The Air Drive has quietly eradicated all in-person and digital hearings for Particular Entry Program (SAP) appeals, changing them with a paper-only course of and making the service’s particular entry oversight workplace the ultimate authority.
“The [Special Access Program Central Office] appeals course of will transition, efficient January 21, 2026, from in-person hearings positioned within the Washington, D.C. space to an administrative appeals course of. This course of is not going to allow in-person or digital presence of appellants, authorized counsel or another supporting entities,” Vincent Liddiard, director of safety, particular program oversight and data safety inside the Workplace of the Secretary of the Air Drive, wrote in a Jan. 21 memo.
Below the brand new course of, the director of the particular entry program central workplace (SAPCO) will provoke an administrative overview to evaluate whether or not restoring entry to the appellant poses a safety threat. The deputy director will then overview all related paperwork and decide, which can be appealed to SAPCO, however the director’s resolution is closing and unappealable.
Dan Meyer, associate at Tully Rinckey PLLC, stated the memo “is just not as clear because it in all probability ought to be.”
It’s unclear whether or not the Air Drive will enable appellants to submit written responses as an alternative of a private look or listening to, which might be a “slightly benign change,” Meyer stated. “I believe that folks should still get the identical quantity of due course of.”
One other chance, nonetheless, is that choices will rely solely on current safety information, with no alternative for people to reply.
“Frankly, it wouldn’t shock me, given among the adjustments lately. However that may be a lack of due course of at that time, since you wouldn’t have a listening to, and also you wouldn’t essentially have a contemporary alternative to place in a written reply once you get the choice to be denied entry to Particular Entry Packages,” Meyer stated.
The important thing query now’s whether or not people will likely be allowed to see derogatory data underlying a SAP denial after which reply in writing.
“If that’s the case, then this is perhaps an okay substitute. But when this can be a denial of the listening to, and you continue to don’t have the flexibility to see what you’re having particular entry denial for — that’s not going to be a lot of an enchancment in any respect,” Meyer stated.
“Why are we doing this? I assumed the Air Drive was fairly progressive on this space, extra progressive than the Military and the Navy. However it could be that they’re now retrenching, and we’re in a brand new system. There’s a brand new focus, safety is in a distinct place now than it was even 4 or 5 – 6 years in the past. So we’re seeing adjustments throughout the board, jurisdiction shifting between totally different entities. And it could be that the Air Drive is wanting on the present surroundings and might resolve that it could possibly button down extra, give folks much less due course of. Or it could be that they simply discover the concept of in-person hearings too tough to employees and deal with the entry and so they simply need to go to a paper file. If it’s the latter, then they shouldn’t have an issue with permitting the particular person to reply to why they’re shedding SAP entry,” he added.
‘Extra conservative’ due course of mannequin
The brand new memo represents a significant change for Air Drive personnel — together with contractors, service members and civilian staff — whose entry to Particular Entry Program supplies is now topic to a distinct overview course of.
“What it means for the person is of us have to spend so much extra time fascinated with all of the issues that they’re doing that might value them a safety clearance. Folks should get extra conservative. They’ve to return to the best way the system ran within the Nineteen Sixties and ’70s, the place folks have been much more tight-lipped, they stored much less debt, they adopted all the rules. Issues have been very permissive because the early Nineteen Nineties and I believe we’re rolling again to old fashioned.” Meyer stated.
Greater-Degree Steering
It’s unclear whether or not broader Protection Division adjustments prompted the Air Drive’s new coverage. Meyer stated the memo might sign {that a} broader rewrite of Protection Division Particular Entry Program directions is underway. It is usually doable that the Air Drive acted unilaterally.
Ideally, Meyer stated, steering on adjustments to Particular Entry Program entry and appeals ought to come from the Workplace of the Director of Nationwide Intelligence.
“As soon as [Director of National Intelligence] Tulsi Gabbard points the steering, then all of the division heads ought to problem steering, after which all of the folks under the division heads ought to problem steering, after which all of the folks under the division head ought to problem steering. However on this case, from what I can inform, it simply popped out, and we’re nonetheless researching that to search out out the place the opposite places of work are offering their steering. As a result of I agree — that is fairly skinny,” Meyer stated.
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