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I experimented with weed some but said no because my dad was with me. Can I change the info before I got to MEPS or will that mess me up? I’m trying to join the Air Force. I was told that I could probably get away with it at MEPS but I think I’d need a security clearance if I get a cyber security job and I don’t know that I could get away then and I don’t want to get ****ed later down the road.
Talk to your recruiter. If you're Air Force (I'm an AF recruiter) this is literally NO PROBLEM. Also, your recruiter is a jerk for asking in front of your parents. We always find a way to ask privately (like the back while setting you up for the practice test). The AF has zero limits on how much weed you've smoked, you're totally fine. Just be honest with the recruiter on why you answered that way, and maybe he/she will learn not to ask those questions in front of parents!
The recruiter was saying that since everything has been signed and everything it would be better to just keep it quiet and how MEPS wouldn’t find out. I’m more worried about security clearancein the future as well as just not wanting to have to lie for my entire career about that. Just to verify though, would there be any problems that might come up from changing the answer to a document that I signed saying I understood lying is perjury and all?
Don't worry about a security clearance at this point. If and when you do fill out security clearance paperwork in the future, answer all the questions truthfully. Considering that past marijuana use is not a barrier to enlistment, it is just not going to matter.
A primary reason for security clearance forms is to get out in the open any personal information that foreign intelligence operatives could potentially blackmail you with. Is a Russian or Chinese agent going to say to anyone, "Cooperate with us or we'll tell everyone that you smoked weed in high school"? No.
OK, you technically lied. But you didn't commit "fraud" because you didn't gain anything by lying.
Security investigators' job is to approve or deny security clearances, not play pointless "gotcha" games over things the Air Force doesn't care about (e.g., past marijuana use).
Don't worry about a security clearance at this point. If and when you do fill out security clearance paperwork in the future, answer all the questions truthfully. Considering that past marijuana use is not a barrier to enlistment, it is just not going to matter.
A primary reason for security clearance forms is to get out in the open any personal information that foreign intelligence operatives could potentially blackmail you with. Is a Russian or Chinese agent going to say to anyone, "Cooperate with us or we'll tell everyone that you smoked weed in high school"? No.
However, this is bad advice. The information put into the computer system by the recruiter will autopopulate the first SF86 security clearance questionnaire and applicants sign it at MEPS. They sign so much at MEPS they usually don't know what they are signing, and they aren't usually given the data to review, just sign and press on. He'll end up signing his security clearance paperwork with the false info. He'll then have to explain this to the investigator. It will likely all work out just fine, but the investigator will be annoyed, and the clearance will potentially take longer.
The recruiter is being lazy because he doesn't want to redo forms or restart the med read because it will delay things by a couple days.
OK, you technically lied. But you didn't commit "fraud" because you didn't gain anything by lying.
Security investigators' job is to approve or deny security clearances, not play pointless "gotcha" games over things the Air Force doesn't care about (e.g., past marijuana use).
Not legal fraud, but "fraudulent enlistment" can be a characteristic of discharge when enlistment paperwork is not filed out properly.
I recently had an applicant join who did not disclose marijuana, not even to me. He made it all the way into technical training, and the marijuana use came up when a friend of his who was being interviewed for the security clearance told the investigator they had smoked together. They pulled him out of technical training, took away his provisional clearance, and he had a couple months of limbo where the commander waited to decide if he would get to continue serving, or be kicked out for the falsified enlistment documents. He asked me for a character reference letter when he was going through all of this. Since he had lied TO me, I did not provide one. It felt like a misuse of my position at the time.
Regardless, he was allowed to stay in the military, but he lost his seat in technical training, and there were no seats left for future training classes, so they gave him a different job. He had one of his first job choices, and they stuck him in something he desperately didn't want to do. He could have said no, and ended his military career, so he just accepted it.
There are USUALLY not consequences to failing to disclose marijuana, but there CAN be, and it is not a risk I would take considering that there are ZERO consequences if you do disclose it. Disclosing it is totally fine and come with ZERO risk. LYING about it comes with a small probability of consequences, but when the consequences come, they are BIG.
Stand up for yourself and INSIST with your recruiter. If he still won't budge, ask him to speak with his supervisor, and he'll reprint the paperwork extremely fast. What your recruiter is doing is ILLEGAL, and if he advises someone to falsify documents it is called recruiter "malpractice" and he can be disciplined if caught. Your recruiter knows this, but also knows the risk is small because YOU are the one signing documents and YOU are the one falsifying them. It will be your word against his later, and his will always win. NOW is the time to fix the paperwork.
Aright I thought I had the right of it but wanted to check. I guess I’ll double check here too just to be sure. Im waiting on doctors stuff to be able to sign up for meps . That’s all I’m waiting on. I have said on the questionnaire and when the recruiter asked, that I didn’t smoke. Am I right to understand that at this point I can change that answer to I did experiment with weed and still expect to being able to join the military and be fine?
However, this is bad advice. The information put into the computer system by the recruiter will autopopulate the first SF86 security clearance questionnaire and applicants sign it at MEPS. They sign so much at MEPS they usually don't know what they are signing, and they aren't usually given the data to review, just sign and press on. He'll end up signing his security clearance paperwork with the false info. He'll then have to explain this to the investigator. It will likely all work out just fine, but the investigator will be annoyed, and the clearance will potentially take longer.
The recruiter is being lazy because he doesn't want to redo forms or restart the med read because it will delay things by a couple days.
OK, my apologies for giving outdated info. In my case I didn't do an SF86 until I had already been in for three years. Plus I only needed SECRET so I don't believe there were any interviews involved.
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