I work for another agency in the IC, but since I am on location at CIA headquarters, I must pass the CIA clearance as well to get 'detailee status.'

I was very stressed/traumitized following the 2 days of poly tests, but after reading this site I feel so foolish.  I went in thinking this was going to be a piece of cake, because I had never done anything wrong in my life... or so I thought.  
Here's my story

During the intial screening in which the polygrapher asked If I needed to add anything I didnt mention onmy forms, basically to come clean about anything, I mentioned I once took a perscription med which was not mine for it's intended use, he says no big deal. 

post actual test, he says I failed the drug portion.  So I come clean and tell him I actually took this perscription  with alcohol one time.  Mind you this is the only incident in my life I've done any type of drug, or misused a perscription.

Other questions are asked, we get through in about 2.5 hours. 
day 1 summary:
polygrapher is VERY rude through out the test.  accuses me of using "counter measures," and threatens to stop the test.  Mind you, I have no clue what he's even talking about, but my allergies were really bothering me that day.  

day 2
This polygrapher seems nicer intially, but little did I know that later he would become the same rude hardass as the previous polygrapher the day before. 
Other than my non 100% truthful answer I discussed, I have absolutley nothing to hide in terms of anything I or they would consider major. 
Several test are administered.  The polygrapher seems to be convinced I am in touch with another governments intel agency.  I assure him I'm not, and we eventually move on. 

Here's were it gets really hard on me.  He tells me there is deception concerning my "have you commited a major crime" question.  That's absurd, of course not I think to myself.  He on the other hand is not having it.  
He continually grills me, saying I am lieing, saying I knew I would lie the moment I walked in, and that he doesn't believe a word I say because I was not 100% truthful regarding the perscription sleeping pill incident.  He threatens to have me arrested for falsifying government documents. 

I am a fairly tough guy both mentally and physically, but I am on the verge of tears here.  After about an hour in which I kept stating I had no other issues to admit, he finally stated the test would be reported 'unresolved.'  This was after I told him virtually everything I had done in my life that I could think of that could result in deception on my test.

Summary:
I felt very violated, and VERY ANGRY by their unproffesional practices.  My Psyche was damaged for a couple days because they basically made me feel that because I mixed a sleeping pill with beer once, and didnt feel comfortable enough to tell them intially, that I had no intergrity. After living a clean,moral lifestyle my entire life, this was very troubling.  The guy even had me worried I would now loose my job and TS/SCI clearance I already hold with another agency.  Maybe I will, I'm not sure and am still worried about this a little. 

I just wanted to share my experience, and it's nice to see I'm not the only one who has been troubled by these interviews. 

IC_employee,

 A failed polygraph may affect your current TS/SCI; the
risks are not worth the rewards.  At any rate, a failed
polygraph will follow you, where ever you go.  You 
should never ask, if you passed, or failed - they will
assume that you believe you failed...

by the way, did he tell you directly if you failed or not? Is there anyone you can call to confirm?

Johnn wrote on Sep 12^th, 2005 at 9:02pm:

I asked him If I failed, and he said he does not make that determination.

I would just like to reiterate that I realize what I did in regard to not being 100% truthful on something that would have otherwise been trivial.  The point of my post was these 2 session really made me question our government and their morality. It really shook me up

IC employee,

If the CIA considered your admission about taking a prescription medication with alcohol to be disqualifying in and of itself, then you probably would not have been brought back for a follow-up polygraph session.

You may be interested in retired CIA agent Melissa Mahle's observations on the Agency's polygraph policy:

http://antipolygraph.org/cgi-bin/forums/YaBB.pl?board=Policy;action=display;num=...

Former director James Woolsey has also called on the CIA to "radically curtail" its reliance on polygraphy:

http://antipolygraph.org/cgi-bin/forums/YaBB.pl?board=Policy;action=display;num=...

Eastwood wrote on Sep 24^th, 2005 at 5:24am:


Wow, Eastwood.  You're SO cool, coming across as a total macho-macho-man here...

IC_employee wrote on Sep 25^th, 2005 at 3:10am:


Does the agency you are with now conduct polygraph tests?

Nonombre

IC_employee wrote on Sep 26^th, 2005 at 5:17pm:


Maybe you can talk your current agency into doing the test on you if all they ask is "counter intel" questions.  That would seem fair since you really belong to them anyway.  Wouldn't that take care of the problem?

Nonombre

P.S.  I am not a intelligence agency polygraph examiner, so forgive my ignorance, but what exactly are "counter-intel" questions?  Is that like, "Are you trying to infiltrate my agency?"

 


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