Protecting classified is one way to assist and protect our heroes who serve.  Another way is to protect sensitive unclassified information by practicing OPSEC. 

• American Legion 
• Armed Forces Foundation (Serving Those Who Serve) 
• Fisher House Foundation 
• Operation Helmet
• Products For Good 
• Soldier's Angels (May No Soldier Go Unloved) 
• USO (Until Everyone Comes Home) 
• Wounded Warrior Project 
• Veterans of Foreign Wars 
• Additional Links --
• American Red Cross 
• Salvation Army 

Remember also to remind your management and staff that classified and unclassified information needs protecting regardless of holidays and celebrations.  Do not forget to include information on how to protect themselves and their families over the holidays.

If I can be of assistance in developing or customizing your security briefings, please do not hesitate to call (512) 650-4819 or email me at ajsconsulting@earthlink.net. 

What does JPAS have to do with Need-To-Know (NTK)?  Have you kept your personnel records in JPAS up-to-date?  Do you grant access (Indoctrinate) at the correct level?  Do you debrief and remove access when an individual leaves or he no longer needs access to clearance at that level or maybe at all?  Why is this your responsibility?

Prior to JPAS (pre-2004) industry relied on DISCO to provide verification of an individual's clearance and sometimes had to submit several updates to ensure that the accurate status of an individual was recorded.  With JPAS industry has taken on the responsibility to ensure that an individual's access is accurate and based upon contractual need.  Remember that JPAS is now the database of record as to who has access at what level.

This means that when an individual shows up at your facility, visits my facility, shows up at a military base, or to visit a government customer he or she should be ready to produce identification to prove who they are and to assist Visit Control with information like a Social Security number enabling a review of JPAS verifying their eligibility (granted by CAF) and clearance (granted by you the FSO) levels prior to being granted access.  If the person's record is up-to-date and accurate, then the first part of the Need-to-Know equation has been answered -- Clearance Level.  The second part of the Need-to-Know equation can then be answered by the person to be visited -- Mission Critical need to know to complete a contractual task, service, or product.

Failure to ensure accurate information (Procedures Governing Use of JPAS by Cleared Contractors items # 1 & 2) can result in a person not gaining access to information that he or she requires to fulfill a contractual obligation or in a person obtaining access to classified information when that person should have been debriefed and removed from JPAS -- an unauthorized disclosure of classified information.

Item # 1 reads: Contractors shall accurately maintain the JPAS records pertaining to their employees and consultants. Contractors must expeditiously update these records when changes occur (e.g., termination of employment).

An expeditiously update is: if management updates Human Resources and Payroll, they should also update security who can then update JPAS.

Nobody wants to hear about an unauthorized disclosure of classified which resulted from not updating JPAS.  Do your part to facilitate your company's compliance with expectations and securing our nation's secrets.