Defense firms fight against the accumulation of security
Defense firms fight against the accumulation of security
Once the black tarps covered parts of a $ 12 billion nuclear submarine, General Dynamics Corp. is building in Groton, Connecticut, blocking the view of workers who lacked security clearance to see the top secret components that they are below.
That's one of the many solutions that General Dynamics and other defense companies have used to continue working on tens of billions of dollars in defense contracts during an unprecedented delay in security clearances.
The number of people waiting for security clearance for work in the defense industry has more than tripled in the last four years to almost half a million, according to the National Bureau of Background Investigation.
That is exacerbating the crisis in the workforce for the manufacturers of warships, fighter jets and cybersecurity systems that are already struggling to replace a wave of retired engineers at a time of unprecedented unemployment and competition from technology companies.
"These people are like gold," said Harris Corp. CEO Bill Brown, referring to workers with security clearance. Harris said this week that he plans merge with L3 Technologies Inc. The combined company would have 22,000 employees, almost half of its workforce.
The delay began to rise in 2013, after the former national security contractor Edward Snowden leaked a huge cache Of the documents to which his authorization had allowed him access. The Pentagon adjusted the authorization requirements for staff and contractors, but the budget cuts remained unchanged at around 7,000 the number of workers performing the background checks. Another 1,000 have been hired during the past year, the office said.
The waiting time for obtaining "secret" authorizations increased to 543 days in the second quarter from 510 days at the end of last year, according to the bureau. The waiting time to renew this authorization is almost 700 days. Including non-defense workers, the backlog is almost 700,000, the office said. Some 4 million US citizens have active security clearances.
Some companies are starting to lay off potential employees at the university to avoid being caught without the workers they need if they win a large contract. "We are now hiring blue sky," said Rick Edwards, executive vice president of the international unit of Lockheed Martin Corp, who previously ran his missile unit.
They also face tougher competition from technology companies, such as Facebook Inc. and Google's Alphabet Inc., which are recruiting the same future experts in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and autonomy.
"Competition for talent is now much broader," said Horacio Rozanski, executive director of Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp, one of the largest information technology contractors for the Pentagon and intelligence agencies.
However, defense executives said the sector remains a draw for employees eager to work on some of the most challenging engineering problems, even if the road to work is more difficult than in a technology or financial company.
The classified projects that require the highest level of permits are the fastest growing part of the Pentagon budget. A quarter of the annual sales at Northrop Grumman Corp., which is building a new B-21 bomber and sensitive spy satellites, involves classified work, twice the level of a decade ago.
Do not tell anyone
More than 200,000 Pentagon employees and about 110,000 defense workers are awaiting security clearances.
Pentagon staff and contractors
The Pentagon will assume the authorization process of the Office of Personnel Management over the next three years to link the defense department's objectives more closely with the authorization process.
Some lawmakers have said that the transition is taking too much time.
"This is a system that is completely broken," said Senator Mark Warner (D., Virginia), vice president of the Senate Intelligence Committee, during an April hearing on the approval process.
That leaves the big defense contractors because they now need to find other ways to complete Pentagon contracts like the submarine to transport intercontinental nuclear missiles that General Dynamics is building in Groton.
In addition to placing tarpaulins in the most secret parts of the submarine, the security director of the Groton shipyard, Vince Lisi, said General Dynamics has installed separate security doors around the ship for authorized and unauthorized workers and that it made its own Initial background checks to speed up the federal process.
When General Dynamics employees cleaned up the selection process, Mr. Lisi said that they often came in lots that do not match the skills needed at that time. The shipyard could receive free space for 100 pipe fitters when what they needed that month were 50 more welders, he said. That situation has improved and the shipyard is no longer experiencing delays in obtaining workers' clearances.
Write to Doug Cameron in doug.cameron@wsj.com
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