A
colleague of mine from the old days who, to my amazement,
occasionally reads my blog, wanted to make very sure that I knew that
there was no way I could ever get a security clearance, not even
SECRET.
This
disturbed me for reasons that I will explain below, and so I
researched the topic to the extent that one can on the Internet, and
I am happy to say that he is probably wrong, at least for the reasons
that he thought. He might however be right for other reasons and
this I will describe below.
You
may not consider it interesting to wonder who can and can not get a
clearance but I do, even though I have no particular expectation or
desire to handle or know classified information. I am, you see, a
*fan* of the world of intelligence, I have very little desire to be *in* it. It is a difficult world to be in for reasons we will only touch on here. I much prefer to *speculate* about national security
matters than to actually *know* for sure what is going on. Speculation
is fun, but actual knowledge implies a very serious responsibility. And the more you are involved the more it will affect your life.
But
if I am to ever work in place like the RAND Corporation again, which
is doubtful, one needs to get at least a SECRET clearance, even
though you are unlikely to handle SECRET material, and that is how
the issue came up. The reasons for this are several, but it is not because one will necessarily be handling SECRET material. In fact, when
I worked at RAND in my youth I only once handled SECRET material and
that occasion could have been easily avoided. Trust me, it was no
big deal. The primary reason for needing a clearance is because you are required to be around people and facility that does or may handle such material, and you need to be able to be in those areas without having an escort by your side at all times.
So
lets get our cards on the table. Some people at RAND thought I did a
lot of drugs when I went into computer animation and visual effects.
I did not. But I certainly was around quite a few people who did
drugs, and I suffered from an undiagnosed disorder which made me
appear to the uninitiated as though I was on drugs, i.e. I had severe
ADHD which was not being treated. I am not going to go over this in
great detail, frankly it bores me, most people already have their
minds made up, and most people are not capable of understanding the
issues anyway.
But
what drugs I did do were minor, and stopped as soon as I got decent
medical care, which did not happen in LA, only in NY. IMHO, there is
no decent medical care in S. California.
The
point is, none of this keeps one from getting a security clearance
today. You have to not be doing illegal drugs today, and for several
years. And there may be a judgment call here on the part of the
investigators about certain aspects of your use at the time.
However, there is nothing there that makes me particularly concerned.
I used drugs to medicate a medical condition, when it was properly
diagnosed and treated, all illegal drugs went away.
But
there are other judgment calls that could interfere and I want to
mention them to you today.
What they are really looking for with the basic security clearance is a somewhat boring individual who fits in with the system and feels that the system is pretty darn good. If you do not file taxes because you are impoverished, that may not be you. If you think your doctors are only concerned about themselves and money and that the medical system is fundamentally screwed up, that may not be you. If you think that the poor are treated badly in this country and that the legal system and government is designed to exalt the rich and disenfranchise the poor, and that there is gross state-enforced inequality of opportunity, that may not be you.
What they are really looking for with the basic security clearance is a somewhat boring individual who fits in with the system and feels that the system is pretty darn good. If you do not file taxes because you are impoverished, that may not be you. If you think your doctors are only concerned about themselves and money and that the medical system is fundamentally screwed up, that may not be you. If you think that the poor are treated badly in this country and that the legal system and government is designed to exalt the rich and disenfranchise the poor, and that there is gross state-enforced inequality of opportunity, that may not be you.
But
the law and regulations on security clearances are not explicit on
these points. And theoretically one should not be denied a security
clearance for holding a belief that is outside some conservative
belief system.
So,
am I eligible for a security clearance? Without doubt, I *think* I am.
But it is certainly *possible* I could be denied one. It is
possible *anyone* could be denied one. And then one would have to
appeal.
What
would happen if I was suddenly exposed to a classified program that
obviously violated the rights of Americans, or violated the law, or
was outside the system designed to approve such projects? The answer is that I would
work within the system to get such a project changed or terminated.
I would not do an unauthorized disclosure under any circumstances. If it were not possible
to correct the situation, then I would resign from the project and
find something else to do. I think that it is very unlikely that I
would ever have to deal with such an issue, however.
To
the extent that one can figure out such things by what is published
online, I believe that I am eligible for a security clearance.
Besides with the disaster that is or was Ed Snowden, I would think that the whole security clearance system would be up for reconsideration and that they would be much better off with people like me. Just my opinion.
Besides with the disaster that is or was Ed Snowden, I would think that the whole security clearance system would be up for reconsideration and that they would be much better off with people like me. Just my opinion.
For
what that is worth.
Since I wrote this, I have done more reading and think that there may indeed be issues with my getting a security clearance, although it is by no means certain. It has nothing to do with (as everyone imagines) drugs, but has to do with other issues involving whether or not the poor can really qualify for a security clearance.
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