When I reported aboard my first submarine, we were about to depart on our next patrol. I had enough time to move into a condo and fill out the Navy's security-clearance paperwork before we left the country and disappeared for 118 days.
While I was gone, the investigators had put cards on all my new neighbors' doorknobs asking them for a phone interview. Of course nobody knew nothin' about me, which was regarded with suspicion. But the good news is that they managed to figure it all out without my involvement, which probably saved me a couple hours of explanations.
From what I saw between 1982-2002, the quality of the security-clearance agencies and their investigators went steadily downhill. They seemed to get younger, dumber, and more officious with each update to our clearances.
Perhaps that was a compliment to us for not having anything of concern in our records.
