Challenge:
Section 925 of the FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) directed the Secretary of Defense to assume responsibility for background investigations for Department of Defense (DoD) and DoD-related personnel. It also directed the transition of that mission from the Office of Personnel Management, National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB), thereby dividing the background investigation mission between DoD and OPM. However, in June of 2018, the Administration determined it was preferable to maintain a singular process and announced its intent to move the entirety of NBIB functions, personnel, and resources under DoD.
The Director for Defense Intelligence of Counterintelligence, Law Enforcement & Security (DDI(CL&S)) oversees the Personnel Vetting Transformation and Reform as well as policy and governance for personnel security and vetting. They sought support in fulfilling core functions of developing policies as well as conducting outreach to DoD and Intelligence Community elements.
Solution:
Arlo provides technical and policy support to the Director for Defense Intelligence of Counterintelligence, Law Enforcement & Security (DDI(CL&S)) and the Director of Intelligence for Collection & Special Programs (DDI(C&SP)). Our DDI(CL&S) Counterintelligence & Security SME support involves the preparation and coordination of personnel security policy guidance in coordination with DoD Components and the Office of General Counsel.
Our experts create and provide support to maintain the suitability and security eligibility for employees requiring access to sensitive information. The team directly assisted in the transformation of the National Background Investigation Bureau to the Department of Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) while significantly reducing background investigations in the process. We serve as a change management expert guiding this transition by providing change management plans and strategies ensuring initiatives meet business, policy, budget, and schedule objectives.
Our team also develops, revises, interprets, and coordinates policies pertaining to personnel such as tiered background investigations, adjudications, and continuous evaluation of DoD personnel. This includes national security positions, positions requiring access to classified national security information, sensitive and non-sensitive positions, and personnel that require physical access to DoD installations and facilities, and/or logical access to DoD information systems. We keep abreast of the latest developments in sensitive activities and ensure that key issues are worked in support of larger defense and national security objectives.
Results:
By developing and implementing a task coordination management system, Arlo was able to keep the Directorate focused on priority Personnel Vetting issues and improved timeliness of incoming taskers by 50 percent without loss of quality. The system worked so well that it was adopted by the Chief of Staff for the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Operations and Combating Terrorism.