Have You Tried to Get a Security Clearance Lately?

I read a scathing report (they probably didn’t recognize how scathing) The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the processing of security clearances.  I have read a lot of these over the years, but this one sounds like it was written in the 80’s — it is taking too long for security clearances to be issued;  they are behind in processing the forms;  they are slow in getting the results in;  but, most important, delays in getting the IT problems at OPM fixed.  These systems, we all remember, were the ones the Chinese used to get at all the personnel records for 28 million of us who had clearances at that time.  Those problems still aren’t fixed, and that borders on gross negligence.  People were relieved of duty for the condition of those systems during the Obama Administration.  The new people haven’t done much better, or the same ones are still there - I don’t know which.

OPM got the security clearance business from the Defense Department, where it belongs.  The reasons for giving it to them were not very sound, and they proved that in the next 10 years by compromising every record they had.  Yet, they still do not have those systems fixed.  We certainly should be doing some symbolic slapping around of some leaders over there to get them going.  And, we should be doing something about the storage of records right now.  It is fairly obvious they don’t have the first clue about how to secure records of this importance.

We should turn this back over to Defense or the Intelligence Community and don’t waste anymore time or money with idiots who don’t have a clue.  These people are dangerous.