Drug Use and Military Clearance

[f7u12]

Lied on the MEPS about drug use. I shouldn't have done that but I was a idiot and just did whatever my recruiter told me to do. Now, I find out that I will have to take a Polygraph for a T.S. security clearance. My MOS is 35F or 96B, Intel. Analyst.

I haven't sworn in yet, but I have taken my physical @ MEPS. Yes, I am a fool. I understand what kind of an idiot I am. I would Love to stay within my MOS but I don't want to Lie on the Polygraph. If I answer yes on Drug use would there be serious repercussions on my military career based on this? would I be disqualified from T.S. clearance because of this?

What are my options now? How do I go about rectifying my documentations?

I'm guessing I will have to change my MOS probably to something like infantry and I don't mind. I just want to make this right.

[George W. Maschke]

Admitting that you lied about drug use at the time of your enlistment could result in denial of a security clearance.

In any event, the polygraph "test" that you would have to take for a security clearance will not be about past drug use (and even if it did, polygraph outcomes have little to do with whether one has spoken the truth). The scope of questioning in your case would be limited to national security matters. DoD uses a polygraph screening technique called the "Test for Espionage and Sabotage." For more on this technique, see my article, "The Lying Game."