The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) announced on Dec. 3 it has fully transitioned all required customer agencies to a new background investigation online application, marking a key milestone in the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) program and the Trusted Workforce 2.0 (TW 2.0) personnel vetting reform.
The NBIS program is the Federal government’s IT system for end-to-end personnel vetting, from initiation to continuous vetting. It aims to support TW 2.0, launched in 2018, by reducing onboarding time, enabling workforce mobility, and improving insights into workforce behaviors.
The new application – dubbed NBIS eApp – serves as the entry point for initiating those background investigations, incorporating the investigative standards forms that Federal applicants and employees use to process their personnel background checks.
According to DCSA, the goal is to simplify the application process for individuals initiating a background investigation.
“DCSA thanks our Federal customers and industry stakeholders for committing to this transition early on, for staying the course with us, and for devoting the necessary resources to achieving this significant accomplishment,” said Mark Pekrul, DCSA deputy assistant director for Personnel Security Customer and Stakeholder Engagement.
Customer agencies and industry partners began transitioning to eApp in March 2023, with it becoming the primary system for case initiations on Oct. 1, 2023.
“Our partners had to perform the bulk of the actions to get the enterprise to this point; we’ve made it and can continue to implement TW 2.0,” Pekrul said.
According to Robert Schadey, DCSA executive program manager for NBIS, a new application was needed to initiate the vetting process, offering a modern interface and updated standard forms for starting investigations.
“The modern interface in eApp provides enhanced user experience and is securely integrated into the NBIS system,” he added.
DCSA Takes Over DoD Security Review Process
In other DCSA news, the Pentagon’s Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security has directed the agency to handle the due process and appeals on security review proceedings for access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI).
Starting Dec. 8, the SCI adjudication process will apply to contractor personnel, military service members, and Defense Department (DoD) civilians. Cleared contractor personnel already verified for confidential, secret, and top-secret collateral access eligibility are not covered by the new process.
Once effective, individuals who receive “letters of intent to reject or revoke their SCI access eligibility” will have the opportunity to submit a written response and personally appeal before DCSA takes action.
The security review reform is part of the DoD’s larger effort to transform personnel security review processes for eligibility to classified national security information.
In April 2023, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered a widescale review of how secret information is handled and managed by the military following the leak of dozens of highly sensitive Pentagon documents at the hands of a low-level Massachusetts Air National Guard airman.
According to DCSA, the goal of the reforms is to ensure the SCI eligibility process is “transparent, person-focused, and courteous.”
