Recent discharge, hope for clearance job?

Was recently charged with larceny and failure to obey an order. Took a plea and got discharged with an oth and agreement to pay back money. I served for 9 years with no other bad conduct on my record and even in prior civilian life didn’t do anything wrong just made a stupid mistake and I’m owning up to it. My question is I had a TS/SCI clearance would I be able to apply for another one with any job? Any advice is welcome.

I wouldn’t try for anything with the IC!

Unfamiliar with “oth.” I would think it something that must be reported on the SF86. But you can be crossed over to a sponsor without an SF86. Mind you they can always do a quick records check and deem you unqualified, or require you to have a re-investigation initiated. Be up front and candid. I would like to hear from other FSO’s and the BI folks on people submitted with minor arrests. I have successfully submitted several with DUI’s. I have had several employees get a DUI charge while cleared. Those I know won’t normally cause a revocation. But I would like to hear more on success rate of larceny charges and the like. I took a chance on a felony that was 10 plus years old. He did not clear. But he may have been untruthful on the Polygraph. I would like to hear from those who successfully cleared a person with a felony. Had a call recently from one person who served 8 years in prison 14 years prior. I honestly do not believe I could get him cleared even after living a stellar life since. Some obstacles are just too big to overcome.

OTH is “Other Than Honorable,” which is, in military terms, a bad form of discharge, rating just a bit higher than “Dishonorable,” which is the very worst. I don’t recall how an OTH affects your vet benefits, but I am almost certain that having it is likely to influence at least some employers in the DOD, who will ask that very question. I served in Command roles in the military, which doesn’t make me an expert, but I did see soldiers with OTH discharges (usually for making a really bad decision to do something they knew was a bad idea, like assault, domestic violence, etc). https://themilitarywallet.com/types-of-military-discharges/

Not to sound overly pessimistic, but an OTH or DD in your record is very hard to overcome. Not impossible, per se, but it can be a real obstacle to some employers. Having said all of that, I am neither an SC attorney, nor any sort of legal representative. Please check with someone more well versed in this area.

1 Like

Amber . . . “oth” is an “other than honorable” discharge. This most certainly will have to be reflected in a new SF86. What I don’t know is how his discharge will affect his current clearance. I would think that this incident kicked off an review and I would expect a revocation but I admit that I don’t know for certain.

There is insufficient information provided… While larceny is usually a misdemeanor, it can be considered a felony in some jurisdictions. If it is felony, then you will have a hard time find an employment as you will be untouchable for some time.

Nonetheless, I think you need to find out your clearance status which will play a major factor. You can either submit a privacy act request or have someone (usually FSO) check for you. If your “profile” is not flagged, then you should be good. If it is flagged, you are in for a long haul and the wind can blow both ways… The toughest part during that ordeal will be finding a company to sponsor you.

Ahhh, the lower case acronym threw me. The temp agency we use kept sending us somewhat…not top notch, but cleared prior military. As I dug further and learned they were discharged under “OTH” conditions a better picture came clear. I am certainly not saying you are anything less than stellar. Unfortunately for you, you are grouped into a segment where a whole bunch of people ARE less than stellar. If I were in your shoes, I would seek legal representation to address the characterization of discharge. Our temp agency informed us they were not permitted to ask the discharge status. My client said they absolutely want that info. DoD rarely reads people out and debriefs when they depart so even those leaving the service in “OTH” status will reflect in JPASS as having a current clearance. Those we hired from that segment were far less than stellar. Call outs, absenteeism, discipline issues, and many screened out as the first thing they did upon leaving the service…was smoke MJ. Because our positions require polygraphs, I work hard to make sure they understand there is no getting around they smoked while possessing a clearance and the standard is quite high…meaning no use is acceptable use. I met several who were really sharp, just young and somewhat not fully mature enough to understand the ramifications of immature decisions. They were crushed to learn they could not work in a cleared position or would suffer a revocation. Now, we make clear we will not accept any with an “OTH” discharge due to the large majority of them simply not measuring up to quality standards. Again, not saying you don’t measure up…but my collective experience dealing with most did not.