KEYWORD: Guideline F; Guideline E
DIGEST: Applicant asks the Board to contact Applicant’s employer which we have no authority
to do. The impact of the Judge’s adverse decision is not a relevant part of assessing Applicant’s
security eligibility.  The Board’s authority is limited to cases in which the appealing party
alleges the Judge committed harmful error.  Adverse decision affirmed.
CASENO: 14-04092.a1
DATE: 10/22/2015
DATE: October 22, 2015
In Re:
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Applicant for Security Clearance
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ISCR Case No. 14-04092
APPEAL BOARD DECISION
APPEARANCES
FOR GOVERNMENT
James B. Norman, Esq., Chief Department Counsel
FOR APPLICANT
Pro se
1Directive, Enclosure 2 ¶ 19(a).
2Directive, Enclosure 2 ¶ 19(c).
2
The Department of Defense (DoD) declined to grant Applicant a security clearance.  On
December 8, 2014, DoD issued a statement of reasons (SOR) advising Applicant of the basis for that
decision–security concerns raised under Guideline F (Financial Considerations) and Guideline E
(Personal Conduct) of Department of Defense Directive 5220.6 (Jan. 2, 1992, as amended)
(Directive).  Applicant requested a hearing.  On August 28, 2015, after the hearing, Defense Office
of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) Administrative Judge Philip S. Howe denied Applicant’s request
for a security clearance.  Applicant appealed pursuant to Directive ¶¶  E3.1.28 and E3.1.30.
Applicant raised the following issues on appeal: whether the Board would reconsider Judge’s
adverse decision; whether the adverse impact of the decision should be considered; and whether the
Board would contact Applicant’s employer.  Consistent with the following, we affirm the decision.
The Judge’s Findings of Fact
Applicant’s debts were discharged in a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in 2003.
Applicant currently has five delinquent debts, totaling almost $15,000.  Applicant is in a
dispute with the IRS that is not alleged in the SOR.
Applicant did not disclose several of his debts nor a vehicle repossession on his e-QIP.
The Judge’s Analysis
The Judge concluded that Applicant’s circumstances raised two concerns: “inability or
unwillingness to satisfy debts”1 and “a history of not meeting financial obligations[.]”2 In further
concluding that Applicant had not mitigated the concerns arising from his delinquent debts, the
Judge noted the that the current debts postdate a Chapter 7 bankruptcy from 2003. 
The Judge further concluded that Applicant’s omissions were deliberate and found against
Applicant under Guideline E.
Discussion
Applicant asks the Board to contact Applicant’s employer.  The Board has no authority to
do that.  Compare e.g., ISCR Case No 14-00434 at 3 (App. Bd. Jan. 20, 2015) (“A Judge has no
authority to serve as an investigator.”).
3
Applicant asks us to consider the impact on him of the Judge’s adverse decision.  Such an
impact is not a relevant part of assessing an Applicant’s security eligibility.  See. e.g., ISCR Case
No. 10-3757 at 2 (App. Bd. Sep. 13, 2011).
Applicant never challenges the Judge’s decision.  Applicant asks the Board to reconsider the
Judge’s decision.  The Board’s authority is limited to cases in which the appealing party alleges the
Judge committed harmful error. See, e.g. ISCR Case No. 14-03078 at 2 (App. Bd. Jul. 2, 2015).
 The Judge examined the relevant data and articulated a satisfactory explanation for the
decision, both as to the mitigating conditions and the whole-person factors.  The decision is
sustainable on this record.  “The general standard is that a clearance may be granted only when
‘clearly consistent with the interests of the national security.’”  Department of the Navy v. Egan, 484
U.S. 518, 528 (1988).  See also Directive, Enclosure 2 ¶ 2(b):  “Any doubt concerning personnel
being considered for access to classified information will be resolved in favor of the national
security.”
Order
The Decision is AFFIRMED.    
Signed: Michael Ra’anan            
Michael Ra’anan
Administrative Judge
Chairperson, Appeal Board
Signed: Jeffrey D. Billett             
Jeffrey D. Billett
Administrative Judge
Member, Appeal Board
Signed: William S. Fields               
William S. Fields
Administrative Judge
Member, Appeal Board