RAF MILDENHALL, England -- Would you report a friend or co-worker, who has a security clearance, for displaying behaviors of a possible security concern or would you turn a blind eye because of your friendship?
A fundamental obligation after being granted a security clearance is the responsibility to report information with potentially serious security significance on someone with access to classified information. The 100th Air refueling Wing Information Protection office stresses that reporting cleared friends and co-workers, to supervisors, security managers or the IP office, is the responsible thing to do and friendships must take a backseat to the interests of national security.
Department of Defense 5200.2-R, Personnel Security Program, provides a compelling overview of why this reporting is important. "A personnel security determination is an effort to assess the future trustworthiness of an individual in terms of the likelihood-of the individual preserving the national security. Obviously it is not possible at a given point to establish with certainty that any human being will remain trustworthy. There is the clear need to assure that, after the personnel security determination is reached, the individual's trustworthiness is a matter of continuing assessment."
In other words, a security clearance is only a snapshot of someone's expected trustworthiness at one point in time, and the clearance office is counting on you to let them know if subsequent behavior of "security significance" occurs.
What types of behavior might be considered of "security significance?" The collective list of behaviors are called the security standards and can be found in DoD 5200.2-R. Below is a partial list of the security standards used in determining eligibility for a clearance.
Unauthorized disclosure to any person of classified information, or of other information, disclosure of which is prohibited by Statute, Executive Order or Regulation
Criminal or dishonest conduct
Excessive indebtedness, recurring financial difficulties, or unexplained affluence
Habitual or episodic use of intoxicants to excess
Illegal or improper use, possession, transfer, sale or addiction to any controlled or psychoactive substance, narcotic, cannabis or other dangerous drug
Vulnerability to coercion, influence, or pressure that may cause conduct contrary to the national interest
Any knowing and willful falsification, cover up, concealment, misrepresentation, or omission of a material fact from any written or oral statement, document, form or other representation or device used by the Department of Defense or any other Federal Agency
Note: A complete list of the security standards can be found on the IP SharePoint site under the Security Awareness Week link.
Team Mildenhall members are not expected to conduct their own investigation to verify or validate information. Everyone's role is to be aware of potential issues and to exercise good judgment in determining what and when to report. The key is to intervene, when appropriate, in the interest of national security and each organization. Personal intervention may also help co-workers successfully deal with potential problem areas before they become real security concerns, such as financial debts, alcohol misuse or gambling addiction.
Those still not convinced should consider this. Do you want to be known as the friend or co-worker who recognized that something wasn't just right and didn't report it only to find the person was involved in espionage? Or, do you want to miss the opportunity to help them solve a serious problem before it led to big trouble? An article that looks at both sides of the reporting coin can be found on the IP SharePoint site under Security Awareness Week. This article outlines what happened in eight actual American spy cases where co-workers were aware of suspicious activity and some of them reported it and some didn't.
Understanding professional obligations will help people overcome the natural and understandable hesitation to report potentially adverse information. Report personnel security concerns to supervisors, unit security managers, the commander, or the IP office at DSN 238-3127.