During the last few years a new problem has presented itself to the Navy. This is the problem of the security clearance of naval personnel. Five years ago the Navy showed its recognition of the fact that persons of doubtful loyalty might be serving in the Navy and gave guidance in the form of a SecNav Directive regarding the administration of cases involving such individuals. Since that time there has arisen an increased awareness that security as well as loyalty is a problem; and now it is no longer a question of loyalty alone, but a question of how much of a risk to the national security is an individual who lacks some of the necessary security qualifications.
It is evident that this is indeed a new and disturbing era. Now we must take precautions to insure, by proper screening, that the service of an individual is clearly consistent with the interests of national security. Yesterday, an individual’s dependability was judged solely on his own merits, but today we must consider him in the light of his family connections and his associations as well. Yesterday, he took an oath to “support and defend ... to bear true faith and allegiance . . . without . . . mental reservation.” Today, in addition, he signs a Loyalty Certificate, fills out a Personal History Statement, and he must be certified through a Background Investigation or a check of certain National Agencies that there is no information of a derogatory nature concerning him or his immediate family. His usefulness as an officer depends on his record and that of members of his family as well as that of associates. Each commanding officer must certify in writing the clearance for access to classified matter which he will give to personnel within his command; his decision is based on any or all of the considerations above and the question which must be answered in each case is “What Clearance Eligibility Do You Have?”
As this question is comparatively new to many in the Navy, it is becoming apparent that there is some misunderstanding concerning the clearance problem. Dispatches are received almost daily in the Bureau of Naval Personnel which request information concerning the clearance of individuals. To cite examples: a recent one requested photostatic copies of the latest clearance of an officer; while another wanted information relative to the status of the clearance of certain enlisted men.
The contents of Chapter 15 of the U. S. Navy Security Manual are apparently not being properly interpreted or understood by security officers in the various commands. The fundamental requirement concerning security is the establishment of the eligibility for proper clearance of an individual. The manual clearly states that the ultimate authority to grant clearance in any case rests with the commanding officer who is responsible for the security of the information or material to which the individual in question may be granted access. Only a command can grant clearance. Obviously, the originators of the dispatches mentioned above were not familiar with the U. S. Navy Security Manual. Instead of requesting the status of an individual’s clearance, the dispatches should have requested information concerning the individual’s eligibility.
The information that can be obtained from the Bureau and which would enable commanding officers to make a decision as to an individual’s security and ultimate clearance is that of his eligibility for a clearance. These eligibility requirements for high classification clearance are: first, an individual must have a satisfactory National Agency Check; then if higher clearance is desired, he may also be required to have a satisfactory Background Investigation. In some instances, a satisfactory National Agency Check plus ten consecutive years of federal service will constitute eligibility for certain types of clearance. For higher types of clearance, an individual may be eligible only if he has proper birth status, proper citizenship status for members of his immediate family, and certain requirements for his immediate family concerning their location in or out of the free world countries. All of the above requirements are used to establish clear-cut eligibility to guide the commanding officer, who in turn can use this eligibility to decide whether he wants to give that individual the necessary clearance required to perform his duties. In addition to the above, there may be other criteria used by highly sensitive organizations to establish even higher quality eligibility before an individual can be given satisfactory clearance to perform duties in that highly sensitive organization.
It is appropriate here to elaborate somewhat on the significance of a National Agency Check and Background Investigation. A National Agency Check consists of the investigation of records and files of the following agencies as appropriate:
1. Federal Bureau of Investigation is checked in every case. Here the fingerprint and the subversive files are checked.
2. Office of Naval Intelligence files are checked in all cases.
3. Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Department of the Army, is checked when the individual has been in the Army, or when he has been a civilian employee of the Department of the Army.
4. Office of Special Investigations, the Inspector General, United States Air Force, is checked when the individual has been in the Air Force, or when he has been employed as a civilian in the Department of the Air Force.
5. Civil Service Commission is checked on all persons who have been civilian employees of the United States Government.
6. Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization is checked in the case of aliens or naturalized citizens.
7. House Committee on Un-American Activities is checked in all cases.
8. Bureau of Naval Personnel and/or U. S. Marine Corps files are checked on each person who is or has been a member of either service.
9. The United States Coast Guard is checked in case an individual has been in that service.
10. Other agencies are also checked when pertinent to the purpose of which the investigation is being conducted.
In case of a Background Investigation the procedure is much more thorough, and requires a complete investigation which develops pertinent facts bearing on the loyalty, integrity, and reputation of the subject. It normally covers the period of an individual’s life from January 1, 1937, to the date of the investigation, or from the date of the subject’s eighteenth birthday, whichever is the shorter period. However, if derogatory information is developed in the course of the investigation, the investigation is extended to any period of the individual’s life necessary to support or discount the allegations.
The essential elements of a Background Investigation comprise:
1. National Agency Check
2. Confirmation of birth records
3. Record of education
4. Record of employment
5. Interview of references
6. Neighborhood investigations conducted to ascertain the loyalty, character, and reputation of the subject.
7. Record checks of police departments and other law enforcement agencies in the vicinities where subject has resided or has been employed for substantial periods of time.
8. Check on service record and type of discharge of subject with previous military service.
9. Report of any connections subject has had with foreigners in the United States or abroad and the extent and purpose of such connections.
10. Verification of the citizenship status of the subject in all cases.
11. Check of State Department records if the subject has traveled outside the United States, except in military or naval service, to determine reasons for such travel. If such travel occurred after July 1, 1946, records of the Central Intelligence Agency are also checked.
12. Check of credit agencies and/or credit references in those places where subject has resided for at least twelve months.
13. Determination as to whether the subject has membership in, or affiliation with, or sympathetic association with any foreign or domestic organization, association, movement, or group, or combination of persons which is totalitarian, fascist, communist, or subversive.
After this comprehensive check, the findings from these investigations are then recorded and the satisfactory or unsatisfactory eligibility status of the individual in question is then determined.
How are the security criteria determined by a new command receiving an officer for assignment? First, upon the receipt of the officer and his orders, his Officers Service Record should be screened to determine:
a. Total length of continuous federal service.
b. If record of a satisfactory National Agency Check is in his record, and the date of its effectiveness.
c. If record of a satisfactory Background Investigation is included and, if so, its effective date.
d. Presence of any record of previous clearance.
If the above information is present in the record and the National Agency Check or Background Investigation is satisfactory, the new commanding officer can assign the type of clearance he desires to that officer immediately. If, however, there appears to be no record as to a National Agency Check or a Background Investigation, then the command should request information concerning the status of a National Agency Check or Background Investigation if the latter is necessary, for establishing proper basis for clearance desired for the individual. In this regard, it is of note that in June of 1953 the Bureau of Naval Personnel directed all commands to initiate National Agency Check requests of all their officers except certain staff officers. In November, 1954, the directive was extended to cover all officers.
As a matter of interest, a new office has been established in the Bureau of Naval Personnel known as the Military Personnel Security Division which is establishing and will maintain a complete file of the eligibility status of all officers on active duty in the Navy. This file will show when an individual has received his last satisfactory National Agency Check or Background Investigation in addition to other necessary information. It is also expected that, in the not too distant future, some system will be inaugurated so that a commanding officer will receive the eligibility status of every officer ordered to him, prior to the arrival of the officer at his duty station. This will enable the commanding officer to assign the necessary clearance to the officer by the time he arrives for duty, or initiate the necessary action to obtain further eligibility if the officer does not qualify for the proper classification clearance desired.
It is desired to emphasize again that the Bureau of Naval Personnel or the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations is not the activity that assigns clearance of an individual other than to those working in these respective activities. Clearance assignment is the sole responsibility of the commanding officer under whom the individual officer is assigned. The eligibility for these clearances results from evaluation of the National Agency Check or the Background Investigation conducted on the individual concerned and this information will eventually be obtainable for all officers from the new Military Personnel Security Division.