A. DOD MANUAL 5200.02 (Personnel Security Program), 3 April 2017.
B. Army Directive 2021-12 (Fulfilling Statutory Military Service Obligations), 27 April 2021.
C. AR 135-133 (Ready Reserve Screening, Qualification Records System, and Change of Address Reporting), 2 May 2025.
D. AR 135-178 (Enlisted Administrative Separations), 6 June 2025.
E. AR 380-67 (Personnel Security Program), 15 April 2026.
F. AR 600-8-2 (Suspension of Favorable Personnel Actions (Flag), 5 April 2021.
G. AR 601-280 (Army Retention Program), 14 May 2023.
H. AR 635-200 (Active Duty Enlisted Administrative Separations), 30 July 2025.
I. DA PAM 611-21 (The MOS Smart Book), 20 November 2025.
J. HQDA EXORD 107-24 (Clear the Army: Background Investigation and National Security Adjudication Requirements for Military Personnel), 06 January 2024.
K. DAG2, DAMI-CDS Memorandum (Army Implementation of Department of Defense Policy on Background Investigation and National Security Adjudication Requirements for Military Personnel), 8 April 2021.
1. This message does not apply to Soldiers in initial entry training (IET). It will expire one year after publication unless rescinded or superseded beforehand.
2. Special Reporting Codes (SRC) were established to identify personnel in applicable categories and are used in personnel documents to reflect Soldiers’ reclassification reporting status. SRC 09X was established for use in place of a Primary MOS (PMOS) to report enlisted Soldiers who fail to obtain or maintain a favorable National Agency Check with Law and Credit (NACLC), now known as a tier 3 (Secret level) background investigation, as a condition for continued service.
3. The U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) is the reclassification authority for all Regular Army (RA), U.S. Army Reserve Active Guard Reserve (USAR AGR) and Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) enlisted Soldiers and is the only agency authorized to classify these Soldiers into SRC 09X.
4. Commanders are required to identify Soldiers in their command who fail to obtain or maintain a favorably adjudicated background investigation required for continued service. The following command procedures are required when a Soldier fails to meet the background investigation requirements outlined in reference J above to qualify for continued service.
a. These Soldiers will have a Department Determined Personnel Security Status (DDPSTA) code of 0, 1, M, N, U, W, X, Y, or Z identifying them as having failed to obtain or maintain a favorably adjudicated NACLC/T3 background investigation.
(1) Soldiers will be flagged when the Department of Defense Consolidated Adjudications Services denies or revokes a Soldier’s security clearance eligibility. These Soldiers will be identified with a DDPSTA code of 1 or N. The flag will be initiated immediately for those who are identified as being denied/revoked or within three working days after the Soldier’s status changes from favorable to unfavorable.
(2) Soldiers will be flagged within 60 days after failing to meet the timelines established in reference J for submitting an initial background check investigation, reinvestigation, or documentation to enroll in the continuous evaluation (CE) program.
b. RA enlisted Soldiers must have the Immediate Reenlistment Prohibition Reason “9D” (Pending Security Clearance Determination) placed on them by their unit Career Counselors via the RETAIN system. USAR AGR and IRR enlisted Soldiers will have the personnel restriction code “RET9D” placed on their IPPS-A record.
c. Mandatory reclassification to SRC 09X is required once unqualified Soldiers are flagged IAW reference K. The Soldier’s immediate commander is required to initiate this mandatory reclassification action. The request for RA Soldiers is submitted to HRC by the unit’s servicing Career Counselor via the RETAIN system. Written processing guidance will be provided to the RA Career Counselors via RETAIN messages. USAR AGR Soldiers and leaders should refer to the USAR G‑1 Personnel Action Guide, A‑2‑E‑2 Request for Reclassification, available at https://armyeitaas.sharepoint-mil.us/teams/usar-g1-pag/Lists/ActionsList/USARG1PAG.aspx. IRR Soldiers will be contacted via certified mail.
d. Soldiers classified to SRC 09X will be considered surplus and reported as “NON MOSQ” and are non-mobilization assets and ineligible for promotion.
5. HRC procedures:
a. Upon receipt of a request to classify a Soldier to SRC 09X, the responsible branch listed in paragraph 7 below places SRC 09X on the Soldier’s record.
b. The Retention Control Point (RCP) for Soldiers classified to SRC 09X is nine months from the effective date of the reclassification and applies to all RA, USAR AGR, and IRR Soldiers.
(1) Soldiers with more than 17 years and 3 months but less than 18 years and serving in the NCO Career Status Program (CSP) at the time of approval will have a separation date of the last day of the month that they are eligible for retirement. Soldiers who are not serving in the NCO CSP and will exceed 18 years AFS can extend IAW AR 601-280 to obtain the minimum time required to retire.
(2) Soldiers with 18 but less than 20 years of AFS who are reclassified in SRC 09X may serve to meet the minimum retirement eligibility or 270 days after the effective date of reclassification in SRC 09X whichever is later unless involuntarily separated earlier by the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower & Reserves Affairs).
(3) Soldiers with more than 20 years of Active Federal Service (AFS) classified to 09X must retire or separate not earlier than 90 days and no later than 270 days after the effective date of reclassification to SRC 09X unless their contractual ETS date is sooner.
6. Soldiers who overcome the disqualification and obtain a favorable NACLC/T3 background investigation can request to reclassify to their previous PMOS while serving as a 09X.
7. Points of contact for additional guidance pertaining to this message are provided below:
a. RA Soldiers and leaders should contact their servicing or installation Career Counselor for questions concerning reclassification to SRC 09X. RA Career Counselors with questions pertaining to this message should contact the HRC Retention and Reclassification Branch at usarmy.knox.hrc.mbx.mprd-fad-ra-enlisted-iet-reclass@
army.mil.
b. USAR AGR Soldiers and leaders should refer to the USAR G‑1 Personnel Action Guide, A‑2‑E‑2 Request for Reclassification, available at https://armyeitaas.sharepoint-mil.us/teams/usar-g1-pag/Lists/ActionsList/USARG1PAG.aspx. For questions regarding reclassification to SRC 09X, contact the HRC USAR AGR Reclassification Team at usarmy.knox.hrc.mbx.rpmd-emd-agr-retention@army.mil.
c. IRR Soldiers should contact the Security Derog Team at HRC for questions concerning reclassification to SRC 09X usarmy.knox.hrc.mbx.mprd-omd-dersecurity
@army.mil.