Reply #105: I gotta be honest, here [View All]

It really isn't a question as to whether you deserve the clearance or not, but if I were sitting back in DC, going through the lists of candidates, and trying to match personnel with assignments, I would take one look at your MOS, one look at your financial history, and, rightly or wrongly, deny you a TS (SCI) clearance and shove you into some sort of field artillery leadership position.

I wouldn't think twice about it. You already have the knowledge, you already have the experience, you would be a credible leader for junior personnel.

Also, and again I am being totally honest, the intel community does not embrace older types with open arms--I am not saying this cannot be overcome, but it is yet another hurdle. They really do prefer to grow their own--the old "get 'em young, train 'em right" saw applies here. It is a curious culture, Intel, and folk with too much "outside experience" have to work twice as hard to fit in.

ON EDIT: One point I forgot to make--if you speak Arabic, Farsi or Pashtun, you could probably overcome the age/culture hurdle, and likely even the financial hurdle as well. But you'd have to already have the skillset, IMO.