Contractors shocked by Navy Yard
shooter's security clearance
Oren Dorell
USA TODAY
September 18, 2013
(Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)
Story Highlights
'It's shocking' the typical checks
wouldn't have raised red flags,
says Sidney Antommarchi,
an enterprise architect
Alexis was arrested in Seattle
in 2004 for allegedly shooting out
the tires of another man's car
He had been hired as a technical worker for a Hewlett-Packard subcontractor that is
maintaining naval computer systems
WASHINGTON — Contractors who do government work in the Navy Yard area said
Tuesday that they don't feel safe at their jobs after learning that contractor Aaron Alexis
was cleared to work at the military facility despite a discharge from the Navy following
aggressive and violent behavior.
"It's shocking," said Sidney Antommarchi, an enterprise architect for a firm that manages
contracts for the Department of Defense. "I would expect a security clearance
investigation would have turned up something like that."
Antommarchi spoke Tuesday outside his workplace near the Residence Inn, the hotel
where Alexis was staying with other contractors who worked at the Navy Yard. The hotel
is a few blocks away from the facility, where police on Monday shot and killed Alexis after
he killed 12 people with a shotgun he brought to work.
The hotel neighborhood is full of cafes and fast-food restaurants where government
workers and contractors who work in the government installations nearby go for lunch.
The security badges that give workers access to the buildings and offices were visible
around almost every neck Tuesday.
The Navy has not revealed what goes into its security checks on outside contractors who
work at the Navy Yard or other military facilities. Time magazine reported this week that a
soon-to-be-released government audit says the Navy may have weakened security
measures at the Navy Yard to save money.
A federal official with access to the audit by the Department of Defense Inspector
General's office told Time that the report says the Navy "did not effectively mitigate
access-control risks associated with contractor-installation access" at the Navy Yard and
other naval installations.
The risks resulted from an attempt by Navy officials "to reduce access-control costs," the
audit said. The Pentagon inspector general began the audit in September 2012 and in
August 2013 posted an update to its website stating it was expected to be released within
the next 30 days.
Antommarchi said he has held "top-secret" clearance in the past and said he was
mystified that Alexis would qualify for legitimate access to the Navy Yard.
Antommarchi says many non-government workers who fill numerous jobs within the
military in Washington are shocked that Alexis was cleared by security protocols to work
at the Navy Yard given his history.
A Navy official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Alexis was honorably
discharged in January 2011 for "a pattern of misconduct" that included a 2010 gun
incident in his Fort Worth, Texas, apartment in which he fired a bullet into his ceiling. The
bullet blasted through the floor of his upstairs neighbor, a woman who had been feuding
with Alexis about noise issues.
Alexis was arrested but never charged due to lack of evidence of a crime. He told police
he was cleaning his weapon and it went off accidentally, according to news media reports
including the Associated Press.
Alexis was arrested in Seattle in 2004 for allegedly shooting out the tires of another
man's car in what detectives described as an anger-fueled "blackout," Seattle police said
Monday according to CBS News. He was not convicted in that incident, either.
The incidents did not prevent him from getting a civilian job recently at the Navy Yard. He
was hired as a technical worker for a Hewlett-Packard subcontractor that is maintaining
computer systems at Navy installations worldwide. The FBI said Alexis gained access to
the Navy Yard with a valid pass obtained as part of his work as a contractor.
"I would expect a security clearance investigation would have turned up something like
that," said Antommarchi, who works for ICF International on a contract for the Defense
Contract Management Agency.
Alexis' discharge papers should have provided a clue that something was amiss,
Antommarchi said.
STORY: Why was Alexis able to buy guns?
Robert Hatchett, a contractor who manages a conference center for the Department of
Agriculture next-door to the hotel where Alexis stayed, said he feels "very secure" at his
building, except for one type of incident that he doesn't think the security staff he works
with on a regular basis could easily thwart.
"I'd be worried about workplace violence, somebody with mental issues that had
legitimate access to the building," Hatchett said. "Whether that's the case at the Navy
Yard is unclear" because the shooter's motives are still unknown, he said.
Hatchett faults the Navy for not following up on Alexis after his discharge, run-ins with law
and while he was being treated by the Veterans Administration for hearing voices.
"It's unfathomable they wouldn't have got a handle on that" and hadn't revoked his
security clearance, Hatchett said.
Asked whether he'd feel safe working at the Navy Yard in the future, Hatchett said: "I
would now. I think they'll ramp up security. I don't think that will happen again."
Antommarchi said his own "top-secret" security clearance investigation included a
criminal background check, a credit review and interviews with every one of his
references, he said. Contractors with such clearances know that even late payments on
bills would raise a red flag.
"Everybody that works in that kind of environment expects that all those things are being
checked," he said.
If he worked in the Navy Yard complex, he'd "absolutely" feel unsafe, Antommarchi said.
"It's a failure that needs to be looked into."
Contributing: Jim Michaels
shooter's security clearance
Oren Dorell
USA TODAY
September 18, 2013
(Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)
Story Highlights
'It's shocking' the typical checks
wouldn't have raised red flags,
says Sidney Antommarchi,
an enterprise architect
Alexis was arrested in Seattle
in 2004 for allegedly shooting out
the tires of another man's car
He had been hired as a technical worker for a Hewlett-Packard subcontractor that is
maintaining naval computer systems
WASHINGTON — Contractors who do government work in the Navy Yard area said
Tuesday that they don't feel safe at their jobs after learning that contractor Aaron Alexis
was cleared to work at the military facility despite a discharge from the Navy following
aggressive and violent behavior.
"It's shocking," said Sidney Antommarchi, an enterprise architect for a firm that manages
contracts for the Department of Defense. "I would expect a security clearance
investigation would have turned up something like that."
Antommarchi spoke Tuesday outside his workplace near the Residence Inn, the hotel
where Alexis was staying with other contractors who worked at the Navy Yard. The hotel
is a few blocks away from the facility, where police on Monday shot and killed Alexis after
he killed 12 people with a shotgun he brought to work.
The hotel neighborhood is full of cafes and fast-food restaurants where government
workers and contractors who work in the government installations nearby go for lunch.
The security badges that give workers access to the buildings and offices were visible
around almost every neck Tuesday.
The Navy has not revealed what goes into its security checks on outside contractors who
work at the Navy Yard or other military facilities. Time magazine reported this week that a
soon-to-be-released government audit says the Navy may have weakened security
measures at the Navy Yard to save money.
A federal official with access to the audit by the Department of Defense Inspector
General's office told Time that the report says the Navy "did not effectively mitigate
access-control risks associated with contractor-installation access" at the Navy Yard and
other naval installations.
The risks resulted from an attempt by Navy officials "to reduce access-control costs," the
audit said. The Pentagon inspector general began the audit in September 2012 and in
August 2013 posted an update to its website stating it was expected to be released within
the next 30 days.
Antommarchi said he has held "top-secret" clearance in the past and said he was
mystified that Alexis would qualify for legitimate access to the Navy Yard.
Antommarchi says many non-government workers who fill numerous jobs within the
military in Washington are shocked that Alexis was cleared by security protocols to work
at the Navy Yard given his history.
A Navy official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Alexis was honorably
discharged in January 2011 for "a pattern of misconduct" that included a 2010 gun
incident in his Fort Worth, Texas, apartment in which he fired a bullet into his ceiling. The
bullet blasted through the floor of his upstairs neighbor, a woman who had been feuding
with Alexis about noise issues.
Alexis was arrested but never charged due to lack of evidence of a crime. He told police
he was cleaning his weapon and it went off accidentally, according to news media reports
including the Associated Press.
Alexis was arrested in Seattle in 2004 for allegedly shooting out the tires of another
man's car in what detectives described as an anger-fueled "blackout," Seattle police said
Monday according to CBS News. He was not convicted in that incident, either.
The incidents did not prevent him from getting a civilian job recently at the Navy Yard. He
was hired as a technical worker for a Hewlett-Packard subcontractor that is maintaining
computer systems at Navy installations worldwide. The FBI said Alexis gained access to
the Navy Yard with a valid pass obtained as part of his work as a contractor.
"I would expect a security clearance investigation would have turned up something like
that," said Antommarchi, who works for ICF International on a contract for the Defense
Contract Management Agency.
Alexis' discharge papers should have provided a clue that something was amiss,
Antommarchi said.
STORY: Why was Alexis able to buy guns?
Robert Hatchett, a contractor who manages a conference center for the Department of
Agriculture next-door to the hotel where Alexis stayed, said he feels "very secure" at his
building, except for one type of incident that he doesn't think the security staff he works
with on a regular basis could easily thwart.
"I'd be worried about workplace violence, somebody with mental issues that had
legitimate access to the building," Hatchett said. "Whether that's the case at the Navy
Yard is unclear" because the shooter's motives are still unknown, he said.
Hatchett faults the Navy for not following up on Alexis after his discharge, run-ins with law
and while he was being treated by the Veterans Administration for hearing voices.
"It's unfathomable they wouldn't have got a handle on that" and hadn't revoked his
security clearance, Hatchett said.
Asked whether he'd feel safe working at the Navy Yard in the future, Hatchett said: "I
would now. I think they'll ramp up security. I don't think that will happen again."
Antommarchi said his own "top-secret" security clearance investigation included a
criminal background check, a credit review and interviews with every one of his
references, he said. Contractors with such clearances know that even late payments on
bills would raise a red flag.
"Everybody that works in that kind of environment expects that all those things are being
checked," he said.
If he worked in the Navy Yard complex, he'd "absolutely" feel unsafe, Antommarchi said.
"It's a failure that needs to be looked into."
Contributing: Jim Michaels
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A guard stands outside the
gate to the Washington
Navy Yard on Sept. 17 in
Washington, D.C.
gate to the Washington
Navy Yard on Sept. 17 in
Washington, D.C.
Evaluating Security Risks