem the first thing they will say is "why didn't you talk to us" and then you'll have a lot of splanin to do in addition to the work now needed to keep your spot. You are part of the family now and it makes them feel good to help a brotha out.

Good luck

-j

[ 08. August 2004, 11:20: Message edited by: GreasySideUp ]

[Guest hokie00]

I'll be attending OTS 05-02. I am currently a defense contractor and already have an ACTIVE SECRET Clearance issued from the DoD.

I got a call from an investigator recently and he was doing a SECRET level background check on me, as requested by the Air Force. I told him that I already have one and asked him if there is any difference between the one I have and the one Air Force wants me to have. I also asked him if there is a central number or a repository where the Air Force could call and look up my Clearance info and he said he has no idea.

And the files he had on me, it has my wrong social security number too! Is that why the Air Force didn't know I already have a clearance?

If Active Duty applies and gets into OTS, I'm sure the Air Force somehow looks up their information to see what kind of clearance they have. Can't they do that for civilians?

Let me sum up my questions. Someone please help me.

1. I have Active Secret right now. Do I still need to go through the whole thing again for the Air Force? Can't I just have my Clearance transferred? (thats what I did when I changed jobs).

2. Isn't all clearance stored in a central repository? For my former job, I worked with active duty air force personnel in a secure site. For my current job I work with active duty army people in a secure site. And we (active duty military and cleared civilians) all have access to the same stuff because everybody is at least a SECRET in this place, so I'm pretty sure a SECRET CLEARANCE IS A SECRET CLEARANCE!! How should I go about remedying this matter?

thanks for your help !!