i have an interview scheduled with a CIA recruiter "soon" i'm curious about the general process.
as related to this site, at what stage in the process will the Poly-test be brought up ?
what will the stipulations be ?
what kind of questions/topics ?
anyway, curious about people's experiences.
-dan
Dear WhiteNoise:
According to a recent submission on the personal statements page of this website the polygraph interrogation is part of pre-employment selection.
From sources I can confirm the pre-employment selection process entails:
-recruiter interview
-standard written test
-preliminary multiple-day selection that includes a familiarization briefing, interviews, standard written psych tests, polygraph, preliminary medical exam and shrink interview.
Applicants who pass this series of evaluations are invited back for in-depth medical tests, detailed psych tests and career-specific interviews.
After this, a tentative offer is extended to attend training. Training is approximately 52 weeks with an additional extention to attend language training at Georgetown's Foreign Language Institute (or whatever it's called). Before you get an overseas assignment you'll be in the D.C. area for about 2 years.
(This information is culled from public sources.)
Regarding the polygraph, understand this thoroughly, and you should be fine:
-it is highly flawed.
-it can detect nothing but your physiological responses, which is meaningless.
-the only information the examiner/interrogator is going to get from you is what you submit. So give them NOTHING.
-remember: they can't tell whether you're lying or not. They make uneducated guesses and intimidate.
Blow it off, be cool, be relaxed, give them nothing, and you pass your polygraph with flying colors.
Hope this addressed your question.
I was thinking about applying for a position with the CIA, and I would like to know how far back they check an applicant for security clearance. Is it 7yrs., 10 yrs. etc.?
Thank you!
Quote from: Meow on Jul 27, 2002, 01:42 AM
I was thinking about applying for a position with the CIA, and I would like to know how far back they check an applicant for security clearance. Is it 7yrs., 10 yrs. etc.?
Thank you!
The standard SF86 form asks for 7 years of data for most questions. AFAIK, NSA goes further and asks for 10 years. I would imagine the CIA is similar to the NSA in this respect.
Skeptic
Hi,
Can anyone tell me about the credit check process for the FBI, CIA, etc.
Do they see the entire credit report with all the C.C. balances, payment history and the like? Or they just get info. about late payments , derogatory info, and/or positive info, or credit score?
Thanks
Chiao,
The credit-related information the US Government obtains is in the form of a credit report from any of the credit reporting bureaus (I believe there are only 3 major such bureaus). This information can includes which banks you've had loans with, which credit cards you've used, whether you've had >30 days overdue payments, and most likely current balances on credit cards and/or loans. The investigators will get the whole enchilada....
False+
Anyone interested in the CIA MUST read this article. Here is the link and an excerpt of general interest to readers of this site:
http://www.mafhoum.com/press2/cia76.htm
Foreign affairs. Prospective employees are required to list the names and addresses of every foreign person with whom they have a close or continuing relationship. Someone who speaks Arabic with native fluency almost certainly has friends and relatives in the Middle East. If he has too many of either, it is unlikely that he will receive a security clearance. He'll be required to return for polygraph after polygraph, during which time he will be abused and insulted. His application will sit for years; he will be given no information about its status, and will be treated dismissively when he calls for information. After the seventh polygraph and the second year of waiting for a clearance, he will give up. The clever candidate with fluent Arabic and a degree from Harvard will probably take a job with Shell, where he'll be paid six times what he would be paid by the CIA, and treated with at least that much more respect.
In one case, security investigators became exercised because an employee was discovered to have visited the embassies of several Middle Eastern countries years prior to his entry on duty – not surprisingly, since he had worked for six years as an oil industry executive. Rather than joyously celebrating their good fortune in finding this espionage gem, they fired him. As a consequence, the case officer cadre tends to be full of Mormons and big, blond, beefy Pentecostals from the South, men as out of place in the bazaars as Chandler's tarantula on angel food.
Along the same lines, Matt Drudge is reporting (http://www.drudgereport.com/gertz.htm) that Bill Gertz's latest book
Breakdown is raising great consternation within the intelligence community.
Fair use quote:
QuoteGertz has obtained highly classified documents and dispatches from within the CIA, the FBI and other national security agencies which detail a stunning collapse of intelligence on terrorists... The agency pleaded with the publisher not to reprint the leaked documents -- but the context of those docs will remain in the book, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned... For his part, Gertz hopes his outline of dramatic intelligence failures [which cross several administrations] serves as a wake up call to citizens who watched helplessly as their nation was attacked by terrorists last year. Bureaucrats with politically correct policies have left the United States dangerously exposed, warns Gertz, chapter after chapter after chapter.
I read the Washington Times since the 1980s/1990s. Bill Gertz wrote a lot about China and Russia. The Clinton/Gore people were pro-Russia and pro-Chinese. Bill Gertz sometimes quote from top secret documents from DIA, NGIC, NAIC, etc. I think he rarely wrote about U.S. military secrets. Now most of the spies caught inthe last 20 years have documents on and about U.S. secrets, rarely about foreign secrets. Why are polygraphers reactive? Why are the security people not proactive? Anyone who expose security weakness will be shunned and ostracized.
<<Along the same lines, Matt Drudge is reporting that Bill gertz's latest book Breakdown is raising great consternation within the intelligence community.>>
Hello. I am going to Washington soon for the second interview and a poly (that's for the CIA). Can anybody tell me specific questions they are going to ask on the poly? And second question, how long do you have to wait after visiting Washington to get a conditional offer?
The CIA is one of the organizations which I believe makes you sign a statement that all information regarding the interview process is confidential. Not many people seem to want to talk about it. Please download the The Lie Behind the Detector from this site. It seems to have the most information about possible questions specifically in the CIA (the book warns that "anything goes" as far as the questions). I do not envy you, I heard that they really push you psychologically. Please remember, the CIA is an organization that expects you to place their needs ahead of your own. If they sense any hesitency on your part to commit totally to their goals, you are "outta there."
In any case, hold your head high and thanks for being ready to put yourself in harm's way for the rest of us in America!
dinamo,
You posted:
[Hello. I am going to Washington soon for the second interview and a poly (that's for the CIA). Can anybody tell me specific questions they are going to ask on the poly? And second question, how long do you have to wait after visiting Washington to get a conditional offer?]
I have previously worked with both Federal agencies the CIA and FBI; speaking strictly from my own personal experience, the CIA usually will not polygraph you until they have made a conditional job offer. This practice is common with the CIA and FBI.
However, they could have changed their "conditional job offer practices" since I worked for them.
For clarification purposes; the CIA wants to polygraph you, and there has been "no" previous conditional job offer... is this correct.? If so, your process is being handled differently than was mine... you will do fine, don't worry.
PS, download and read "TLBTLD" if you have not already done so, its very good advise to prevent against the risk of a potential false positive result.
Good luck.
Ez
Foreign affairs. Prospective employees are required to list the names and addresses of every foreign person with whom they have a close or continuing relationship. Someone who speaks Arabic with native fluency almost certainly has friends and relatives in the Middle East. If he has too many of either, it is unlikely that he will receive a security clearance. He'll be required to return for polygraph after polygraph, during which time he will be abused and insulted. His application will sit for years; he will be given no information about its status, and will be treated dismissively when he calls for information. After the seventh polygraph and the second year of waiting for a clearance, he will give up. The clever candidate with fluent Arabic and a degree from Harvard will probably take a job with Shell, where he'll be paid six times what he would be paid by the CIA, and treated with at least that much more respect.
In one case, security investigators became exercised because an employee was discovered to have visited the embassies of several Middle Eastern countries years prior to his entry on duty – not surprisingly, since he had worked for six years as an oil industry executive. Rather than joyously celebrating their good fortune in finding this espionage gem, they fired him. As a consequence, the case officer cadre tends to be full of Mormons and big, blond, beefy Pentecostals from the South, men as out of place in the bazaars as Chandler's tarantula on angel food.
[/quote]
Yes, I believe this report to be mostly accurate . My profile fits the description above (though I must say I'm not at Ivy League graduate), and I was initially denied an Agency clearance for similar reasons. I speak, read and write a ME language (not Arabic) and was repeatedly humiliated and screamed at during my poly.
In fact, as the article mentions, I remember there being three mormons from rather provincial areas just in the small group alone that I was placed in during the med/poly office visit. With regards to foreign languages, the hiring manager that offered me the COE specifically remarked that knowing a foreign language is really not necessary (this was for a Middle Eastern position mind you)
Also, I can honestly say that at no time while at Agency HQ did I see an ethnic minority in a professional/analytical postion. The only place I saw African Americans, Hispanics (absolutely no Middle Easterners anywhere) were in clerical, support, janitorial positions. I guess this is how Agency spokesman Hartlow justifies that the Agency is not racist in its hiring practices.
I think if most decent Americans knew the truth, the Agency would indeed be forced to restructure. I highly doubt that Intel Agencies of other developed countries are so incompetent and poorly run.
Dear True Lies,
The more I read this Website, the more concerned I am about are we getting the best and brightest people into the Amercan Government. America is diversified and our government must reflect this. I am saddened that any agency concerned with other cultures does not think that speaking the language is important! Learning and understanding a language involves the culture and history of the language in most studies. The mindset of a nation cannot be understood by anyone who does not understand its language. The Brookings Institute has alluded that the government is not "attracting top notch motivated Amercians with patriotic duty." Your story shows that the talent is available, the government is just not smart enough to appreciate the talent. As a taxpayer, I am mad that you were not hired. Things will change or history will repeat itself and no one person in America wants that to happen right now (except the hiring authority that was shortsighted in your case).
Dear True Lies,
The more I read this Website, the more concerned I am about are we getting the best and brightest people into the Amercan Government. America is diversified and our government must reflect this. I am saddened that any agency concerned with other cultures does not think that speaking the language is important! Learning and understanding a language involves the culture and history of the language in most studies. The mindset of a nation cannot be understood by anyone who does not understand its language. The Brookings Institute has alluded that the government is not "attracting top notch motivated Amercians with patriotic duty." Your story shows that the talent is available, the government is just not smart enough to appreciate the talent. As a taxpayer, I am mad that you were not hired. Things will change or history will repeat itself and no one person in America wants that to happen right now (except the hiring authority that was shortsighted in your case).
--I'm glad to hear that you are mad, unfortunately I don't believe most Americans are yet on this wavelength. I also don't think that Polygraph issues and federal agency (specifically -human resources) deficiencies are something most Americans can personally relate to, and therefore feel strongly about. I would hope that you would express these very same opinions to your Congressman/Sentaor (as I did)... Remember, as informative as this website is, things will only change once the public puts pressure on their elected representatives.
BTW - For the record, and to all those who will read my last post, I intrinsically have nothing against Mormons or people from the South...Of course, I also realize that there are numerous loyal and competent Americans that identify with one, or both of these religious and/or demographic groups.
Cia process:
first interview
conditional offer (pending security clearance)
vistit to DC
-polygraph
-med exam
-psych exam
thats its folks...takes about a year
That is total BS and has no weight. I know from personal experience. I had middle eastern friends.
That is total BS and has no weight. I know from personal experience. I had middle eastern friends.
Jander,
What is "total BS" and has no weight? Please Be more specific.
Depends on the nature of your relationship with your ME friends, and their particular background.
I know from some personal experience too.....
-TL
True-lies, that was my point...there is no sure rule. Just because you have arab friends really means nothing. They didn't even check some of mine out who are in foreign countries right now...
True-lies, that was my point...there is no sure rule. Just because you have arab friends really means nothing. They didn't even check some of mine out who are in foreign countries right now...
Ok... my point being that having a few ME friends in your neighborhood, or at a university etc.. will most likely NOT prevent you from receiving a security clearance.
However, people with a longer, more involved history in/with with the Near Eastern/South Asian region(s) and peoples may get knocked off...These are usually the people that posses the type of linguistic proficiency that federal agencies really need.
BTW- Were you successful in the applicant process?
Not that I know a damned thing, but I side on the side of Mr. Mallah's post.
I have seen too much racial profiling being done.
Hell, I get questioned about all phone calls I make overseas to the ME to my family and friends on a routing basis. I am not talking about those "How is the family" questions either. I have been asked to divuldge more information about my associates that anyone should ever have to. I sat in a 36-hour "John Wayne" marathon after 9/11 because my ex-husband's associates. Like any of us keep up with our ex's lives once we move on.
Be careful in thinking that these relationships have no bearing. If they contain so much weight with me as a civilian, what do you suppose they carry for someone entering LE?
Oh, and Mr. Mallah, the agents that I have been in contact with match your description except that they lack the beefy part. They have all been pretty lanky IMHO. And, I must add...very severely suffering from a desperate need to have their egos boosted.
::)
QuoteOh, and Mr. Mallah, the agents that I have been in contact with match your description except that they lack the beefy part. They have all been pretty lanky IMHO. And, I must add...very severely suffering from a desperate need to have their egos boosted.
Just to clarify, I was quoting an article written by Claire Berlinski. The description was hers.
Mr. Mallah:
My apologies for the misquote.
;D
I was successful, with pretty darn close ME friends too...
hey everyone... this is a great site and its good to know there are others out there... in about a week i'm aiming to fool the foolers and need some help... specifically... what questions should i anticipate being asked by the cia during the poly test? what procedures, tactics, info should i be aware of? any additional info would be great... help me be a step ahead... thanks
Does this mean I have to list George as a "close" and continuing relationship.....probably not because I am sure he is probably out there marching and holding signs with the war protestors in the Hague. My kind of friend!
From: An old Navy man:
To: Anti-polys
"DAMN THE TORPEDO - FULL SPEED AHEAD"
Two Block......an old Navy man eh?...and you come out on the side of some of the anti-war leftists on this site.....shame, shame, shame. If this is true then my #1 tube is being acquired on you!
Quote from: Torpedo on Feb 16, 2003, 11:48 AM
Two Block......an old Navy man eh?...and you come out on the side of some of the anti-war leftists on this site.....shame, shame, shame. If this is true then my #1 tube is being acquired on you!
Um, a little more informationt han I really needed :P This is a family bulletin board torpedo, the leather bar is down the street to the left...
Hey anonymouse1....what are YOU talking about......I am sure that Two-Block knew what I was talking about and it certainly wasn't obscene as you make it out to be....at least one thing....you divulged your direction..."LEFT".....was that a Freudian slip?
Quote from: Torpedo on Feb 16, 2003, 07:21 PM
Hey anonymouse1....what are YOU talking about......I am sure that Two-Block knew what I was talking about and it certainly wasn't obscene as you make it out to be....at least one thing....you divulged your direction..."LEFT".....was that a Freudian slip?
Hmmm.... the lady doth protest too much, methinks ;D
Seriously torpedo, as far as i'm concerned it's
DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL
Your thecret is thafe with us
Quote from: Torpedo on Feb 15, 2003, 09:44 PMDoes this mean I have to list George as a "close" and continuing relationship.....probably not because I am sure he is probably out there marching and holding signs with the war protestors in the Hague. My kind of friend!....[and also]and you come out on the side of some of the anti-war leftists on this site.....shame, shame, shame.
Torpedo, I knew your attitude reminded me of someone famous in recent history, but I couldn't recall exactly who it was until I read this:
All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.The person who said that was your dear friend Hermann Goering, speaking at the Nuremberg Trials.
Keep your number one tube unflooded,
Dave
Back for a couple of days.
Torpedo
Your #1 tube doesn't concern me because my battery of K's are loaded with depth's.
Your assumption that I am on the side of leftists is about as accurate as the wonder woman box. I am about as far right as onyone can get. I just have a big thing against one man/woman controlling the livelyhood and life of a person. It's not right. I believe in hard evidence.
If I had my way, Oldsoma would be Layen and Soddam would be committing sodomy hell. North Korea wouldn't exist. Nuke'em.
BTW, I don't remember any anti-war postings on this site.
Quote from: Twoblock on Feb 21, 2003, 02:11 PM
If I had my way, Oldsoma would be Layen and Soddam would be committing sodomy hell. North Korea wouldn't exist. Nuke'em.
BTW, I don't remember any anti-war postings on this site.
Here's one for you:
"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind... And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar."
-- William Shakespeare in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
Quote from: the lurking woman on Feb 22, 2003, 07:07 AM
Here's one for you:
"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind... And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar."
-- William Shakespeare in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar
That's all very nice but it is urban myth. Bab's herself got nailed for propagating this very nonsense.
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl-caesar-quote.htm
-Marty
"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind... And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded with patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar."
-- Unknown Author
Thanks for noting the incorrect citation Marty! :-*
According to this article, looks like I'm not the only one cutting and pasting from the web.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,890916,00.html
Is this an urban myth too?
"Those who are willing to sacrifice their basic liberties to assure their security deserve neither."
--Benjamin Franklin
the lurking lady
What does ancient playwrite crap have to do with present day dictators who torture, maim and kill their own citizens who dare disagree with their twisted minded political views? Who, also, cowardly attacks this country causing death, distruction and great economic loss. At least we are warning Sodomy HisHiney that we are going to kick his ass unless he complies with the UN directive. Are you proposing that we ignore his atrocities against ones who cannot defend themselves? Would you like to live in his shadow in Iraq?
Bush and our allies made a big mistake in warning Iraq we are going to attack. This is not militarily sound. It puts undue risk on our military. Forewarned is forearmed.
Ok, so I admit that I may not be overly bright when it comes to politics and the chess game played by political leaders, but I am just wondering about something. Sadaam is well aware of our massive build up in the region near him. Why, why would he even contemplate the destruction of his weapons? I mean, it would seem to me that if it was my house, and I was told I had to give up all of my weapons or face being forced out of my house, I don't know that I would be willing to dispose of all of my weapontry. I would, especially if I was under the impression that all of those folks outside my door who were armed to the hilt were determined to evict me regardless of any concessions on my side.
Heck, since our intelligence agencies seem so apt to support the polygraph, why don't we just tell Sadaam to submit to a polygraph exam about his WMD? If history repeats itself, he will be touted as a professional liar if he passes, and as a proven terrorist if he fails. Either way, doesn't the US get what they want?
Showing my naivity:
Seeker
The arts of war are fairly well understood, having been studied for a very long time with un-natural selection culling the losers over the millenia. Darwin in action one might say.
PBS's Frontline has a very good, current series focusing on the discussions on policy behind this. Agree or not, 9/11 has produced a fundamental change in US foreign policy toward a preemptive approach. It's useful to understand the why's. I'm uneasy with the US playing worldwide cop but there good arguments why this may be right.
TwoBlock,
As for military strategy, you are right about the surprise factor. It provides significant advantage. That's why the Japanese attacked as they did. It has been reported that strategic surprise was impossible in Iraq due to the required buildup period but that they expected to achieve a degree of "tactical" surprise. My guess is that they are referring to the targets of the initial salvo of cruise missiles.
-Marty
Marty,
After 9-11, why was there not a thorough, vigorous, comprehensive investigation of what went wrong?
Why didn't they find those who failed America in the FBI and CIA, get rid of them, and replace them with those who sounded alarm bells but weren't heard? Instead, they set out to destroy the courageous whistle-blowers, and leave the incompetents right where they are, or even promote them. Why wasn't the polygraph put to use for this purpose, if the pentagon is so convinced that it works?
Why not make the capture of Osama bin Laden and his al-qaeda operatives the number one priority, rather than quietly give up on this search, and direct attentions elsewhere, like Saddam Hussein (read oil interests.)
Even if things go perfectly, hundreds of Americans will die in America's invasion of Iraq. If things DON'T go well, tens of thousands of Americans will die because...why, exactly? The inspectors haven't found nuclear bombs over there. They haven't found a convincing al-qaeda connection. There's virtually NO EVIDENCE that we have to go to war at this time.
Seeker,
I agree, just polygraph Saddam, if they are worried about the weapons that were given to him by America.
Lurking woman,
To engage in debate there must be some agreement on the facts. Both sides of this have obfuscated them where convenient to bolster their positions and lock in their supporters.
You might reflect on the fact that after innumerable warnings and dire expectations there have been no successful attacks by Al Qaeda on the US since 9/11.
As for investigations, while it's America's favorite pastime to play blame games, I don't really see what could have predicted the specific coordinated, suicidal attack that was done, aside from HUMINT inside the heart of OBL's operations. As for the general case of terrorist attacks, they have long been predicited since Al Qaeda and other's war against the US has been long been understood.
-Marty
Dear Lurking Woman,
[You write]
"The inspectors haven't found nuclear bombs over there."
Just because the inspectors have not found any nuclear bombs in Iraq as of yet, does not mean that they are not there.
[Lurking woman also writes]
"Why didn't they find those who failed America in the FBI and CIA, get rid of them, and replace them with those who sounded alarm bells but weren't heard? Instead, they set out to destroy the courageous whistle-blowers, and leave the incompetents right where they are, or even promote them. Why wasn't the polygraph put to use for this purpose, if the pentagon is so convinced that it works?"
You raise an excellent point here. You "hit the nail on the head" when you remarked, "why wasn't the polygraph put to use for this purpose", that is because the Pentagon knows that the polygraph is unreliable, and susceptible to countermeasures. It might "bluff" a confession from a naive and gullible suspect from time to time; however, the government knows that polygraph testing is not reliable at all.
Consider this: if polygraph testing was remotely reliable, as is DNA testing, or finger print evidence directly linking a suspect to a specific crime, then polygraph results would be admissible in the court of law. Personally, I think that's a hard argument to influence otherwise.
What makes the United States so great and unique is not a pledge, a flag, or a song, all of which are more properly labeled culturally transitory trappings of patriotism. The USA is great because of a body of law and the people who have chosen to live under that law. That's why, in the United States when an immigrant takes the oath of citizenship, or when a citizen takes an oath of public office, they swear to uphold, not a flag, not the President, not a god, not an ideology, but the Constitution of the United States of America.
Likewise, terrorism as demonstrated by the suicidal murders of 9/11, and the present day fear of an ever-looming potential biological or nuclear attack somewhere within the USA should be stopped, fast and efficiently. However, there is no rapid response blueprint for accomplishing this goal. Things will be missed, suggestions overlooked, from various agents consisting of both the FBI and CIA. Hindsight is always 20/20, and laying blame comes easy from those on the outside looking in. As a free self-ruling democratic society, it is not only our right, but our responsibility to vigorously and openly debate the issues, the use of military force, our foreign policy, civil rights and privacy in a time of war, and so on. America Unites sounds great as a news logo; but unity is no simple concept. We all want our families, our soldiers, and our unions, to be united toward clear, common goals. But is it not dangerous for a democratic population weighing if and how to wage war to value unity above all else? It's all too easy to mandate patriotism, as the New York Board of Education brought back the pledge of allegiance to classrooms, as if that will stop the Osama bin Ladens of the world.
Respectfully
Triple x
i am curious to hear if anyone knows of discrimination against gays in the clearance process. i am gay and was accused of molesting boys because i revealed an incident that has haunted me since i was 13. i spoke of this only because i knew it bothered me still and i always considered it a "crime". i disclosed this in my initial polygraphs at both cia and nsa. i had a second polygraph the very next day at cia and second one at nsa about three months after my first nsa poly. in both of the second polys i felt "fine" enough and was almost confident that i had "resolved" the issues. i still came away feeling as though judgements were made based on my sexual orientation and not fact.
despite all the bullshit, i would like to pursue the job i was offered. has anyone heard of someone being "removed from processing" to be allowed to re-apply and succeed? i do not want to waste any more time thinking about this if it is truly not possible. i am waiting for my FOIA request to be processed. judging from past communications, i expect the response to be just as useless as previous responses. i look to you all for your experience.
interesting of note - the nsa knows from testing i know three of the languages most desperately needed right now. i learned them from scratch as a non-native and have achieved high levels of proficiency. i think it curious that someone who has such abilities and who wants to help is treated so poorly.
thank you.