OTH discharge and government jobs...

[jydsker]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CO

I received a Chapter 14 and a OTH discharge in 1990 for failing a urinalysis... yeah.. not the greatest and of course I heard all the stuff from people in the military about how this was going to affect my life forever.... yada, yada, yada... yes maybe not the smartest decision I have ever made, but I was young and headstrong. Honestly, my discharge status hasn't really affected my life and career at all, but now I find myself in a position that I am applying for a couple of jobs that are government related.

My question is this.. I have an absolutly clean record since then with the exception of a couple of minor accidents.. How will an OTH discharge almost 20 years ago affect my ability to get a government job or a security clearance if needed? I know that one of the jobs I am being interviewed for requires a ADP II clearance.. I have never heard of this one before.. I have done a lot of research on this but I can't really find anything that gives a definitive answer either way.

If I can't get one, it won't be the end of the world.. and I would just like to figure this out before I invest a lot of time and energy in this..

Thanks in advance!!

[Peligroso27]

Your chances of getting the clearance are poor. Drug use and less than honorable discharge, I would recommend just moving on.

[questionia]

I respectfully disagree with Peligroso. Clearances are odd ducks. It has been a number of years since these incidences occurred - at least according to the OP. Although they want to know about the past history, they do take in to account how recently these instances occurred and how you have behaved sine then.

A security clearance is not a numbers game only. The adjudication process is both an art and a science and I have definitely seen clearances given to people with far worse issues.

I would encourage the OP to apply for the jobs and be completely truthful on the EPSQ. You may have to answer some additional questions, submit a statement, and it may take longer, but it is possible to demonstrate to the adjudicators that you have changed, these situations were in the past, and that you are now a good candidate for a clearance.

Keep in mind, too, that there is an appeals process on the civilian side as well.