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Nope. Every military officer in the US has Secret clearance, so it's not as big of a deal as you might think. You go through an investigation which requires y

by olympus 13y ago

Nope. Every military officer in the US has Secret clearance, so it's not as big of a deal as you might think. You go through an investigation which requires you to list things up to seven years in your past, but isn't a big deal if you are a decent human being without a criminal history. After the investigation you work and live pretty much like anyone else except there are things you can't tell your friends. If you want to go out of the country you basically just let them know where you are going ahead of time and it's no big deal. The only thing you might not be allowed to do is travel to Iran or Cuba. Oh, and if you are like my friend and get three DUIs you lose your job and clearance. Just don't screw it up that bad and you have nothing to worry about.

oinksoft 13y ago
I understand that you can't seek psychiatric help, or else you lose your clearance. And other fun stuff like that. In any case I know quite a few "decent human beings" who would not be able to get a security clearance.
- olympus 13y ago
  No, if you self admit you can still keep your clearance. At least at the Secret level. If you are admitted to a mental institution after a breakdown it might be a different story, but I don't know anyone like that. But getting counseling and being on antidepressants isn't an automatic disqualifier. And when I said decent human being, I left out the part mentioning that it helps if you have parents who are American citizens and aren't in a whole bunch of debt and don't have a bunch of foreign contacts. But I think you'd be surprised at how easy it is to get a clearance if your job requires it.
- cowsandmilk 13y ago
  False, there are people with TS clearance who regularly see psychiatrists. This is one of the misconceptions that is left from the policies of 30 years ago. Other examples include homosexuality and past drug use, both of which formerly precluded you from a clearance but no longer do.
  - einhverfr 13y ago
    And think about it. These things precluded clearance because they were seen as things you didn't want made known. The idea is that if you were engaging in homosexual activity this could be something that a foreign power could blackmail you with to get you to turn over secrets.

by olympus 13y ago

oinksoft 13y ago

I understand that you can't seek psychiatric help, or else you lose your clearance. And other fun stuff like that. In any case I know quite a few "decent human beings" who would not be able to get a security clearance.

olympus 13y ago
No, if you self admit you can still keep your clearance. At least at the Secret level. If you are admitted to a mental institution after a breakdown it might be a different story, but I don't know anyone like that. But getting counseling and being on antidepressants isn't an automatic disqualifier. And when I said decent human being, I left out the part mentioning that it helps if you have parents who are American citizens and aren't in a whole bunch of debt and don't have a bunch of foreign contacts. But I think you'd be surprised at how easy it is to get a clearance if your job requires it.
cowsandmilk 13y ago
False, there are people with TS clearance who regularly see psychiatrists. This is one of the misconceptions that is left from the policies of 30 years ago. Other examples include homosexuality and past drug use, both of which formerly precluded you from a clearance but no longer do.
- einhverfr 13y ago
  And think about it. These things precluded clearance because they were seen as things you didn't want made known. The idea is that if you were engaging in homosexual activity this could be something that a foreign power could blackmail you with to get you to turn over secrets.