CIA poly

[IC_employee]

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]

49 views and no replies.  I'd really like to get some thoughts.  I feel like I failed the test, but Id still like to hear some thoughts

[NSAreject]

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...

[Johnn]

I am sorry that you had to go through this experience.  I think that if someone mentions something to the polygrapher  on the onset "to come clean", they are pretty much doomed from the start.  Personally, before I took the polygraph, the polygrapher asked me if I wanted to come clean about something, and I told him that I want to add a job on my application  - one which I failed to mention - but not deliberately.  I "came clean" about the job because initially, I thought that because I've only worked in it for about 1 month - pre college, that I didn't have to put it down.  But then I remembered that they finger printed me, and so I informed the polygrapher - but not because I had anything to hide - I left that job because I hated it and because I could - I was a young kid living with my parents -nothing else.  But of course, the polygrapher made it seem as if there was a  huge story behind it, although we didn't dwell much on it - only 5 minutes.  
or so I thought..
Well, lo and behold, at the end of the exam, the polygrapher said that I was having a problem with the drug usage question, and I told him that I don't know what he's referring to.  He then told me that the same way I ommitted the job could possibly be the same way that I am ommitting the drug usage.  I told him that I grew up religious (although I didn't mention the denomination), and he just looked at me like, "yeah, eveyone tells me the same thing".  

I'll give him this much - at least he didn't accuse me of lying directly and our post interrogation didn't last for more than 10 minutes, but he did say that there was definitely a problem with the drug usage question.   In any case, at the end, he said, "well, I'll attach a statement to your charts, but it don't look too good".  

[Johnn]

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

[IC_employee]

well, in this case the status quo is that it does not effect my currect clearance.  In fact, the last 4 people in my office who were designated to obtain the same clearance as me were rejected, and simply assigned to a different location. so I'm 99 % sure that's what will happen to me.

[IC_employee]

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

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

[Johnn]

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

Oh believe me, I completely understand - and I only had one three hour session.  I never thought that I'd be accused of something as drug usage.  As a matter of fact, I was hoping to be out of there in 1 hour, because I've never done anything to the effects of the things in the application in my life.  The national security is definitely not an issue for me, drug usage - I grew up Mormon, so not even alchohol was I allowed to consume.  So you can imagine how I now view those feebees and everyone else who adminsiters and accepts as scientific hard-core evidence, the polygrah.

[George W. Maschke]

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:

https://antipolygraph.org/forum/index.php?topic=2465.msg17432#msg17432

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

https://antipolygraph.org/forum/index.php?topic=2414.msg17034#msg17034

[Eastwood]

A "tough guy" on the verge of tears because you can't clear a drug issue on a polygraph?  Better stick to your Mr Mom job bud

[Jeffery]

A "tough guy" on the verge of tears because you can't clear a drug issue on a polygraph?  Better stick to your Mr Mom job bud

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

[IC_employee]

A "tough guy" on the verge of tears because you can't clear a drug issue on a polygraph?  Better stick to your Mr Mom job bud

you're a classy guy.
I have no children, and I already have clearance with another agency. Nice try though sh!t head

[nonombre]

you're a classy guy.
I have no children, and I already have clearance with another agency. Nice try though sh!t head

Does the agency you are with now conduct polygraph tests?

Nonombre

[IC_employee]

they do not do life style polys, they only do counter intel

[nonombre]

they do not do life style polys, they only do counter intel

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?"