Signalman 1 & C - Historic Naval Ships Association

A personnel security clearance is anadministrative determination that an individual iseligible for access to classified information of thesame category as or lower than the clearance beinggranted.No one will be given access to classifiedinformation or be assigned to sensitive duties unless afavorable personnel security determination has beenmade of his/her loyalty, reliability, andtrustworthiness. The initial determination will bebased on a personnel security investigation (PSI)appropriate to the access required or to otherconsiderations of the sensitivity of the duties assigned.Only the following personnel are authorized to requestPSIs on personnel under their jurisdiction:Director, Central Adjudication FacilityCommanders and commanding officersChiefs of Recruiting stationsRequest for PSIs must be kept to the absoluteminimum. Reliance on PSIs as a means of identifyingproblem personnel security cases will be avoided.Special attention is to be given to eliminatingunnecessary and duplicate reports. PSIs will not berequested to resolve allegations of a suitability naturefor the purpose of supporting personnel administrativedecisions or disciplinary procedures independent of apersonnel security determination.The Defense Investigative Service (DIS) or theOffice of Personnel Management (OPM) conducts orcontrols all PSIs for the DON. DON elements areprohibited from conducting PSIs without a specificrequest from DIS to support its investigativeresponsibilities.TYPES OF INVESTIGATIONSThe term personnel security investigationdescribes an inquiry by an investigative agency intoan individual's activities for the specific purpose ofmaking a personnel security determination.Investigations conducted for other purposes may havean impact on security clearances or assignments tosensitive duties, but are not PSIs. The following aresome of the types of investigations. See Departmentof the Navy Information and Personnel SecurityProgram Regulation, OPNAVINST 5510.1, for moreinformation on PSIs.National Agency CheckA national agency check (NAC) consists of acheck of the files of a number of government agenciesfor pertinent facts bearing on the loyalty andtrustworthiness of the individual. Examples ofagencies checked are the FBI and the Defense CentralIndex of Investigations. The NAC conducted on afirst-term enlistee in the Navy or Marine Corps iscalled an entrance NAC (ENTNAC). The primaryreason for the ENTNAC is to determine the suitabilityof an individual for entry into the service. If a servicemember reenlists after a break in active service greaterthan 12 months, an NAC (not an ENTNAC) isrequested.Background InvestigationThe background investigation (BI), conducted byDIS, is much more extensive than a NAC. It isdesigned to develop information as to whether theaccess to classified information by the person beinginvestigated is clearly consistent with the interests ofnational security. It includes an NAC and probesdeeply into the loyalty, integrity, and reputation of theindividual.Special Background InvestigationThe special background investigation (SBI) is aninvestigation conducted by DIS, with extendedcoverage of the individual's background to provide agreater depth of knowledge than a BI. The scope of anSBI is 15 years or since the 18th birthday, whicheveris shorter. At least 2 years will be covered, except thatno investigation is conducted prior to the subject's16th birthday.CLEARANCE ELIGIBILITYEligibility for a security clearance is limited tomembers of the executive branch of the U.S.Government or to employees of the DOD contractors,under the Defense Industrial Security Program.Occasionally, it is necessary for the DON to clearpersons outside the executive branch of thegovernment. Only U.S. citizens are eligible forsecurity clearances. Non-U.S. citizens may beconsidered for limited access authorization.Classified information is made available toappropriately cleared persons only when it isnecessary in the interests of national defense and theindividual requires the information to carry out11-5