Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Yet again...

So I'm currently working with the USCG on a project and it is requiring me to get a CAC card again. For those who don't know what this is, it is an ID smart card. Without this card I am not allowed to do any work requiring me to have access to USCG computers and facilities. Being refused this card would be a disaster for me - and had that refusal happened when I was first hired it would have eliminated my best chance to get my life back together to some degree. If the refusal to issue it now occurs, there is an 80% chance I lose my job - this is not an exaggeration.

I had no issues previously getting this card when I first started working with my company. But a few months have lapsed since I had one and it requires me to submit for a new one. The process would be faster and not require another background check if they used the information from last time showing everything was done. There is a problem - they no longer have me in the system it seems. Not only am I no longer in the system, but there is the possibility that when they originally did my background check for the first CAC, they may have seen that I already had a background check when getting a security clearance (back when I worked at Northrop Grumman prior to my legal difficulties in 2006). From what others were saying, it is possible that this original background check from before my legal difficulties (and the attached information of having a clearance) was still considered acceptable and thus the CAC was issued. So it is possible that the CAC may have been given based on a background check that was done before I was threatened into pleading to a felony I did not commit. Apparently there is a time limit on how long the background check acceptability lasts, and that time may have lapsed. Meaning that being required to have another background check again will now show a felony and thus could result in a refusal of the CAC.

Whether this is what actually happened with the first issuing or not I'm not certain and neither are the USCG personnel, but it is certainly possible. I really have no idea what happened with that first CAC issuing at the moment. What I do know is this; I had to fill out a form that was forwarded to the security office to see if they can find any documentation on my first CAC issuing. If the previous theory is incorrect and they do find record of a check done at that time, it means they will use that and issue the CAC without a problem. If they don't find this information, they will then initiate a brand new background check with the new information that was provided (my felony record, since they require information within a 10 year span). Considering that we should have heard from the security people today, there is a possibility that when I come into work tomorrow I will be told it was refused.

Another issue is that when filling out this form, I had to write down my felony charge information. This information was seen by one of the USCG personnel before they forwarded along. Thankfully they had the chance to get to know me long before they found out I'm a felon. I believe this person will not tell anyone else I work with, but then I have no way of really knowing that. In addition, the idea was given to my engineering manager by USCG personnel that getting a security clearance for me would allow my company to have evidence of having a government background check performed and they can forward this along next time. If my company asks me to submit for a clearance I can guarantee I will not receive it, which is why I've put off doing it all this time. Since it is submitted through my company's security officer they will know it was denied. This will likely result in the loss of my job - again not an exaggeration.

If anyone still questions why I don't just "move on" from what was done to me in 2006, you now know just one of many reasons why I will not walk away. Years since it was done and it still creates problems. It was the most ignorant decision Ms. Manweiler has ever made in her life.

I didn't post this to sway opinions. I didn't post it for Ms. Manweiler's eyes. I didn't post it to complain or vent. I have my reasons why.

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