15 SEP2025 SNA/SNFO BOARD

[exNavyOffRec]

So I did end up finally hearing back from my recruiter today after five weeks of trying to get a hold of him. I am not at the board. Now this pales in comparison to the other news he brought me today. He told me I can no longer apply to any boards until I get a moral waiver for what I put on my SF86. I was arrested twice in the past and each time the charges were dropped, the case was dismissed, and the whole deal was expunged. Now before you all say there is no such thing as expunged in the military, I know this and I have held an interim top secret during my time in the Army and these arrests have never caused me any trouble as I was proven innocent. Hence the dropped, dismissed, and expunged charges. These arrests haven't even caused me problems on this go arounds top secret clearance. When I started my Navy recruiting journey in September of 2023 I disclosed all of this information to my recruiter and he said it wouldn't be a problem. I disclosed all this information to my investigator as well and it did not cause any problems for the clearance. So my question is, does anyone know if I really need a moral waiver for being innocent of a crime I never committed? How would that even work? I have literally no evidence to provide of these charges and I even requested arrest records from my state's bureau of investigation today and all they sent me was paper stating no such records exist. I showed/explained all of this to my recruiter and he said "I am fuzzy on how this works I have never done this before". Any suggestions or insights?

What the Army looks at to get in is one thing, what the Navy looks at to get in is another thing, and what the investigators look at to grant a clearance is another. I seen people who were given a waiver to come in the USN and then denied a security clearance based on what they received a waiver for.

You need to work with your recruiter who should have known better to get this info submitted. I have had a situation like this happen before a long time ago, and what I did was have a letter from the court and the arresting agency saying they can find no criminal records for XXX XXX in our system. In the case I am talking about they also put on their that cases that are dropped are only kept in files for X years so this case would have been purged from our files.

 

[trismis50]

What the Army looks at to get in is one thing, what the Navy looks at to get in is another thing, and what the investigators look at to grant a clearance is another. I seen people who were given a waiver to come in the USN and then denied a security clearance based on what they received a waiver for.

You need to work with your recruiter who should have known better to get this info submitted. I have had a situation like this happen before a long time ago, and what I did was have a letter from the court and the arresting agency saying they can find no criminal records for XXX XXX in our system. In the case I am talking about they also put on their that cases that are dropped are only kept in files for X years so this case would have been purged from our files.

Thank you very much for your reply. I already started reaching out to courts and state police to request records. So far they have all come up clean so I guess I will keep at it and gather up as much evidence as I can in that regard. So even if I present proof that there is no criminal record I would still have to submit that for a waiver? I mean this concerns me because a moral waiver is a bad look and I don't have a criminal record so it seems crazy to me that I would need one. Also apologies to anyone if I am coming off agitated, I am just floored that after almost 2 years of working with this recruiter he is just now bringing this up.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Thank you for your reply. I am not sure if you read my entire post, but I did 100% disclose all my legal involvement when I started working with my recruiter in 2023. What I can't seem to understand is why I need a moral waiver for not committing a crime. How would that even work, there is no proof I was ever even arrested. I quite literally have no criminal record. My DCSA investigator somehow couldn't even verify the arrest and they have access to everything. The only paperwork I have is the final order granting the dismissal and expungement.

Navy recruiting goes off initial arrests and charges. I am tracking never being charged or it was expunged but if there is a pattern it raises questions about your conduct and potential to be an officer.

 

[trismis50]

Navy recruiting goes off initial arrests and charges. I am tracking never being charged or it was expunged but if there is a pattern it raises questions about your conduct and potential to be an officer.

Thank you very much for your reply. I understand what you are saying about conduct, but that's just it I have never committed a crime that is why I have no criminal record. I have no proof that the arrest ever happened and there is no way for them to get proof that it happened. The only reason the Navy knows about it is because I follow the best policy, honesty. So what it is that I am getting hung up on is how is it even possible to get a waiver for something that legally never happened and functionally does not exist.

 

[fighter-cat22]

how is it even possible to get a waiver for something that legally never happened and functionally does not exist.

Welcome to the military my friend. I recently had to get a waiver for an injury that never happened all because a Dr pre-diagnosed me in his notes. I was told I had to get the waiver quite literally because of how it was worded, even though there were no imaging results that could’ve legally confirmed such a diagnosis. It is what it is though. I hope you’re able to resolve your situation as well.