National Defense Authorization Act of 2001 and Department of Defense Security Clearance Decisions

Abstract : The Defense Personnel Security Research Center (PERSEREC) conducted a review of Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) industrial security clearance decisions from 1996 to 2000 to identify and describe cases that meet the National Defense Authorization Act of 2001 requirements concerning prison sentences, drug use, mental incompetence, and dishonorable discharge from the armed forces (Section 1071(c)). PERSEREC obtained electronic copies of the clearance decisions from DOHA. A text-based search and retrieval computer program was used to find text strings associated with imprisonment, drugs, mental incompetence, and dishonorable discharge. A review of those decisions resulted in 23 out of 921 cases with a prison sentence in excess of one year; only 3 were granted clearance. There were 148 cases citing drug use within one year of the close of record, and 25 were approved. No cases were approved when drug use occurred within six months of the close of record. There were no instances of mental incompetence or dishonorable discharge in the reviewed decisions. It was concluded that the impact of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2001 on the DoD can only be partially estimated by this study. The impact of the Act on DOHA industrial security clearance decisions may be minimal since very few clearances have been approved for recent cases that meet the provisions of Section 1071(c).