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ISCR Case 20-03567 — CASE

ISCR Case 20-03567granted

Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 20-03567

grantedDec 23, 2021· Hon. Robert E. Coacher· hearing

Summary

This case concerns an applicant, a veteran with 20 years of military service, who faced security clearance issues under Guideline F (Financial Considerations) due to credit card debt. The Statement of Reasons alleged that the applicant incurred this debt during his military service due to financial difficulties.

Following his military retirement, the applicant significantly improved his financial situation through new employment and disability benefits. He provided credible evidence demonstrating that his debts were primarily a result of his military service. Furthermore, he had fully paid two of the outstanding debts and established payment plans for the remaining ones.

Applying mitigating conditions under Adjudicative Guideline Paragraph 20, the judge determined that the applicant had successfully mitigated the financial concerns. Consequently, the applicant was granted eligibility for access to classified information.

Why the Applicant Prevailed

The applicant demonstrated significant financial improvement after retirement.
He provided credible evidence that his debts were primarily due to his military service.
The applicant has paid two of the debts and has payment plans for the remaining debts.

Conditions Referenced

Mitigating

AG ¶ 20appliedFinancial ConsiderationsThe applicant's financial issues were mitigated by his improved financial situation post-retirement.

Key Rule Quoted

“The concerns over Applicant’s history of financial problems do not create doubts about his current reliability, trustworthiness, good judgment, and ability to protect classified information.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedFeb 15, 2021
Answer filedMar 26, 2021
Hearing heldDec 13, 2021
Decision dateDec 23, 2021

Cite For

Mitigation of Financial Concerns Under Guideline F Due to Improved Financial Circumstances
Impact of Military Service on Financial Stability
Consideration of Whole-person Concept in Security Clearance Decisions

Editorial summary generated for research. Not legal advice; not a prediction. Verify against the full decision before relying on any quoted language.

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline F · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: granted

The judge found that the applicant incurred credit card debt primarily due to financial difficulties experienced during military service, including 14 combat deployments. The applicant demonstrated significant improvement in his financial situation and provided evidence of payment plans for his debts, leading to a decision to grant his security clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant incurred credit card debt due to financial difficulties during military service.	For Applicant	Credit Card Debt	Admitted	—	(b) conditions largely beyond the person’s control; acted responsibly (c) received/receiving counseling; problem being resolved	Documented Financial Counseling Claimed Debt Paid in Full Documented Payment Plan with Creditor

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline F). The verbatim source decision is shown in full below.

Full decision

The complete, official text — footnotes and signatures included — is in the original PDF.

Decision text, by section

DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS

HEARING

______________ ______________ DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS In the matter of: ) ) ) ISCR Case No. 20-03567 ) Applicant for Security Clearance ) Appearances For Government: Jeff Nagel, Esq., Department Counsel For Applicant: Pro se 12/23/2021 Decision COACHER, Robert E., Administrative Judge: On February 15, 2021, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) to Applicant detailing security concerns under Guideline F, financial considerations. The action was taken under Executive Order (EO) 10865, Safeguarding Classified Information within Industry (February 20, 1960), as amended; DOD Directive 5220.6, Defense Industrial Personnel Security Clearance Review Program (January 2, 1992), as amended (Directive); and the adjudicative guidelines implemented by DOD on June 8, 2017 (AG). Applicant responded to the SOR on March 26, 2021, and requested a hearing before an administrative judge. The case was assigned to me on October 21, 2021. The hearing was held as scheduled on December 13, 2021. On December 15, 2021, I proposed that this case was appropriate for a summary disposition (SD) in Applicant’s favor. Department Counsel did not object. This case involves financial concerns under Guideline F. I believe a SD is appropriate in this case because Applicant presented credible evidence showing that his debts were due in large part to his serving his country on 14 combat deployments during his 20 years of service. During this time, he found it difficult to provide for his wife

________________________ and six children on his military pay. As a result, he incurred some credit-card debt to make ends meet. He realizes this was a mistake. Once he retired in 2019, he gained employment with a defense contractor, qualified for 100% VA disability payments, and started receiving his military retired pay. Needless to say, he is in a far better financial situation now than he was when he was on active duty. He has paid two of the SOR debts and has existing payment plans (documented with several months' worth of prior payments) in place for the two remaining debts. Based upon the foregoing, he mitigated the financial consideration concerns. The concerns over Applicant’s history of financial problems do not create doubts about his current reliability, trustworthiness, good judgment, and ability to protect classified information. In reaching this conclusion, I weighed the evidence as a whole and considered if the favorable evidence outweighed the unfavorable evidence. I also gave due consideration to the whole-person concept. Accordingly, I conclude that he met his ultimate burden of persuasion to show that it is clearly consistent with the national interest to grant him eligibility for access to classified information. This case is decided for Applicant. Clearance is granted. Robert E. Coacher Administrative Judge