Does IRR count as a break in service?

SECURITY CLEARANCE Q&A
1

I’m not sure whether my TS clearance is current or not. Here’s the situation:

I left active duty in May 2018 (unfortunately, this is just over 2 years ago)

I was on IRR status for the next year, but I was otherwise in private civilian life and not using a clearance. However, I know that all officers on IRR must maintain a clearance.

My question: Has there been a 2-year break in service? Does this clock start ticking from when I left active duty, or when I left the IRR?

Additional evidence: I was looked up in JPAS today. JPAS indicates that I have a current investigation from late 2017, but it also indicates that I separated from USAR in 2019 and therefore do not have an active clearance

2

This is an interesting question. Unfortunately I don’t have a great answer for you, but I suspect if JPAS is showing you as separated, that might be the best indicator.

I’m interested to hear what others have to say!

3

So I did a little digging on this. Just because you separated and moved to IRR, doesn’t mean you don’t still have a clearance.

You are correct that you have to maintain a clearance while in IRR. Your clearance might not be active because you’re not working in the field and using it, but you still have it. JPAS listing you as separated doesn’t revoke the clearance.

If your most recent investigation was 2017, your periodic would be around 2022, so your clearance will be good until then. That way if they were to call you back up, you wouldn’t be waiting on a whole new investigation.

I hope this helps a bit?

4

IRR normally means you are still assigned to a unit (usually an active duty unit) and you still come in once a year or so for training and other stuff. If you were in the IRR - your clearance should have still been in use.

If you were inactive reserve, i.e. no reporting, no training, and signed the exit NDA when you were discharged - you’ve been out of the system for over two years.

The Trusted Workforce 2.(whaterever today) is supposed to eventually close the two year gap rule.

5

I was in the IRR assigned to one of the intel agencies. I was still ‘active’ with them in JPAS almost ten years after I left… my civilian FSO saw that I had a civilian and a military record in JPAS and as far as she could tell the military side was still active

That is certainly not a guarantee of anything and most likely evidence of a screwup someplace.