1 
 
                                                              
                        DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
         DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS 
           
             
 
 
In the matter of: ) 
 ) 
  )  ISCR Case No. 18-00433 
 ) 
Applicant for Security Clearance ) 
 
 
Appearances 
 
For Government: Michelle P. Tilford, Esq., Department Counsel 
For Applicant: Pro se 
 
 
 
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Decision 
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LOUGHRAN, Edward W., Administrative Judge: 
 
On February 23, 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 28, 2018, and requested a 
hearing before an administrative judge. The case was assigned to me on July 26, 2018. 
The hearing was held as scheduled on August 16, 2018. On September 20, 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 36-year-old employee of a defense contractor. She has a 
bachelor’s degree that was awarded in 2005, a master’s degree that was awarded in 
2010, and additional post-graduate studies. Her financial problems were caused by 
periods of unemployment and underemployment, and medical bills incurred when she 
did not have health insurance. 
                                                          
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. 
 
2 
 
The Statement of Reasons (SOR) alleges four defaulted student loans, five 
delinquent medical debts, and a $410 debt to a fitness center. Applicant started 
resolving her financial problems after she was hired by a defense contractor in 2017. 
She paid the fitness center; the student loans have been rehabilitated, are in good 
standing, and are being paid; and she paid four of the five medical debts and is in the 
process of paying the fifth. 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