@amberbunny Thanks for the detailed response. Now I understand why my FSO rarely returns my emails and never returns my phone calls lol…
There’s a quality of life issue here. Paranoia for the sole purpose of retaining a job isn’t quality of life. As a contractor, I simply want to do my job 9-5 and then forget about it. I have no vested interest in the success of the client company I work for other than continuing to receive a paycheck. They offer me no benefits and can walk me out the door without notice (I’ve seen this 3 times in the past 2 months). Unfortunately, with the clearance investigation hanging over my head, I find myself retreating from social media friends (some of whom are lifelong friends) lest I unwittingly offend the clearance gods. I also stopped participating in political discussions lest I offend the clearance gods. After 15 months, I find myself second-guessing everything I say, who I associate with, and who I communicate with which makes me feel that I’m being smothered by a clearance I don’t have and may never get. I understand your position as a FSO about the need for reporting. Your job requires that level of paranoia, it’s what you do and what you get paid for. I get paid to do something completely different which I can do elsewhere without the need for a clearance. I feel sorry for my FSO and to be honest, I’m losing interest in getting the clearance. It’s not worth it with other positions out there not requiring a clearance. As others have stated, the longer the clearance process drags on, the more of us who will look outside the defense industry to find other work.