Level II security clearance (secret level)

[readytogo]

Hello all,

          I am in the process of filling out a security clearance for my unit which is apparently classed as "secret".  In this document they are asking for total employment history for the past 10 years, I am wondering how sticky they are on this, as I am an Electrician by trade and our employment often rides with the market I have had quite a few jobs in the past 10 years.  The paperwork says to account for every job with "no Gaps" but i have lapses in employment either for school (8 weeks) or for the 1 day to 1 week it took me to find another job? do i have to identify all those timelines as well? I guess im just having a hard time remembering.

Any insight?
RTG

 

[medic65726]

10 years ago, to work at an airport, I had to apply for my first security and was fingerprinted. They also wanted employment (or school) history and every address I'd lived at in the same time period. Since then i've kept a document on my computer with an up to date list of all that information. Has made filling out subsequent requests much easier. Rather than messing up forms, sit down and take afew days to remember all you can and get it in order.
While an omission may be a legitimate oversight it does little to foster your credibility and can be seen as dishonest. My suggestion would be using whatever sources you can (Tax returns, T4's, Personal notes, records, files etc) to try to get it as complete as possible.
Just my 2 cents from the civvy side.

 

[readytogo]

Thats a really good idea about the up to date record, once this one is complete I will have to generate that post haste

thnx

 

[PuckChaser]

Get a couple extra forms, and account for all those gaps in employment. Even if you put unemployed, it makes it far easier to investigate if you are upfront about all of your activities. Easy to investigate = probably a faster clearance.

 

[OkanaganHeat]

While you were an electrician, were you self employed or with a firm? Your time as an electrician that is self employed or with one firm could be considered one block since the time between contracts would be spent looking for new contracts but you would still have the same information for that period. Also note that the form only requires month and year and not day to day and as Puckchaser noted, no gaps makes for a quicker investigation.

I know that I will have to get extra for my ten years as well due to numerous different jobs and a few years in college with summer unemployed periods. Just make sure you are as accurate as possible. Hope this helps.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

Hello all,

          I am in the process of filling out a security clearance for my unit which is apparently classed as "secret".  In this document they are asking for total employment history for the past 10 years, I am wondering how sticky they are on this, as I am an Electrician by trade and our employment often rides with the market I have had quite a few jobs in the past 10 years.  The paperwork says to account for every job with "no Gaps" but i have lapses in employment either for school (8 weeks) or for the 1 day to 1 week it took me to find another job? do i have to identify all those timelines as well? I guess im just having a hard time remembering.

Any insight?
RTG

Go see your unit security officer. He/she should be able answer your questions.

 

[muffin]

Once you are done the form it's a good idea to keep a copy as well in case you ever need to redo it/ upgrade - you won't have to "re-look up" everything.

Muffin

 

[George Wallace]

All of the above posts are relevent.  Pay attention to them. 

You are required to provide information on where you lived, where you worked, etc. as per the instructions on the forms.  You are not allowed to have any breaks.  As the info is not by day, but by month, this should not be difficult.

If you have any breaks, or do not provide the required information, you Clearance will not be processed, and it will be sent back to you, causing further delays in its processing.  A Level II now takes up to 18 months once a "Complete" form has been submitted, so any delays you put into the process will prolong your getting a Clearance.  There is no such thing as a "temporary" Clearance.  If you require the Clearance for a Course, and you do not have it, then you will not be put on Course.

Always keep a copy, and always keep your own Personal File with all your Course Reports, Posting Messages, Pay Statements, Travel Claims, etc. so that you will have something to back up any claims or corrections you need to make in the future.

 

[readytogo]

Thanks everybody,

    Your right george they are all very good points, I found most of my old paperwork so the gaps i have shouldnt be to bad to fill in, I was mostly concerned with the little gaps ( 1 day to 1 week) but i see how the month by month thing makes that a bit smoother.

Thanks again

RTG

 

[captloadie]

  A Level II now takes up to 18 months once a "Complete" form has been submitted, so any delays you put into the process will prolong your getting a Clearance.  There is no such thing as a "temporary" Clearance.  If you require the Clearance for a Course, and you do not have it, then you will not be put on Course.

Can anyone confirm what George has said above about losing out on courses etc. while waiting for a clearance to come in? I have noticed several messages that the screening must have been commenced, but not necessarily completed. My posting message said that I needed a higher security level than I possessed, but I was okay to go once I had the paperwork submitted.

 

[George Wallace]

Depends on how "Security conscious" the Course is.  If Security is a very real issue, and you do not have a Clearance, you will not attend.  If Security is not a real issue, then someone should be shot and pissed on for assigning too high a Security Classification to it.

 

[aesop081]

Can anyone confirm what George has said above about losing out on courses etc. while waiting for a clearance to come in? I have noticed several messages that the screening must have been commenced, but not necessarily completed. My posting message said that I needed a higher security level than I possessed, but I was okay to go once I had the paperwork submitted.

I attended a course requiring level 3 while mine was still processing.

 

[George Wallace]

I attended a course requiring level 3 while mine was still processing.

That being said; don't get the idea that all Courses will be as lenient.

 

[aesop081]

That being said; don't get the idea that all Courses will be as lenient.

Indeed. I attended other who refused students if they did not have the required clearance.

 

[Pusser]

Understand also that there may be a difference between what is required for the course and what is required for the occupation as a whole.  The equipment you learn about on a course may not be classified as high as what you will be doing with that equipment in an operational environment.  For example, a computer that you will learn to use on a course may not be classified in and of itself, but once the course is over and you are in an operational environment, the information you are processing may be classified.  In other words, you may not need a clearance to learn how to do something, but you will need the clearance when you actually start to do it.

 

[George Wallace]

Understand also that there may be a difference between what is required for the course and what is required for the occupation as a whole.  The equipment you learn about on a course may not be classified as high as what you will be doing with that equipment in an operational environment.  For example, a computer that you will learn to use on a course may not be classified in and of itself, but once the course is over and you are in an operational environment, the information you are processing may be classified.  In other words, you may not need a clearance to learn how to do something, but you will need the clearance when you actually start to do it.

As I mentioned earlier, if a Crse requires a certain Clearance you should not be on that Crse unless you have the Clearance required.    Putting people who have a Lvl III Clearance being processed onto a Crse that requires Lvl III is a BREACH of Security, or indicates that the Crse should not require a Lvl III in the first place.  If someone drawing up a Crse and a Crse TP has been incompetent/lazy/whatever and overclassified a Crse, they should be shot and pissed on.  They are only holding up valuable training and teaching bad habits.


[Edit to add]

Remember:  The class/course/lecture content may be UNCLASSIFIED in the presentation, but become highly CLASSIFIED in the discusion of the presentation.

 

[PuckChaser]

Some courses require a clearance pending as the equipment the students will learn on the course is capable of a specified clearance level, but the equipment itself (basic functions) can be covered at unclass. The radios, a DTD are all pieces I can think of off the top of my head that fall under that realm.

 

[justmyalias]

My problem isn't housing and employment...that's the easy part.

My royal PITA., is the foreign contacts, email/online blog sites., bio data on all people in my immediate vicinity....man...what a BRUTAL and EXCRUCIATING experience.  I haven't exactly lived in one town all my life, not ventured beyond our country, and married someone who grew up across the street from me  .

I'm pretty sure my case handler is thinking something is up, as I'm sure taking a heckuva long time to prepare everything.  I'm sure soon as I say I'm on this site, they'll reject me. LOL.

 

[George Wallace]

Some courses require a clearance pending as the equipment the students will learn on the course is capable of a specified clearance level, but the equipment itself (basic functions) can be covered at unclass. The radios, a DTD are all pieces I can think of off the top of my head that fall under that realm.

At the same time, although the equipment itself may SEEM to be unclassified, as soon as you start playing with crypto it is a whole different ballgame. 

justmyalias

Where did Canada Post deliver your mail, what was the address on your Driver's Lic, and where did Revenue Canada send your Tax Forms and if you were lucky.....Refund?  Those would all be addresses that you could use.........or just say that you lived in your parents basement.  If you can't give that information, you won't get anywhere on the waiting list for a Clearance.

 

[justmyalias]

....
justmyalias

Where did Canada Post deliver your mail...

as I mentioned., my home addresses are not my problem.  It's the other things I listed.