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                        DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
         DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS 
           
             
 
 
In the matter of: ) 
 ) 
  )  ISCR Case No. 17-01063 
 ) 
Applicant for Security Clearance ) 
 
 
Appearances 
 
For Government: Jeff A. Nagel, Esq., Department Counsel 
For Applicant: Pro se 
 
 
 
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Decision 
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LOUGHRAN, Edward W., Administrative Judge: 
 
On May 2, 2017, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a Statement of 
Reasons to Applicant detailing security concerns under Guideline F, financial 
considerations.1 Applicant responded to the SOR on May 30, 2017, and requested a 
hearing before an administrative judge. The case was assigned to me on July 10, 2017. 
The hearing was held as scheduled on July 20, 2017. On August 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 served honorably in the U.S. military from 2008 to 2013. She had 
periods of unemployment and underemployment after her discharge. She was also 
involved in a costly custody battle for her child. Since she obtained her current job in 
March 2016, she has paid, settled, or otherwise resolved a number of the debts in the 
Statement of Reasons. She credibly testified that she will continue her efforts to resolve 
                                                          
1 This case is adjudicated 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, 
which became effective on June 8, 2017. 
 
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her financial problems. She still has work to do, but I am satisfied that she has a plan to 
resolve her financial problems, and that she 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(a), 20(b), 
and 20(d).  
 
The concerns over Applicant’s history of financial problems do not create doubt 
about her 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 she 
met her ultimate burden of persuasion to show that it is clearly consistent with the 
national interest to grant her eligibility for access to classified information. This case is 
decided for Applicant.  
 
 
 
________________________ 
Edward W. Loughran 
Administrative Judge