And of course the 5-year clearance was good for the day it was issued, maybe.
Then of course there was the absolute confidentiality of the process - not. I think it was the Provost Marshal himself that blew one character. On our sqn we had a well known and predictable drunkard and functioning alcoholic. It could only have been he who the PM had referred.
Same PM, straight from a meeting with Ministers blabbed about an international security breach. Naturally I rang my ex-flt cdr who had been close enough to get burnt. He said later it had been difficult keeping a straight face when the plots interviewed him.