Widespread Pentagon Security Reform Ordered by Weinberger

Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger on Tuesday ordered a sweeping overhaul of security procedures, including a reliability program for holders of top-secret clearances.

The new reliability program will be applied to those individuals who work “in especially sensitive programs or (who are) assigned to top-secret positions of high criticality,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

In essence, the program will require the supervisor of such employees to conduct his own evaluation of individuals moving into such jobs, as well as periodic re-evaluations, instead of relying on formal background checks.

Also approved Tuesday were orders to begin periodic, unannounced briefcase inspections at Defense Department facilities, including the Pentagon; requiring cleared employees to report foreign travel plans in advance; an annual “clean-out day” that would be devoted to the removal and destruction of outdated classified materials, and the creation of uniform rules requiring all employees and defense contractors to report contacts by foreign nationals.

Withholding Payments

The Pentagon also will make greater use of its authority to withhold payments on classified contracts “in order to enforce compliance with DoD security requirements”; establish minimum levels of required training for both military and contractor security personnel; realign the rules governing security clearances for “immigrant aliens,” and expand the scope of the investigation conducted on individuals applying for a secret clearance.

All told, Weinberger approved 48 specific changes to security procedures and ordered their “prompt implementation.” The changes were among 63 recommendations urged by a special Pentagon commission.

The commission, which was headed by retired Gen. Richard G. Stilwell, released its report last Nov. 21. Weinberger promptly accepted three of the recommendations and said he would study the remainder.

Those three involved an expansion of the Pentagon’s lie-detector program; the institution of unusually tight controls over so-called crypto-access communication materials, and a special, one-time command inspection of all units handling sensitive documents.

The Pentagon said the remaining 12 recommendations were still under review.