EQIP interview

brovol

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My son is being asked to have a face to face interview with someone from EQIP this week. I hadn't read anything about interviews and thus was wondering how usual or unusual this is. There should be no issues whatsoever, as my son has only lived in two homes his whole life, and both within a block of each other. He has never been in trouble with legal or even school discipline. Only things I can think of are the fact that he has travelled outside the country, but those were only stops on several Caribbean cruises. The other thing is that he was in a car accident last year which totaled his vehicle, but he was not even given a ticket for that.

What types of things do they do interviews for?
 
If you have already completed the SF86, and this is the follow-up interview, it will be questions based on the answers to the SF86; sometimes just a rehash of the same, sometimes more clarification. Tell him not to panic. Just answer honestly and answer only what they ask. Relax and just converse with the interviewer. They are NOT that intimidating; just people doing their job
 
If you have already completed the SF86, and this is the follow-up interview, it will be questions based on the answers to the SF86; sometimes just a rehash of the same, sometimes more clarification. Tell him not to panic. Just answer honestly and answer only what they ask. Relax and just converse with the interviewer. They are NOT that intimidating; just people doing their job
OK, cool. Thanks for the insight. I'll tell him to to mention what he did with Jimmy Hoffa's body. Lol.

Do they interview everyone? And if so what triggers the interview?
 
In the DOD world that I work...Yes, they interview everyone. Nothing is a "trigger". I would guess this is the same for appointees, but cannot guarantee that. Maybe a current cadet can answer that.

And, yes, keep it light with the jokes (Jimmy Hoffa's body) with your son, but not with the interviewer, they may not have as good a sense of humor.
When I asked my neighbors and good friends if they were OK with being a reference for me, they said, "Sure, we'll just tell them how you were going to secede from the union." Long and funny story behind that one.
 
My DS was never interviewed prior to R-day. Not sure if he has been interviewed at WP. And to my knowledge, no one listed on his SF86 as a reference has been interviewed.
 
DS1 graduated from a SMC. He waited until the end of his junior year to contract with the Army. I cannot recall whether he was interviewed (and fessed up to knowing that the location of Hoffa's body is Brovol's backyard), but I do know that EQIP contacted our neighbors. Judge, I agree with the others: Your son should answer the questions honestly and succinctly. If your son is talking more than the person asking the questions he is talking too much.

Relax. This is much todo about nothing. I suspect this is part of DOD's QA/QC process; every X number of incoming cadets gets a personal visit from EQIP. It might be because you are a judge and hang out--at least at the courthouse--with some nefarious types.
 
It's not a DOD thing, they're investigators from the Office of Personnel Management. E-QIP is an electronic questionnaire (hence the E and Q in EQIP) not an organization.

I had an interview for my clearance about 6 or so years ago. From what I remember, we pretty much just went over the SF86 and that was it. For a secret clearance, they probably won't go talk to any references unless something in a persons background suggests they should.
 
That's all for the info. Guy is coming to interview son at school. Told him it will be between an hour and a half and two hours. Seems pretty substantial.
 
I didn't have to have an interview after completing me e-qip and I've been out of the country on a cruise as well.
 
Direct wording from a frequently asked questions PDF I received from WP Installation Security Officer along with my E-Qip stuff! Hope it helped ease the nerves, your son is fine!ImageUploadedByService Academy Forums®1459761385.732064.jpg
 
Interviews with OPM investigators will become a standard occurrence in your military career. Some officers will be granted higher clearances earlier than others (MI is the easiest example). Higher clearances will require an interview as well as interviews with neighbors and friends. Clearances are routinely updated every 5-10 years and can trigger another round of interviews. My advice is to identify family friends and explain the process to them and use them on each SF86. My father's best friend has known me my whole life and has been on my SF86 since 1992. Every 5 years or so he gets a phone call or face to face interview with OPM. He is aware of what's going on and the whole process is smooth. Talk to your neighbors also to let them know why they may be contacted by the government. You may be surprised about your conspiracy theory neighbors so have contact info for another neighbor who knows you well. Also be sure to keep a copy of the SF86. You will need to keep it updated as a "living document" because you will fill another one out periodically over the years and trying to remember an address and neighbor from 4 years and 3 moves ago isn't fun.
 
Wow. Interesting stuff.

Per the instructions, we did print out everything, so we are OK there. The work and intensity of this process never seems to end.
 
He probably seemed like a member of the criminal element. Hence the interview.
 
The clearance investigation process is going some changes, but the current and past practices are

for Secret Clearance (for Cadets) - typically no interview
for Top Secret Clearance - mandatory interview. I doubt ROTC or USMA will initiate TS clearance for incoming cadets or contract cadets are no clue on if they will end up getting an assignment that requires TS.

For Brovol, any immediate family members that are foreign born/citizen? If so, this usually triggers an interview.
 
Wow. Interesting stuff.

Per the instructions, we did print out everything, so we are OK there. The work and intensity of this process never seems to end.

How was your son notified of the interview also, so I know what to look out for?
 
The clearance investigation process is going some changes, but the current and past practices are

for Secret Clearance (for Cadets) - typically no interview
for Top Secret Clearance - mandatory interview. I doubt ROTC or USMA will initiate TS clearance for incoming cadets or contract cadets are no clue on if they will end up getting an assignment that requires TS.

For Brovol, any immediate family members that are foreign born/citizen? If so, this usually triggers an interview.
No foriegn born family members for several generations. We will see what happens.
 
The interviews can be fairly intrusive, just as a heads up. We have lived all over the US, and different interviewers from different offices conducted the interviews with former neighbors, teachers, etc...at least with our experience with our older DS's process for receiving security clearance with the Navy. Some were very simple and straightforward, but then whoever interviewed our former neighbors in WA state must have been quite the jerk. Really put them through the ringer; was obnoxious and very intrusive into their lives. We, of course, felt horrible and apologized profusely to them, but it is completely out of our control how the interviews are conducted.

However, on our end, it was pretty funny. The agent comes to our house, and my husband just happens to be home working on our house. He hears the knock on the door, and sees the man's badge pressed up against the window. Since he was working on a construction project, my husband answered the door with his shirt off and a box cutter in his hands. Ooops. The agent comes in and has a seat, and my husband excuses himself to go put his shirt on and put the box cutter away. Meanwhile, our little dog Harry, (a King Charles Cavalier), starts sniffing the agent, as dogs tend to do. We had NEVER had an issue with Harry and guests - he was a sweet old boy. As my husband walks back into the room, he looks down just in time to see Harry lift his leg and pee all over the agent's shoe.

I'm surprised DS received his clearance. But he did. :D
 
I have done probably 60 of these interviews since I was a Mid between my own interviews for clearances and all my friends and co-workers. Shouldn't be an issue. They have a script and follow the questions. Covers foreign contacts, involvement with activities against the government, financial issues, any reprimands at work, alcohol or drug issues, etc. Really not a big deal and goes about 30 minutes. They can go longer if they have lots of foreign travel or contacts. Neighbors essentially get asked the same questions, just if they have seen any weird activity such as foreign contacts entering/leaving the home, witness any substance issues, witness any anti-govt type stuff. They will run a full background check and credit report on him prior to arrival. As for most 18 year olds headed to a SA, not much to report on those items.

The interviewers work for OPM and are contractors who go to training and then are given badges and credentials. The last one I did for my clearance the OPM rep was brand new and had never done one. I actually had to help them with the questions and scripts. Some can be pricks just to rattle folks or they hate their jobs (turnover rate is rather high for them).

The standard is a secret clearance for Cadets/Mids and as posted above not all, but some, will do the interview. Its fine, just answer the questions. These interviews will be a part of their life going forward. I know at USNA many will get upgraded for certain summer cruises.
 
The interviews can be fairly intrusive, just as a heads up. We have lived all over the US, and different interviewers from different offices conducted the interviews with former neighbors, teachers, etc...at least with our experience with our older DS's process for receiving security clearance with the Navy. Some were very simple and straightforward, but then whoever interviewed our former neighbors in WA state must have been quite the jerk. Really put them through the ringer; was obnoxious and very intrusive into their lives. We, of course, felt horrible and apologized profusely to them, but it is completely out of our control how the interviews are conducted.

However, on our end, it was pretty funny. The agent comes to our house, and my husband just happens to be home working on our house. He hears the knock on the door, and sees the man's badge pressed up against the window. Since he was working on a construction project, my husband answered the door with his shirt off and a box cutter in his hands. Ooops. The agent comes in and has a seat, and my husband excuses himself to go put his shirt on and put the box cutter away. Meanwhile, our little dog Harry, (a King Charles Cavalier), starts sniffing the agent, as dogs tend to do. We had NEVER had an issue with Harry and guests - he was a sweet old boy. As my husband walks back into the room, he looks down just in time to see Harry lift his leg and pee all over the agent's shoe.

I'm surprised DS received his clearance. But he did. :D
^^^that is hysterical!
 
^^^that is hysterical!
I still can't believe that our dog did that! He had NEVER done anything like that before - I don't know who was more shocked; the agent or my husband!

So typical of our family...if anything goofy is going to happen, it'll be to us. I'm surprised we made it through the Founder's Day brunch this weekend without a major catastrophe! Whew! :)
 
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