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                        DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
         DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS 
           
             
 
 
In the matter of: ) 
 ) 
  )  ISCR Case No. 15-03656 
 ) 
Applicant for Security Clearance ) 
 
 
Appearances 
 
For Government: Bryan J. Olmos Esq., Department Counsel 
For Applicant: Pro se 
 
 
 
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Decision 
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LOUGHRAN, Edward W., Administrative Judge: 
 
On May 12, 2016, 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 (AG) implemented by 
the DOD on September 1, 2006. 
 
Applicant responded to the SOR on June 7, 2016, and requested a hearing 
before an administrative judge. The case was assigned to me on December 1, 2016. 
The hearing was held as scheduled on January 25, 2017. On May 1, 2017, I proposed 
to the parties that this case was appropriate for a summary disposition in Applicant’s 
favor. Department Counsel did not object.  
 
Applicant was honorably discharged from the U.S. military in 2002. He is rated as 
50% disabled by the Department of Veterans Affairs, but that determination was not 
granted until October 2015 because of paperwork and other problems. Applicant's 
 
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finances were adversely affected by medical issues, unemployment, underemployment, 
and taking care of a large family with special-needs children.  
 
The SOR alleged a multitude of delinquent debts, but there are several duplicate 
accounts, and at least 40 of the debts are medical accounts. Applicant started paying 
his debts before the SOR was issued. His student loans are deferred, paid, or otherwise 
resolved. He paid or settled a majority of the non-medical debts and a number of the 
medical debts. He credibly testified that he will continue his efforts to resolve his 
financial problems. He still has work to do, but I am satisfied that he has a plan to 
resolve his financial problems, and that he has taken significant action to implement that 
plan. Based on the record evidence as a whole, I conclude that the security concerns 
are mitigated under the following mitigating conditions: AG ¶¶ 20(b), 20(c), and 20(d).  
 
The concerns over Applicant’s history of financial problems do not create doubt 
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.  
 
 
 
________________________ 
Edward W. Loughran 
Administrative Judge