Personnel Security Investigations
This MARADMIN announces the transfer of Personnel Security Investigation (PSI) responsibilities from the Defense Security Service (DSS) to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) effective October 1, 2003. The message affects all military personnel (including new accessions), civilians, and contractors requiring security clearances, and provides guidance on new submission procedures for PSI requests.
Issued: October 22, 2003
1. EFFECTIVE 1 OCTOBER 2003, PSI'S FOR ALL MILITARY, INCLUDING NEW ACCESSIONS, CIVILIAN AND CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL WILL BE CONDUCTED BY OPM, PER REF (A). DSS WILL RETAIN COGNIZANCE OVER ALL PSI REQUESTS RECEIVED BEFORE 1 OCTOBER 2003, BUT WILL TRANSFER ALL REQUESTS RECEIVED AFTER 1 OCTOBER 2003 TO OPM. AFTER 1 OCTOBER 2003 COMMANDS MAY CHOOSE TO CONTINUE TO SUBMIT ELECTRONIC PERSONNEL SECURITY QUESTIONNAIRE (EPSQ) REQUESTS THROUGH THE DSS PORTAL AND SEPARATELY MAIL RELEASES, AGENCY USE FORMS, AND FINGERPRINT CARDS TO DSS. ALTERNATIVELY, UNITS MAY MAIL PSI REQUESTS DIRECTLY TO OPM USING EITHER A PRINTED EPSQ WITH FINGERPRINT CARD (SF-87), OPM AGENCY USE FORM AND EPSQ RELEASE FORM, OR A STANDARD FORM (SF) 86, "QUESTIONNAIRE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY POSITIONS" AND FINGERPRINT CARD (SF-87). THE SF-86 FORM INCORPORATES THE AGENCY USE FORM AND RELEASE FORM INFORMATION AND AUTHORIZATION REQUIREMENTS. REQUESTS MAILED DIRECTLY TO OPM WILL BE OPENED MORE EXPEDITIOUSLY THAN EPSQ REQUESTS SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO DSS. 2. FOR ACCESSION SSBI'S, PLACE THE WORD "ACCESSIONS" IN BLOCK I (POSITION CODE) OF THE OPM AGENCY USE FORM OR SF-86 NEXT TO THE SUBJECT'S POSITION. FOR EXAMPLE, "CRYPTOGRAPHER (ACCESSIONS)". 3. REF (A) FUNDED AN EXTENSION OF THE E-GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE TO AUTOMATE THE DOD PERSONNEL SECURITY PROGRAM. THE JOINT PERSONNEL ADJUDICATION SYSTEM (JPAS) IS UNDERGOING ENHANCEMENTS TO INTEGRATE OPM'S ELECTRONIC QUESTIONNAIRE FOR INVESTIGATION PROCESSING (E-QIP). ONCE INTEGRATED, E-QIP WILL REPLACE EPSQ, HOWEVER, UNTIL NOTIFIED OTHERWISE COMMANDS WILL CONTINUE SUBMITTING REQUESTS USING ONE OF THE OPTIONS DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH 1. 4. IN THE INTEREST OF EFFICIENCY AND READINESS, PERSONNEL DEPLOYED IN SUPPORT OF MILITARY OPERATIONS FOR ONE YEAR OR LESS MAY BE PERMITTED ACCESS TO TOP SECRET CLASSIFIED INFORMATION FOR UP TO ONE YEAR, AS NEEDED TO PERFORM ASSIGNED DUTIES, BASED ON FINAL SECRET SECURITY CLEARANCE ELIGIBILITY. UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, SINGLE SCOPE BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS (SSBI'S) WILL NOT BE REQUESTED TO SUPPORT THESE SHORT-TERM ASSIGNMENTS. THIS GUIDANCE APPLIES ONLY TO ASSIGNMENTS OF LESS THAN ONE-YEAR AND DOES NOT APPLY TO NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO) INFORMATION OR SENSITIVE COMPARTMENTED INFORMATION (SCI) ACCESS PER REFERENCE (B). 5. FOR PSI REQUEST PROCEDURES, CONSULT THE NAVY SECURITY WEBSITE AT WWW.NAVYSECURITY@NAVY.MIL. THE LINK IS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE PAGE AND IS LABELED 'PSI PROCEDURES'. 6. ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING PSI SUBMISSION AND OTHER INFORMATION AND PERSONNEL SECURITY RELATED TOPICS SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO MR W.T. POTTS, JR., HQMC ARS, COMM (703) 614-2320, DSN 224-2320, NIPRNET AT POTTSWT@HQMC.USMC.MIL.