Hello,
During high school from the ages of 16 to 17 and a half I used marijuana, vicodin, and took a methadone pill 1x. While joining the military my recruiter indicated that I should leave prior drug use completely off the SF86 since I had never been arrested or in trouble for it and like a fool I did. I was granted a secret clearance and joined the military.
Two years later while in the military at the age of 20 I used marijuana 2x and spice 3x in the span of two months before I fully realized how stupid what I was doing was. I cut off contact with the individual I was associating with and doing these dugs with, and tried out and was selected for another unit in order to leave the environment I had been in.
It has now been 6 and a half years since my drug use in the military and I have never touched another drug nor will I ever again because of how ashamed I am for falsifying my SF86 and also using drugs while in the military. I was honorably discharged and have been out of the military for almost 5 years. I have recently become aware of many federal jobs that I would qualify for but I doubt that they will accept me. I almost feel like I should so when I get rejected I can receive what I deserve for lying and using while under a clearance.
My question is do I even stand a chance at being cleared for a TS Clearance? I would be completely honest this time around. I have no arrest of any kind and a completely clean record. Just wondering if its even worth putting in an application for.
You should be fine. Just be honest this time.
Investigators and adjudicators are aware of the problems with recruiters giving bad advice.
Just come clean. You drug use was long enough ago that it shouldn’t present an issue and they should get past the issue of falsifying your previous SF86.
Time and maturity count for a lot. I would advise waiting until it was 9 and 10 years old before trying to get that higher clearance. The older it is, the better it is is as long as you do not repeat that behavior. Remorse, which comes through in your post is a good thing. You cannot change the past and you are not the first person cleared who decided to use. If it was youthful stupidity so be it. But if required to fill out a new Equip or SF86 in the near future…you will be faced with the decisions you made. You would either need lie again, falsifying a new government form, or come clean and report risking discharge and revocation under false enlistment.
Thank you for the response. I been honorably discharged now from the military for almost 5 years. Even if I was still in I would not fill out another false SF86.
I was looking over the SF86 today (the one used in 2016 and not the updated one) and noticed that for the drug question it only ask for a 7 year history of drug use. I am wondering how to properly fill that portion out to disclose my drug use from 9 years ago that I didn’t disclose on my first SF86 from 2010 for the DOD. Should I just put the drug use into section 23 and then explain on the continuation space? I just want to fill it out properly this time and want to disclose everything.
Also another question. In section 26.6 it states: In the past seven (7) years, you had a lien placed against your property for failing to pay taxes or other debts. (Include financial obligations for which you were the sole debtor, as well as those for which you were a cosigner or guarantor)
While I have never been delinquent on payment, failed to pay taxes, or pay any debt I do have a car lien on my vehicle loan from the lending bank. Do I put this information down or no? Feel like I am overthinking everything this time around.
Last question, for foreign contacts it request information on the last 7 years. 7.5 years ago I dated/ hung out with a foreign exchange student. I left on deployment and was never in physical contact with here again. 4 years ago we messaged 2 times over social media but that has been it. We are not even contacts on social media any longer. I do need to disclose the social media contact 4 years ago correct? The part that confuses me is the close contact they are asking about. I am planning on just putting it down because I want to be completely honest on everything.
Sorry for the long post and thanks for the information you guys have provided so far. I haven’t filled out the updated SF86 yet so I am not sure if these questions are different now.
My advice here is to answer the questions. They aren’t trick questions.
- You don’t report your drug use from 9 years ago. You are being asked to go back 7 years. Do so. If your previous SF86 omitted the drug use, that’s a different problem.
- The lien on your car is related to the loan given to purchase the car. It’s a result of failure to pay taxes on the vehicle or failure to pay the debt incurred in buying the car. Again, these are not trick questions.
- I think that you can either list the foreign contact or not. In my view, you have not had “close and continuing contact” in the last seven years but since you dated 7.5 year ago, it may be worth mentioning but I don’t think that I would.
Don’t over think . . . If a question asks you to go back 7 years and the investigator asks you about something that happened 7.5 years ago, you can explain both the situation AND your reasons for not self-reporting.
Thanks for the advice, If my previous SF86 from 9 years ago omitted drug use and I want to submit that now, how would I go about doing it? Example: omitted drug use for DOD Secret clearance 9 years ago and was given a clearance. Now applying for a federal job with a completely different agency after being out of the DOD for 5 years and want to come clean and correct the mistake/ choice, also will be given a polygraph.
Shouldn’t I just fill out the drug use portion to include the use 9 years ago along with an explanation. Thanks and sorry to keep blowing up the feed.
If you are going to be polyed . . . You need to come clean because they are likely to ask questions that will fail you.
One way is to answer the questions as if the use nine years ago was in scope and explain that you were not honest on your previous forms. Another is to present this information to your investigator if/when you get an interview or to your poly operator.
But, I should warn you: You may have a difficult time since you falsified a previous SF-86. Sorry if you explained already but what factors do you have to mitigate that falsification?
The only factor that I would have is that I was led to believe by a recruiter that as long as I had not gotten in trouble for drug use that I didn’t need to disclose it. Obviously the falsification was my choice and a foolish one but the last SF86 I filled out was in 2010 at 18 years old. I am now 26 almost 27 so I am hoping that the passage of time would possibly help.
Your issue will not be the actual use of drugs. Since it was your recruiter I assume you had no clearance at the time of use. Drugs used while possessing a clearance is judged to a higher standard. Personally, I would wait one year before applying to a poly position so it falls out of the 10 year look back. If asked if you ever falsified a clearance form…and that is the problem I believe you have…that is a game changer. However, youth, gullibility, wisdom being what it is…coming clean, talking about it, letting a polygrapher write questions testing your veracity on the subject…can exonerate you moving forward. Something a 17 year old high school senior would feel confident doing isn’t something a 27 year old adult would agree to. By 27 you begin to understand mature decisions and regret poor life choices. Coming clean is the only way but it can end your dream. Having had 4 Poly’s over the past 8 years and scheduled to take more in 2 years I can tell you they are not fun, they are thorough, and aggravating. If you are hiding something it shows up.
Thanks for the response, I appreciate the information.