I am a veteran who left the military in July 2016 with a SECRET Clearance. In January, I was offered a position that required a Public Trust. I accepted the offer but was not granted an Interim PT Clearance and thus have to wait for the completion of a T-5 Investigation. Fast forward to last week, I was offered another job that requires a SECRET clearance. This job did not require me to fill out an SF-86 assuming that they verified my eligibility within JPAS. I am going to accept this job, but I want the Public Trust Investigation to continue for possibilities down the road.
Assuming that I am successfully adjudicated, Is it possible to hold both a SECRET clearance and a Public Trust?
First of all, a T5 is not a Public Trust investigation, T2 and T4 investigations are, Second, the agency that requested it will discontinue it once they are aware you are employed elsewhere. Multiple investigation levels on file are common, their applicability depends on the position, agency, time, and employment status.
There must be confusion somewhere because the position itself is a PT…yet I filled out a SF86 and not and 85/85p. I was told by multiple sources that work tbe same pisition that it was due to being a T5.
As far as tge question goes, I wouldnt need a new investigation for the SECRET clearance because mine is still in scope. However, I would assume that the PT investigation would continue and eventually get adjudicated because its with a different agency. What happens at that point? Would I just kerp the SECRET if it is active or be downgraded should I accept the PT?
A T5 is processed on an SF-86 which is used for national security and positions that involve sensitive duties and are designated as noncritical, critical, and special sensitive positions. A common misnomer is for people without the need for access to classified information to think they are in a Public Trust position. However, some of the duties in sensitive positions are the same as for public trust positions and certain agencies have opted to use the SF-86 to process the investigations because of the sensitive duties since you cannot use the SF-85P to process an investigation for a sensitive position. Bottom line up front, yes you could be in a sensitive or high risk public trust position and undergo a T5 investigation.