“Thanks for helping me get through my Security Review—having an extra set of hands, templates, and tips gave me confidence and you helped it go smoothly!” ~FSO PRO Member
Here is some shameless plugging for the FSO PRO Membership. (Don’t worry—there is a lot of practical information on page 2.)
- We have a FSO PRO Member YouTube Channel that gives a preview of what templates or information we are providing to FSO PRO Members each month. It also features Joy, our Senior FSO/Security Specialist. All videos are 1-3 minutes and it’s a great way to see if it is information you need!
- FSO PRO Members get items like a planners, templates, training videos, and the latest “security review” information straight from DCSA! We also have contests to award your efforts and certificates to show during your reviews. We would love for you to check us out!
Okay! Enough of that… 🙂
It is time for Annual Predictions!
Not regarding who is going to take this year’s Oscar (c’mon Brendan Fraser!) …this is “Prediction Time for FSOs”, also known as the Personnel Security Investigations submission that will launch March 6–April 7, 2023!
This is an annual requirement where the FSO projects how many new Investigations, Peri- odic Re-investigations, and now Continuous Evaluations, they will need over the next three fiscal years.
As we have done for the last two years, the projections are to be submitted through NISS, so make sure your account login is up-to-date!
A PSI Job Aid is available on the NISS Dashboard (after you have logged in) to assist in completing the PSI projections. We plan to have this on thefsopro.com website too, along with any other resources we find!
Also in March, we have no federal holidays, it is rainy, a lot of us are finalizing our taxes, and it is a long month, so this is as good a time as any to do these new tasks!
Our recommendation is to get it done early so you can focus on March Madness and singing “C’mon Eileen” at St. Patrick’s day festivities!
Why do I have to do this again?
Your organization has to do this because:
- The government requires you to do it. Failure to complete it will result in a reprimand from your DCSA Field office to you and your Senior Management Official and no one wants that. Even though they are nice about it, it is still uncomfortable.
- These projection surveys help the government plan and pay for all the clearance investigations that will be needed. You know how all of the investigations are taking a really long time right now? A huge part of that is due to lack of funding. Your completion of the survey can demonstrate to the government that more support is needed.
What If I Get It Wrong?
Don’t panic. There is no “wrong”. I mean, unless you have a crystal ball that really works (statistically unlikely), you are not expected to truly predict the future. Some companies may get huge awards later this year (cork pop!) which could render all their projections wrong, so FSOs are not held accountable for the accuracy of the answers.
However, you do want to try and get it as close as possible. This is tax-payer money we are talking about – don’t go crazy.
How do we do this?
Step 1: Make sure you can log into NISS
- To get going on your NISS account, you will FIRST need to register your PKI token with the DCSA Portal: https://ncaiss.dss.mil/dss-cac-login/cert/login
- The next step is to go back to the portal while logged into your token and click the “I accept” and then the CAC login to get in.
- Once you are in – you will select “Create/Modify Requests” and register your company and yourself – select Security Staff then Facility Security Officer then submit (it usually requires you to submit more than once).
- NOTE: We highly recommend that you call/email your DCSA Rep letting him or her know you are submitting your request for a NISS account so they will grant the privilege and it won’t “time out”. They have been doing that a lot.
Step 2: Make the projections
There are several ways of doing this, but at FSO PRO we like to use the following formula to help complete this for our clients:
Historical data + Historical growth rate = Projections.
For instance, if you did about 6 new investigations this year and 1 periodic reinvestigation and your company grew 10%, you can project slightly higher investigations each year.
Conversely, if big contracts are coming to an end, or you are graduating out of the 8(a) program, you can move that formula in reverse.
Some companies with high turnover (overseas deployments, role players, training classes) may want to use the same numbers each year. Again, there is no wrong method – just make an educated prediction.
True story: We have had to do more “incident re- ports” for disorderly conduct around St. Pat’s than any other holiday.
FSO PRO has added new training videos to our Shop.
“FSO Training Video: Alcohol” and
“FSO Training Video: Criminal Activities”
These videos (Created by MarketingFlix!) offer training to FSOs, Managers, Leaders, and cleared personnel for properly reporting and mitigating the negative impact for clearances should something adverse occur in these areas. Share them with your team on the week of March 17th as an extra “security best practice” be- fore the popular holiday festivities!
Need more explanation or assistance with any items mentioned this month? Contact FSO PRO!
Looking for FSO Gifts? Check out the FSO PRO Shop!
SVA Binders!
Coffee Mugs!
Membership Clubs!
Training Videos!
One Hour FSO Support!
Security Review Prep!
FSO PRO thanks all the FSOs out there for everything you do to keep the warfighter safe. Even the smallest task is designed to keep our nation’s information out of the hands of those who would do harm. We, as FSOs, are doing our part to stay vigilant and determined to protect those who protect us, even in our own small way.
That is why we say how awesome you are. And thank you.