So years ago I submitted my sf-86 for an IC position and it took awhile but the DCSA completed the T5 investigation and DoD CAF started the adjudication process.
In that time some changes on our contract were decided and my position and a bunch of others were set to be descoped.
DoD CAF spent almost 4 months on the adjudication and DISS says they completed it basically right as I walked out the door.
Now a week later, while searching for a new position, my manager takes me aside and says they got a letter of intent to deny and implies I should know why as if I did something wrong… and that I’m now eligible for TS?
No SoR given and there was no record of any denial. Not in Castles, DISS, or ye olde JPAS.
Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if that were true. I smoked like a gram within a year of the investigation and tried LSD & coke less than 5 years prior. Which I was forthright about.
That said, why would it take them so long to deny it? why grant TS and not log that they denied it?
Anyway, after that job I used my TS for some time and now I’m looking to get access to SCI at another company with the same agency as before.
I haven’t touched any drugs since then. It’s been like 7+ years since trying the so-called “hard drugs” (coke/lsd) and 5 years since smoking weed, I still have my TS, and my skills are more valuable than they were before.
What do you think my chances are of getting access and how long do you think it will it take? What really happened back when I got my TS? why no SoR or record?
I think the main issue here is not the drug use but rather finding a company that will take you on with what amounts to an open issue or “incident” on your record.
Doesn’t make sense that they would send such a notice to the employer and not you… but stranger things have happened.
You never got any notice (other than this odd pull-aside with the manager) so as far as you know you are eligible for TS. You can list that on a resume, something like “eligible for access to TS based on investigation dated mm/dd/yy” See what kind of response you get from potential employers.
That’s the thing; there’s no indication of an incident or open issue anywhere - never was. Not even Scattered Castles.
In fact as far as any records are concerned it doesn’t even seem like they did any adjudication for SCI access despite the fact that they definitely did and the date it ended is listed. It’s like they passed it off as though they’d just been considering me for TS from the beginning and approved it.
Also, while I did continue at that company for awhile I did do what you suggested with the resume on clearance jobs and was drowning in job offers.
Now I’m considering a position internally requiring SCI access and I’m wondering how long it would take to get it. Doesn’t seem like many people with TS did a T5 investigation and THEN went for SCI.
Sounds like they denied your sci eligibility the first time around.
Going from vanilla TS to SCI will require some extra “investigation” in the background, plus customer approval.
You might get lucky if they can reuse your current in-scope SSBI.
And even if they are willing to, the approval process can take 6 months depending on the customer…
Yeah it sounds like that’s what happened but if it’s a suitability issue don’t they usually send an SoR and also deny the TS?
Asking because of the possibility it was a fitness (the contract ending) issue and they couldn’t approve me having a need to access SCI for like the one or two days I’d have remained employed on that contract.
Either way it seems to me I was either very lucky or very unlucky.
Well they technically didn’t deny the security clearance, just the access.
So there wouldn’t be an SOR if it doesn’t involve new findings/issues.
Who knows what reason they might have had (too many people briefed, something in your background that they can’t take a risk on, your recent drug use…).
Sometimes you get re-submitted a few months later, and they would grant you access…
Other times, you’re not good enough for one customer, but another customer has no issue with you…
Who knows what happened, just try again and/or move on.