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SECURITY CLEARANCE DECEPTION by Larry Scott
-- Pentagon's
new policy leads troops to believe that mental
health issues
will have no bearing on getting a security
clearance.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
For background on this issue...click here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfMAY08/nf050208-1.htm
Story below:
-------------------------
Security Clearance Deception
Pentagon’s new policy leads troops to believe that mental health issues
will have no bearing on getting a security clearance. Nothing could be
further from the truth.
by Larry Scott
Any service member who has ever had to apply for a security clearance has
been handed the Standard Form 86, Questionnaire for National Security
Positions. SF-86 is 13-pages long and very personal. It contains questions
about the applicant, spouse, family, friends, employers, alcohol use, drug
use, credit history, travel outside the country and much, much more.
For years, the one question that many objected to was number 21: “In the
last 7 years, have you consulted with a mental health professional
(psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor, etc.) or have you consulted with
another health care provider about a mental health related condition?...If
you answered ‘Yes,’ provide the dates of treatment and the name and
address of the therapist or doctor below, unless the consultation(s)
involved only marital, family, or grief counseling, not related to
violence by you.”
The main objection was that if the answer was
“Yes,” then it was felt that would mean “No” to a security clearance.
Service members who had seen combat and sought treatment for
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) felt the question was discriminatory
because they were encouraged by the military to seek treatment and then
had to report it. Mental health professionals felt that service members,
knowing they would have to answer the question truthfully, were avoiding
treatment for fear of not get a clearance.
So, on April 18 of this year, the Department of Defense (DoD) did away
with question 21 in its current form. There was great media fanfare over
this policy change. Pentagon talking heads appeared on the TV news shows
declaring an “historic day” was at hand and
that DoD was going to eliminate the stigma associated with seeking
mental health care. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates held a press
conference and announced, “It now is clear to people who answer that
question that they can answer ‘No’ if they have sought help to deal with
their combat stress in general terms.”
 What
the Sec Def forgot to say was: No matter what you answer, we will drill
down and find out everything about you, including mental health treatment,
before we grant a security clearance, if we grant a security clearance.
DoD processes about one million security clearance applications every
year. Rebecca Allen, DoD’s Deputy Director of Security, claims less than
one percent of applications are denied based solely on mental health
issues. Allen said, “There was no reason to be concerned about seeking
mental health counseling from a security clearance standpoint. Answering
‘yes’ has never been a sole reason…for denying a security clearance.”
If Allen’s statement is correct, then what is the reason for denial of
those with mental health issues? Allen said, “It would be the resulting
information that would develop during the adjudication phase that
may…result in an unfavorable determination.”
Putting together Allen’s two statements helps us get to the core of this
issue. Question 21 has always been irrelevant. It has always been the
information gathered during the following investigation and adjudication
processes that have determined if a clearance was granted or denied.
What this means is that nothing has changed at DoD, even though they are
pulling out all the stops to make us think otherwise. A question has been
removed, but the process remains the same. Applicants will still be
thoroughly investigated, medical records will be scoured, and if a mental
health issue is thought to pose security risks, question 21 or no question
21, then that person will be denied.
What will be investigated? Everything. I recently sat on a veterans’
healthcare panel at Washington State University. The participants from
private healthcare sector told of being overwhelmed by active-duty
personnel seeking mental health treatment. These service members were
paying for care out of their own pocket and hoping that by using the
private sector that the military would not find out about the treatment.
The consensus among the providers was that this was an exercise in
futility because the government’s investigative agencies would pull
information from government, public and private databases, and surely
learn of the service member’s mental health issues.
Public reaction from the veterans’ service organizations (VSOs) to the
question 21 issue has been non-existent. But, behind the scenes there is
some grumbling. One highly-placed VSO official told me that DoD was
“perpetrating a massive hoax” by encouraging service members to seek
mental health care while leading them to believe that mental health issues
will have no bearing on getting a security clearance.
A clinical psychologist at a large Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA)
hospital had similar sentiments. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he
said, “Troops and veterans with concerns about mental health issues
should, definitely, seek treatment. But, for them to believe that the
government won’t find out about any problems they may have is just not
realistic.” And, speaking about DoD’s new question 21 policy, he added,
“Just a public relations campaign. They want to portray the image of a
kinder, gentler Pentagon. Ha! Not in my lifetime.”
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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