1 
 
                                                              
                        DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
         DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS 
           
             
 
 
In the matter of: ) 
 ) 
  )  ISCR Case No. 17-04000 
 ) 
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 January 29, 2018, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a Statement of 
Reasons (SOR) to Applicant detailing security concerns under Guideline F, financial 
considerations.1 Applicant responded to the SOR on March 6, 2018, and requested a 
hearing before an administrative judge. The case was assigned to me on May 8, 2018. 
The hearing was held as scheduled on July 9, 2018. On August 21, 2018, I proposed to 
the parties that this case was appropriate for a summary disposition in Applicant’s favor. 
Department Counsel did not object.  
 
Applicant is a 34-year-old employee of a defense contractor. He served on active 
duty in the U.S. military from 2005 until he was medically retired with an honorable 
discharge in 2010. His financial problems were caused by periods of unemployment, 
two divorces, a costly custody battle over his child, and his custody of his child without 
the benefit of child support from his ex-wife.  
                                                          
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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Applicant started resolving his financial problems after he was hired by his 
current employer in 2017. He paid several debts before the SOR was issued. He 
established a plan to resolve his financial problems, and he took action to implement 
that plan. He paid, settled, or otherwise resolved six of the seven debts in the SOR. The 
only unresolved debt is $12,006 owed for the deficiency on an auto loan after the 
vehicle was repossessed. He called the creditor but was told they no longer had a 
record of the debt. He credibly testified that he will resolve that debt if the creditor 
accepts payments. 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 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