So today DCSA announced that agents would no longer carry a badge. Are contractors following the same rules? How we feel about this?
2 Likes
The memo says investigative personnel will still keep them, so one would assume that applies to investigators. But who knows with all the other wacky decisions they make.
1 Like
Memo says will keep credentials not badge.
2 Likes
That’s the same thing.
1 Like
@RSI-Hater - It will almost certainly be applied enterprise wide, to include contractors. It’s just a matter of notification and modifying any documents necessary.
1 Like
@investigator721 - No, it’s not. The Badge is the metal piece on the front of your bifold wallet.
The credential, is the paper inside of it.
4 Likes
Stay tuned. It’s indeed not the same thing. There is a reason we say B&Cs. Badge and Credentials.
1 Like
This is pedantic and silly. Every single person I work with just calls them “creds” and we all know what we mean.
2 Likes
If not using a badge is also true for contractors I’m glad. The latest silver badge looks like a Barney Fife fake kids play police badge you get at Walmart (sorry Barney).
4 Likes
Well there was another emailed that just confirmed it. Badges or gone.
1 Like
It will be interesting to see how this plays out, industry and gov will pivot easily. We will almost certainly face significant challenges with most private businesses though that have no connection to the cleared spaces.
It’s also super annoying that leadership hasn’t announced this to our partners yet so they can start circulating the information. The background investigator has carried a badge since the 1970s. It will be a huge change to the culture.
1 Like
It definitely will make me feel less official, especially as someone who is a federal contractor.
1 Like
Legally speaking, Badges carry absolutely ZERO authority. Credentials is where your authorities lie and is why the actual creds are harder to reproduce. A badge is just a cheap piece of metal or plastic.
4 Likes
This is most likley a non story. Back when I worked for USIS I worked 5 different contracts. My OPM credentials were the only one’s that had a badge associated with them. The other contracts I worked, to include a contract for an intel agency, were only credentials. The badges are just a piece of metal. Investigators need to show the credentials to Subjects, sources and record providers. The credential is what gives investigators authorization to do to the work we do.
1 Like
Us contractors see the removing of the badge as a non issue. Most of us would never purposely shown that “rink-a-dink” silver badge anyways when we used to meet people in person.
It’s the “feds” with their gold plated badges and their title as “Special Agent” that are all out of sorts that the badges and their fancy title are going away. The interesting thing is a contractor and a fed essentially do the same job. There’s no difference other than the fed gets the government pension, the government vehicle (oh wait that’s going away as well), and the better pay at a GS12 - Step 10 (eventually). Oh wait I hear that’s going away as well and the job may cap out as a GS11. You can’t make this stuff up.
Boo hoo. Cry me a river.
1 Like
Why holding back? Tell them how you really feel?
2 Likes
It’s not how I feel it’s what I’ve heard from the Fed’s for years what I’m conveying. They seem to be an entitled bunch of whiners for only carrying 30% of their agency workload.
Some places I’ve worked, they don’t even carry that much.
2 Likes
Ding ding ding Correct! What goes up must come down.
Attention, be advised from this time forth please use the following introduction. “Hello my name is blah blah blah and I’m a Special Messenger working on your background investigation for blah blah blah.”
2 Likes