Expert: Rod Powers - 12/22/2007

Question
Two years ago I had a bankruptcy chapter 7 cleared, I had no late payments
until the bankruptcy, it was due to a car that I bought and cost of living
where I lived mostly.  My credit is now 660.

I am 28 years old, I went through MEPS a year ago and scored well, I was
offered 18x or Option 40, however I was too worried about my security
clearance to sign.  The main recruiter at MEPS said that he would guarantee
me clearance or sign his signature, whatever that means?  I wanted to go for
it so bad, but they wouldn't give me the security interview first and I heard
that I wouldn't know for sure of the clearance until perhaps after boot camp,
so I didn't sign.

I still want to do this, Iv'e always wanted to be a ranger, my MEPS is good for
another year from what I was told.  

My question is this: If I join option 40 or 18x, go through bootcamp and am
then not given secret clearance, what happens?  Is my contract void, ie. I can
leave the military? Can I choose a new MOS/unit? Or can they just put me
wherever they want?  

Answer
Hi Rictor,

As long as you are completely honest on your security clearance application, there won't be a problem.

First of all, it costs the Military big bucks to run a security clearance. If the Security Specialists at MEPS (who are pretty good at their job of guessing which applicants will qualify for a clearance and which won't), think there is a chance of denial, they won't allow you to select an MOS that requires that level of clearance. Their job (and only job) is to save the Military money by not letting them get a guarantee for a job that has a clearance level there is a chance they won't qualify for.

Now, when it comes to guaranteed jobs, I quote from my article, "What the Recruiter Never Told You" at: http://usmilitary.about.com/cs/joiningup/a/recruiter.htm

From the article:

"A word about "Guaranteed Jobs." It's important that you understand what a "guaranteed job" is in the military. If you have a "guaranteed job" in your enlistment contract, it does not mean you will get that job, come Hell or high water. There may be reasons, after you enlist, that you can't get the job that your enlistment contract "guarantees." What happens in that case, depends on the situation.

In general, if you are denied the job in your contract due to something beyond your control (such as the service phased out the job, or downsized the job, or made a mistake and discovered that you don't qualify for the job, or you are denied a security clearance -- not due to giving false information), then you will be given the choice of applying for a discharge, or choosing a new job from a list of available jobs that you qualify for. In this case, the choice is yours (It should be noted that while these situations have been known to happen, they occur rarely).

On the other hand, if you fail to qualify for the job due to a reason within your control (you fail in training, you get into trouble, or you give false information on your security clearance application and are denied a security clearance), the choice is not yours. The military will decide whether to discharge you (throw you out), or to retain you and retrain you into a job that you qualify for. In this case it's the military's choice. "

For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military information site at: http://usmilitary.about.com

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com