FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — As August is Army Antiterrorism Awareness Month, it is a good time to discuss a reporting requirement called Security Executive Agent Directive 3, or SEAD 3.
Developed with subject matter experts across the federal government to standardize reporting requirements for all individuals in national security or sensitive positions, SEAD 3 mandates that all federal employees report to their commander or security office activities that may be of potential security or counterintelligence concerns.
For instance, a federal government employee in Texas was sentenced to 15 years in prison in July for stealing $109 million from a youth-development program for military families. The employee bought real estate, jewelry and more than 80 vehicles.
Unexplained affluence is reportable — so, if a coworker drives to work one morning in a million-dollar Italian supercar, report it.
Other notable reportable activities include:
- unofficial foreign travel;
- unofficial foreign contacts;
- foreign affiliation, such as citizenship or a passport;
- behavior and conduct of others;
- personal behavior and conduct;
- media contact;
- criminal activity;
- alcohol and drug treatment;
- bankruptcy or financial issues;
- financial anomalies;
- non-U.S. adoption;
- marriage;
- foreign national roommate;
- foreign business;
- foreign property;
- foreign bank accounts; and
- ownership of cryptocurrency that is backed by a foreign state or hosted or managed by foreign exchanges.
All covered individuals, regardless of access to classified information, must report all reportable activities about themselves and their knowledge of reportable activities regarding other covered individuals to their designated security office.
Reporting is not discretionary. If it is proven that a covered individual failed to report facts about a coworker, an adverse national security eligibility action may be initiated against the covered individual who failed to report.
Just because something is reported, doesn’t mean it will lead to something negative. Mental health treatment and counseling, for example, in and of itself is not a reason to revoke a clearance. Seeking care for personal wellness and recovery may even contribute favorably to decisions about clearance eligibility.
Questions on SEAD 3, including how to make a report, should be addressed to unit security managers.
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