I'm hoping to apply for OCS in a few months. The only ding on my credit will be a defaulted PRIVATE student loan (~$4000). All of my federal student loans are current. Will proof of payment arrangements be enough for the security investigation?

I enlisted in the Air Force 3 years ago. Prior to my contract going through, I had to make payment arrangements and sign some forms my recruiter gave me, stating my promise to pay back the money I owe to my creditors. His commander also had to approve my financial waiver. I would imagine you might require a waiver of some sort too.

AFAIK if you can show proof that you are repaying this debt and have made payment arrangements you should be okay. You may have to give a statement to the investigator as to why you fell behind.

you know what weird, when I enlisted my credit was all jacked up

it was mentioned, I started to explain what happened

the investigator went...shhh shhh shh
I dont wanna know
you had financial difficulty and its getting back on track
sign here



for serious, last I heard of it, but I was also only a medic

Lacolem, if you are interested in OCS, you will need to qualify for a minimum of a secret clearance (possible TS depending on branch assignement). Its important that you declare this information as our OCS enlistment option is over strength, and currently not shipping new enlistees to FY 2011 (Oct 2010 and later). Program has gotten very competitive and candidates are being separated for minor reasons.

When your going through the qualification process, ensure that you list this defaulted debt on your application, and provide proof of satisfaction.

Good luck

definitely report it...but remember the Security Clearance investigation is only as good as the person who conducts it....which makes me wonder sometimes. I have a Secret, for which I had to test twice (enlisted and then officer) and I was pretty general on a lot of stuff (who can remember who lived next to you 7-10 years ago, and the address? pfft) Both Clearances were approved with no problem. Still best to report it though.

Maybe a TS-SCI would be much harder to get, I dunno