Posts By Eric Pecinovsky

Security Clearance: The Whole-Person Concept

Among people who have been involved with national security clearances the “whole-person” concept has become widely known and often misunderstood. Applicants for security clearance are evaluated on potentially disqualifying and mitigating conditions listed under 13 separate guidelines in the “Adjudicative Guidelines for Determining Eligibility for Access to Classified Information.” The adjudicative process is an examinationRead… Read more »

What Is My Chance of Getting a Security Clearance?

About 1% or 1,350 cases (sum of the 2 figures shown in red) of the approximately 150,000 completed investigations received by DISCO each year result in clearance denial or revocation. About 20% to 30% of cases decided by DOHA Administrative Judges are appealed by either the applicant or the DOHA Department Counsel. While 99% mayRead… Read more »

Cyber Vetting for Security Clearances

The Electronic Freedom Foundation recently obtained information under the Freedom of Information Act regarding a June 2009 report of a study sponsored by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) on the use of Cyber Vetting for security clearance purposes. The study involved 349 test cases of intelligence agency applicants who consented toRead… Read more »

Federal Hiring Under Expedited Process

The Air Force will try to fill 700 cybersecurity positions under an expedited process. The “Schedule A” approach allows the service to proceed without posting or publicizing positions. Meanwhile, the administration is working to streamline the government’s overall hiring process, which now requires an average of 140 days to hire. “When you think about theRead… Read more »

Security Clearances: How Long Do They Take?

There’s been a lot of improvement in case processing time over the past few years. Most of the improvement is directly related to the reduction in the backlog of cases. OPM currently has a combined federal and contractor investigative staff of about 8,500 personnel—about 6,500 of whom are field investigators. Ten years ago OPM andRead… Read more »

OPM: Veterans’ Recruitment and Employment Strategic Plan

The Office of Personnel Management released the first strategic plan last month to increase the hiring of Veterans in the Federal Government. Below is a summary of the main points outlined in the strategic plan. First, some Veteran hiring facts: – Federal Government is the Nation’s leading employer of Veterans. – Veterans make up moreRead… Read more »

Misuse of IT Systems and Security Clearances

You had to have that latest U2 or Bruce Springsteen album. Maybe it wasn’t offered on iTunes or maybe you didn’t love enough to pay for it. So, you used a P2P Network and downloaded it for free…and now you’re filling out your SF86. Questions? Perhaps the greatest concern, regarding the use of information technologyRead… Read more »

Security Clearance Q&A Service

Over the past two years, ClearanceJobsBlog.com has become the only place on the internet where people can ask tough questions about security clearances and get expert answers. Due to popular demand and our rapid growth, we are launching a new private security clearance question and answer service. This will help ensure your critical questions getRead… Read more »