WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – To reduce the number of personnel security investigations backlogged in the Air Force, on Oct. 31, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base became the first installation in the Air Force to host a temporary National Background Investigation Bureau hub.
More than 90,000 investigations are currently backlogged in the Air Force.
The Dayton region is the third highest region in the United States for backlogged cases with approximately 2,000 cases currently open. To reduce the number of cases, temporary National Background Investigation Bureau satellite hubs will be set up on Air Force installations with large numbers of backlogged personnel security investigations.
“This is not the fix to the systemic backlog, but rather an effort to drive-down the steep numbers for the short term while the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and the Office of Personnel Management work on broader initiatives,” said Terry Reynolds, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Information Protection Collateral Security Lead. “Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is the first location for this effort and there are several other follow-on locations planned so this installation will set the standard for how this is executed across the Air Force.”
Over 3,000 personnel security investigations are submitted annually from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
The National Background Investigation Bureau determined that investigators had been spending a significant amount of time locating and traveling to interviewees. The pilot National Background Investigation Bureau Hub at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base will test the approach of a more deliberate scheduling combined with interviews being performed at a single location. The goal is to dramatically reduce the time investigators spend on traveling and tracking down interviewees resulting in condensing 52 weeks of field work down to 12.
Operating until Jan. 19, 2018, the National Background Investigation Bureau hub on Wright-Patterson AFB employs 25 agents at a central location in Area A to conduct personnel security investigation interviews. Another team of agents are also assigned to conduct interviews at off-base locations.
Those who will be interviewed will be notified via ETMS to schedule an appointment for their interview with an agent.
“It is important to note the those who require an interview at this point in their clearance will be contacted,” said Deena Hartell, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s personnel security lead. “We have had several instances of people who have recently been submitted for an investigation and have tried to contact our schedulers to see if they can get their interview done while the hub is here. Those who are being interviewed had already been identified in advance and will receive their e-mail notifications to schedule an appointment.”
Hartell said those who will be interviewed should look for an e-mail from ETMS with the subject “Mandatory Appointment – Background Investigation.” Those who receive the notification have 48 hours to schedule an appointment in ETMS. In order to expedite the interview process, interviewees are asked to bring the following items to the interview:
- CAC Card
- Passport
- Any financial information related to financial delinquencies or issues
- Cell phone or address book with contact information for personnel contact sources (this is only a means for the interviewee to provide contact information, agents will not look through the phone)
- Copies of any SF 86Cs (changes or updates to your SF86 since originally signed)
On average, interviews will last approximately 30 minutes but can take as long as two hours.
Supervisors and co-workers of interviewees will also be interviewed as part of the investigation. Hartell asks when contacted by an agent, to be responsive in scheduling an appointment so the investigation can be completed.
For questions regarding the National Background Investigation Bureau hub or personnel security investigations, personnel should contact their unit security manager.