TS/SCI integrity

A friend of mine has shipped out to BCT soon from the same Army recruiter station and the recruiters there like to tell People to lie about certain things to speed up the process. He Will most likely need a TS/SCI but lied about a criminal record that has been taken off his record from France if it matters.
He was under 18 and it’s been about 7 years since the incident.
He believes his recruiter that they won’t find out and wants to stick to his decision believing it’s the right one. The whole thing was a underage drinking think if thats the truth. Whats his chances about getting one without disclosing and does it matter if the recruiter advised him to do it.
Can’t talk to him now since hes in BCT but Will show him this post once he has access.

They likely won’t find it.

Ok thats new, Well it ain’t really my problem anyway not much i can do When someones made up their mind.

If it happened as a minor, in France, it’s certainly not likely to show up in an investigation. If he goes for a TS/SCI, on the other hand, he will have to pass a poly. The fact that his recruiter told him to do it IS a mitigating factor but it sounds like he was in his mid-20’s and he should have known better so he might have a problem.

Would this person even have to report something like this if it was prior to age 18?

Ok thanks, hopes he Will be fine alot of recruiters this to get number it ain’t their problem after he leaves.

He should report it to clear himself. He also needs to report his recruiter (DoD has a program for NBIB to report recruiter falsification). Sure, it may not pop up on his INTERPOL check, but if the incident was discovered through any means - this becomes an alcohol and honesty (Personal Conduct).

It really is better to take the little bit of heat up front rather than lose your clearance because of your dishonesty.

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If he reports it now he runs a very good chance of losing his clearance. If he doesn’t report it and it’s not discovered he keeps his clearance. He needs to calculate the odds of success with both decisions separately. I’ve said it before on this forum, lying requires commitment…

As most investigators will mention at the start of the interview, being untruthful about any one issue often has a greater negative influence on the eventual outcome of your case than the underlying issue itself.

Recruiter falsification is more common than most people think (thus the specific program for reporting it). I’m not an adjudicator, but I would think that citing that as you reason for omission would be a mitigating factor during adjudication. To say that he’d lose his clearance by doing the right thing, blows my mind. What you report (or fail to report) will follow you throughout your cleared career. This is an EVER question and will be required to be answered during each subsequent investigation.

If I were him, I’d hate to have to explain myself when it’s potentially mentioned by a reference and I was already given the chance to correct it myself.

as a military recruit - he won’t lose his clearance immediately. DoD virtually always allows new military personnel a chance to discuss the issue.

The myth of instant disqualification for alcohol, drug, and mental health continues. There are very few instant disqualifiers in the clearance process if you are a US citizen. There are a lot of fear mongers in here though that will tell you otherwise.

Nomor: You know about your friend’s alcohol-related offense. How will you answer the investigator’s question about criminal conduct and alcohol-related matters, if you are interviewed as a reference on your friend’s case? If you know about your friend’s alcohol offense, who else knows? Tell that to your friend.

Great point, especially if he is going for a TS/SCI… they’ll likely find out by reference interview or poly (if one is required). He may wiggle by with the secret for now but if he undergoes a SSBI - he’s toast.

If they were to speak to me as a refrence what should i do?
I can’t Imagine they Will find or talk to Many of his Old friends overseas or even his Old college or whatever they have over there. I want him to be fine and if they talk to me they i have to decide.

Funny i was asking this exact question as you replied.

Yeah but i don’t Believe Many People know about it he Said some of his Old friends in France did since he was not arrested alone but not in the US but who knows since he told me.

If you are contacted by an OPM (gold badge) or contract (silver badge) investigator regarding your ‘buddy’ there is no legal onus on you to cooperate. You can politely decline to speak with the investigator or you can spill the beans on your buddy, your choice. Personally, I always decline to speak with investigators from OPM/NBIB when I’m contacted as a reference.

Also, a tier 3 investigation typically only involves sending questionnaires to references. A tier 5 (SSBI) will involve face to face interviews with references and developed references. So, for a tier 3, like I said it likely won’t surface; however, a tier 5 - the likelihood of the incident surfacing is greater

Do keep in mind, whenever you are contacted as a specific source, your refusal goes into the report for the adjudicator to see.

Also, if you are a federal employee, military member, or a federal contractor with a clearance, you are obligated to cooperate. I’ve contacted FSOs to remind clearance holders of their obligation to cooperate. .

@backgdinvestigator Obligated to cooperate? Like if the reference does not consent to interview he/she will have bamboo shoots shoved into their finger nails?

Reference interviews require consent, bottom line, they’re voluntary.

Hi Backgdinv: what’s involved in checking out the foreign travel? I listed approx 7-8 international travels in which I visited either with my family or as a guest of my husband (while he was on official travel). What do you think they check? If I really visited those countries at that time? Do they circle back with State to make sure I used my US passport? Just wondering, thanks!

Foreign travel is checked to make sure you reported all of the travel.

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