Why does this job require "Secret" clearance?

[Colon™]

Originally posted by Sirotnikov

I know in Israel that lots of things are getting the TOP SECRET and beyond, just because the CLASSIFIED and SECRET stuff are stuff that people fail to handle properly.

And since it'll eventually dawn to people that TOP SECRET is just a misnomer for SECRET, the powers-that-be will introduce SUPER TOP SECRET. Beyond that UBER SUPER TOP SECRET will be used and UBER UBER SUPER TOP SECRET for serious cases.

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Sirotnikov

I doubt it.

From what I read about your clearances, secret does not entail a huge background check. Even TS would take less than a year.

According to Wiki anyhow, TS can take as little as six months but often takes years. Secret takes 3 months to a year, and requires a NACLC (national, local, and credit) check.

[Sirotnikov]

Originally posted by snoopy369


According to Wiki anyhow, TS can take as little as six months but often takes years. Secret takes 3 months to a year, and requires a NACLC (national, local, and credit) check.

I think they are writing down the maximum time it could take, assuming you have a really poor history and they're spending time to go to hawaii where you once lived, and check your credentials.

i do like to read lots of stuff about foreign intel agencies and i'm under the impression that it takes several months but rarely comes to a year to do the check.

i've read stories by people who were checked for very sensitive TS positions (NSA and such) and they took several months as well.

a good bunch of that time is spent waiting in queue as i understand, as there's a shortage on staff in the organization doing the checking.

[Sirotnikov]

Originally posted by Colon™
And since it'll eventually dawn to people that TOP SECRET is just a misnomer for SECRET, the powers-that-be will introduce SUPER TOP SECRET. Beyond that UBER SUPER TOP SECRET will be used and UBER UBER SUPER TOP SECRET for serious cases.

well laws are a little more binding on TS.

but yes, this process does occur.

Btw, very often it is exactly the fault of agencies "over classifying" stuff, putting ridiculous things in very high clearances, and putting totally rubbish things in SECRET, so that high-classified folks look at SECRET as some kind of joke.

If EVERYTHING is really important, then nothing is.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

It's the standard clearance for anybody at State who does anything above clerical work; otherwise, somebody has to vett which cables you read, which meetings you attend, etc. It's much easier to get someone with a higher-than-necessary clearance than get somebody with a low clearance and constantly second-guess their access to information.

Regarding the job you're looking at, the IVP program is designed to help us win hearts and minds by bringing key players from other countries to the US for exchanges. It's easy to imagine that some of the information we or other agencies have on such people might be classified or even secret (and functionally, there's no difference between the two; clearances go straight from unclass to secret), especially when it comes to members of foreign militaries, or members of the opposition in countries we don't like.

My background check took 4 months, btw, and I was squeaky-clean.

[GePap]

I had a friend who wanted to work in the CIA map room, and because he was honest and told them he had smoked some pot in college, they told him he could not reaply until three years later, which is bull.

I had to undergo a background examination for my job, though it went on AFTER I got my job and badge.

[Apocalypse]

Secret needed a large packet, but they didn't interview any references I listed. You basically just put down where you lived, work, any legal troubles (stupid bs speeding ticket in Tennessee), education, etc.

For top secret they actually interview a crap ton of people. They are also much more concerned about foreign travel. My old roommate got top secret clearance and each of his roommates got interviewed for 30 minutes to an hour.

Mine took about 2 or 3 months, his took more like 4 or 5 I think. It would have been quicker but he forgot to mention a trip to the bahamas.

[Proteus_MST]

Originally posted by Colon™


And since it'll eventually dawn to people that TOP SECRET is just a misnomer for SECRET, the powers-that-be will introduce SUPER TOP SECRET. Beyond that UBER SUPER TOP SECRET will be used and UBER UBER SUPER TOP SECRET for serious cases.

Maybe there are already such classifications above Top Secret,
but they´re too secret to be known to the public

[Sirotnikov]

Originally posted by GePap
I had to undergo a background examination for my job, though it went on AFTER I got my job and badge.

what badge would that be?

park inspector?

[Asmodean]

I have found that many documents that require a high clearance level are - at most - uninteresting.

I specifically remember once, when as a young lieutenant, I was asked by my company commander to do a complete inventory of our classified documents.

One manual for a field telephone switchboard was classified "secret". None of the pages in the manual were classified, though, and I was left wondering why the manual had that classification. The company commander - a very nice chap, by the way - also wondered, and we finally agreed that allthough none of the pages in the manual were classified, the manual had the high classification when put in context with all the other pages. It still left me wondering, though.

What was a fun read was the battalions deployment plans, in case of a war with the Soviets (this was back when the cold war was in it's dying stages). It was quite fun to know what we had to do, and how we would do it, if it actually came to a real conflict with the reds This document was also classified "secret".

Asmodean

[Lonestar]

Secret clearences are a joke dude.

[Sirotnikov]

None of the pages in the manual were classified, though, and I was left wondering why the manual had that classification.

sometimes the mere context given by a congregation of unclassified data is worthy of some sort of classification.

chemistry is unclassified information, but a recipe for an explosive material might be classified even though it contains lots of widely known and unclassified stuff.

also, an intel. report consisting of lots of public information is also secret. though the entire information is publically available, the context in which it is presented gives away important informaiton (what info was collected, what are some assessments, what are the interests of the intel agency and so on).

[Sirotnikov]

What was a fun read was the battalions deployment plans, in case of a war with the Soviets (this was back when the cold war was in it's dying stages). It was quite fun to know what we had to do, and how we would do it, if it actually came to a real conflict with the reds This document was also classified "secret".

an israeli joke goes:

unclassified informaiton is something that i might as well fax to syria and no one would care
confidential information is something which they syrians wouldn't care for
secret information is something that syrians shouldn't have, but probably won't do much harm
top secret is probably stuff they already stole

[Elok]

I know Secret's not a big deal--my brother had to get Secret clearance for his work in the Army--but it took him about a year to get, and I'd like to start work ASAP. So this job's not for me. I was just curious. Thanks for the answers, all!

[Dr Strangelove]

You never know what information the Huns can use to topple America. Remember, loose lips sink ships.

Did i ever tell you guys the story of how my great aunt saved europe for democracy?