SYSTEM OF RECORDS NOTICES (SORNs)

DoD-Wide Notices

SYSTEM NAME:

Defense Clearance and Investigations Index (DCII) (August 17, 1999, 64 FR 44704).

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Primary location: Defense Security Service, Operation Center-Baltimore, 881 Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum, MD, 21090-2902.

Secondary locations: Air Force (Headquarters 497th IG/INS); Air Force Office of Special Investigations; Army Central Clearance Facility; Army Crime Records Center; Army Investigative Records Repository; Defense Intelligence Agency; Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals; DoD Inspector General; Joint Staff; National Reconnaissance Office; National Security Agency; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Navy Central Adjudicative Facility; U.S. Coast Guard; and the Washington Headquarters Services. For specific addressees of the secondary locations, please contact the Primary location.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

Any person described as a subject or a victim or who is a cross-reference in an investigation completed by or for a DoD investigative organization when that investigation is retained by the organization and the name is submitted for central indexing.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

The index is composed of investigations conducted by DoD investigative organizations, locator references to such investigations, and security clearances granted by DoD components. Records contain names and other personal identifying information on individuals, including security clearance data on Department of Defense contractor employees who are indexed. The index may also include investigative record information/clearance data submitted by other Federal agencies (i.e. National Security Agency, Coast Guard).

File Tracing

Reference to an investigation maintained by one of the investigative records repositories. It identifies the individual by name and personal identifiers, the custodian of the file, the year indexed, and the number used by the repository to locate the file.

Open Case Tracing

A record input by DoD investigative activities or the National Security Agency reflecting the existence of an investigation in progress. It identifies the subject individual by name and personal identifiers, the location of the open investigation, the year indexed, and the number used to locate the investigative number.

NAC Pending Tracing

Record of a National Agency Check (NAC) investigation in progress. It identifies the subject individual by name, personal identifiers, the case number, the category of the requester of the NAC, and the type of NAC being run.

NAC History Tracing

A record of completed favorable, or incomplete, national agency checks. It identifies the individual by name and personal identifiers, the date the NAC was completed, and the agencies that were checked. NAC Histories that were opened after January 4, 1999 will reflect investigations for subjects that do not require a clearance (e.g. Red Cross or USO personnel being assigned with the Armed Forces overseas).

Clearance Tracing

A record of a clearance determination by an adjudicative agency. It identifies the individual by name and personal identifiers, the agency that submitted the clearance entry, the date it was granted, the eligibility level of the clearance, the level of access granted, the access granted date, the type and date of the investigation that formed the basis for the clearance determination, the category of the subject, the separation date and any files used in the adjudicative process.

DCII Impersonal Title Tracing

A record of organizations, contractor locations and incidents that were subjects of DoD investigations or DSS Facility NACs. There have been no new impersonal titles added to the DCII since April 19, 1997, when DSS stopped conducting Facility NACs.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

5 U.S.C. 301, Departmental Regulations; E.O. 10450, Security Requirements for Government Employment; DoD Directive 5200.2, DoD Personnel Security Program (32 CFR part 156); DoD Directive 5105.42, Defense Security Service; and E.O. 9397 (SSN).

PURPOSE(S):

To determine the existence and location of DoD investigative records for granting clearances, for access to defense installations, and for entry into military service or employment in sensitive civilian positions; and to reflect security clearance information pertaining to DoD Components and Defense contractor personnel.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act, these records or information contained therein may specifically be disclosed outside the DoD as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:

The 'Blanket Routine Uses' published at the beginning of DSS' compilation of systems of records notices apply to this system.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

STORAGE:

The DCII is stored on disk within a Corporate Database (CDB). The CDB has a mirrored structure (duplicate file) to provide immediate recovery in case of disk failure. It is regularly backed up onto magnetic tape for storage as a contingency in case of system of disk failure.

RETRIEVABILITY:

Index records are accessed through name and at least one personal identifier (PID). Personal identifiers are: date of birth, place of birth, and Social Security Number. Inquiries may enter the system by being keyed in at remote terminals. A nonstandard retrieval capability also exists which permits retrieval without PID or on parts of a name and produces references to all individuals by that name. It should be noted that in many cases the subject's SSN is necessary to make a positive identification. Name Only Index records are accessed through the name or some portion thereof. Records are retrieved based on an exact match with the name submitted. Inquiries are made by local and remote terminals via compliant client-server software.

Safeguards:

The DSS facility housing the DCII is protected by security personnel (guards) at all times. Access to the computer room is controlled by combination lock and identification badges, which are issued only to authorized individuals. Generalized validation is provided through online and batch edit criteria that must be honored before an information request or update will occur. Identification (account codes and passwords) and authentication is required at the DSS firewall and again at the database before information can be accessed. All data transfers and information retrievals that use remote communication facilities are encrypted. Activities must be a part of DoD/Federal Government and accredited on the basis of authorized requirements before a new terminal is established or before batch request will be honored and processed. Organizations authorized access are responsible for ensuring that individuals and organizations to whom they disclose DCII information have appropriate authority and need-to-know.

RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:

OPEN CASE TRACINGS are retained for as long as the investigation is open. Upon completion of the investigation, the open case tracings are replaced by a file tracing.

FILE TRACINGS are retained for a period corresponding to the retention of investigative files described in DSS Personnel Security Investigative File Automation Subsystem. However, each agency has the responsibility of deleting their own file tracings.

NAC PENDING TRACINGS are retained until completion of the NAC. At that time they are replaced by a NAC history tracing.

NAC HISTORY TRACINGS are automatically deleted 15 years from the date of completion of the NAC. Specific action may be taken to delete the record sooner. A subsequent favorable NAC will be entered as a new history record and automatically delete the previous history record.

CLEARANCE TRACINGS are maintained until deleted by the submitting agency. For DSS this is when the clearance is denied, revoked or no longer needed by the subject (death or separation from service/employment).

DCII IMPERSONAL TITLE TRACINGS are retained for a period corresponding to the retention of investigative files described in the DSS Personnel Security Investigative File Automation Subsystem (V5-01).

System Manager(s) and Address:

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (C3I), Deputy Director for Personnel Security, 3040 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-3040.

Defense Security Service, Director, Operations Center Baltimore, 881 Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum, MD 21090-2902.

Notification Procedure:

Individuals seeking to determine whether information about themselves is contained in this system should address written inquiries to the Defense Security Service, Office of FOI and PA, 1340 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314-1651.

Record Access Procedures:

Individuals seeking access to records about themselves contained in this system should address written inquiries to the Defense Security Service, Privacy Act Branch, P.O. Box 46060, Baltimore, MD 21240-6060.

A request for information must contain the full name and Social Security Number of the subject individual. Personal visits will require a valid driver's license or other picture identification and are limited to the Defense Security Service, Privacy Act Branch, 881 Elkridge Landing Road, Linthicum, MD 21090-2902.

Contesting Record Procedures:

DSS' rules for accessing records, contesting contents, and appealing initial agency determinations are contained in DSS Regulation 01-13: 32 CFR part 321; or may be obtained from the Defense Security Service, Office of FOI and PA, 1340 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314-1651.

Record Source Categories:

DoD investigative organizations listed in the `System location' caption (excluding DISCO); Defense Logistics Agency, ATTN: DLAH-T; Director of Security, National Security Agency, ATTN: M-552, Fort Meade, MD 20755; Assistant Chief of Staff of Intelligence (ACSI), Department of the Army, ATTN: Counterintelligence Division, Washington, DC 20314.

Exemptions Claimed for the System:

Investigatory material compiled for law enforcement purposes may be exempt pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2). However, if an individual is denied any right, privilege, or benefit for which he would otherwise be entitled by Federal law or for which he would otherwise be eligible, as a result of the maintenance of such information, the individual will be provided access to such information except to the extent that disclosure would reveal the identity of a confidential source.

An exemption rule for this record system has been promulgated in accordance with the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(1), (2), and (3), (c) and (e) and published in 32 CFR part 321. For additional information contact the system manager.