The Foreign Service Journal, March 2009

M A R C H 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 17 transparent and accessible record. 11. DS should not base security clearance determinations on regula- tions that the employee cannot be rea- sonably expected to know. If rules are unpublished, or otherwise demonstra- bly unavailable to the employee, fail- ure to abide by them should not be interpreted as evidence of dishonesty or unreliability. 12. With rare exceptions for the most egregious of cases, the depart- ment should choose only one path for handling any given allegation. It should decide either to treat the case as a criminal matter to be referred for prosecution, as a disciplinary matter to be handled by HR, as a medical issue to be handled by MED, as a suitability issue to be handled by HR, or as a se- curity clearance issue. Whatever route it chooses, it should not seek more than one bite of the apple. The security clearance process is vital both to the security of our nation and the efficiency of the Foreign Serv- ice, yet it is also non-transparent, poorly regulated and easily abused. Because of the severe impact on the careers and livelihoods of government employees, it is imperative that adjudi- cations be conducted fairly and equi- tably to protect the interests of all concerned. Daniel M. Hirsch, a Foreign Service of- ficer since 1985, is the director of the State Department’s Overseas Motor Vehicle Program He has served in Praia, Bamako, Maputo, Belgrade, Bis- sau, Tashkent, Abuja, Calcutta, Bish- kek, Ashgabat and Washington, D.C. Mr. Hirsch is a founding member of Concerned Foreign Service Officers, an organization which promotes fair- ness and due process in the security clearance function. S P E A K I N G O U T