Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility

The Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility, commonly abbreviated as DoN CAF, was a U.S. government personnel-security organization associated with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). Its function was not commercial branding or software production, but the formal adjudication of security eligibility for personnel connected with the Department of the Navy. The covered population included active-duty and reserve members of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, Department of the Navy civilian employees, and certain contractors. DoN CAF reviewed available investigative and personnel information to determine whether an individual demonstrated the loyalty, reliability, and trustworthiness required for access to classified information or assignment to sensitive duties. Its determinations included eligibility for Department of Defense security clearances and, for appropriate personnel, access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI). The organization also made SCI eligibility determinations for selected contractor personnel. Contractor collateral-clearance decisions were handled by the Defense Industrial Service Clearance Office, rather than by DoN CAF. In addition to making individual eligibility determinations, DoN CAF maintained a substantial database of security decisions and provided operational support for the Navy’s personnel-security program. Its stated responsibilities combined customer service, case adjudication, records and decision management, and implementation of personnel-security strategies. In that role, it formed part of the broader Defense Department security-clearance system rather than operating as an independent intelligence agency or a private security provider. The organization was consolidated in January 2013 with the other Department of Defense Central Adjudication Facilities. The consolidation followed direction from the Deputy Secretary of Defense and created the Department of Defense Central Adjudication Facility, generally known as DoD CAF. Following that reorganization, DoD CAF became the central authority for determining security-clearance eligibility for non-intelligence-agency Department of Defense personnel who occupied sensitive positions or required access to classified material, including SCI. As a result, DoN CAF is best understood as a former Navy and Marine Corps–focused adjudication organization whose functions were absorbed into the consolidated DoD CAF structure.

The Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility was established as part of the United States Department of Defense personnel-security system serving the Department of the Navy. Its organizational setting was the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and its remit covered the Navy and Marine Corps as well as associated civilian and contractor populations. The facility’s work began after personnel-security investigations had produced information requiring an eligibility decision. Adjudicators considered the available record and assessed whether the individual’s loyalty, reliability, and trustworthiness supported access to classified information or assignment to a sensitive position. The facility handled eligibility determinations for members of the active-duty and reserve components of the Navy and Marine Corps and for Department of the Navy civilian employees. It also determined eligibility for access to Sensitive Compartmented Information for selected contractor personnel. Its role had to be distinguished from the Defense Industrial Service Clearance Office, which established collateral clearance determinations for contractor personnel. DoN CAF therefore occupied a specific part of the clearance architecture: it was a Navy-centered adjudication authority, not the universal office for every contractor clearance or every intelligence-agency decision. Beyond individual adjudications, DoN CAF supported the administration of the Navy’s personnel-security program. It maintained an extensive database of security decisions and provided operational support intended to help execute the program consistently. Its mission combined service to customers and affected personnel with the application of adjudicative standards and the implementation of personnel-security strategies. These activities made it an administrative and decision-making organization within the national-security system, rather than a military command responsible for investigations, an intelligence agency, or a commercial information-security company. A major organizational change occurred in January 2013. Acting on direction from the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Department of Defense consolidated DoN CAF with the other Central Adjudication Facilities across the department. The resulting Department of Defense Central Adjudication Facility, or DoD CAF, became the consolidated authority for determining the security-clearance eligibility of non-intelligence-agency Department of Defense personnel in sensitive positions or positions requiring access to classified material, including Sensitive Compartmented Information. This consolidation ended DoN CAF’s separate organizational role. The former Navy and Marine Corps responsibilities were consequently incorporated into the broader DoD CAF framework.

• 2013

  Consolidation into the Department of Defense CAF

  [1]Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facilityen.wikipedia.org

  DoN CAF was consolidated with the other Department of Defense Central Adjudication Facilities into the Department of Defense Central Adjudication Facility, following direction from the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

A government personnel-security adjudication authority serving the Department of the Navy, rather than a commercial brand or software provider.

• Government personnel-security service

  Security-clearance eligibility adjudication

  DoN CAF reviewed available personnel-security information and made determinations concerning whether covered Department of the Navy personnel met the standards for holding a security clearance or being assigned to sensitive duties. The process focused on loyalty, reliability, trustworthiness, and the protection of national security information.

• Government information-access determination

  Sensitive Compartmented Information eligibility determinations

  The facility determined eligibility for access to Sensitive Compartmented Information for applicable Navy and Marine Corps personnel and selected contractor personnel. These determinations formed part of the wider Department of Defense personnel-security process.

• Government records and program administration

  Personnel-security decision database and operational support

  DoN CAF maintained an extensive database of security decisions and supported the operation of the Department of the Navy personnel-security program. The function helped retain adjudicative records and support the implementation of security-program strategies.

• 2013

  Consolidation of central adjudication facilitiesStrategy

  Background

  The Department of Defense directed the consolidation of its separate central adjudication facilities, including the Department of the Navy CAF, to create a single adjudication organization.

  Action taken

  DoN CAF was merged into the Department of Defense Central Adjudication Facility, which assumed the relevant adjudication authority for non-intelligence-agency DoD personnel.

  Aftermath

  DoN CAF ceased to operate as a separate facility, while its former responsibilities became part of the consolidated DoD CAF structure.

  Source

1. 1Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facilityen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Naval Criminal Investigative Service DoN CAF pagencis.navy.mil