Rear Admiral John Kirby defended the Navy’s security clearance for Aaron Alexis during an interview with Wolf Blitzer. He said mental health problems should not affect security clearance. Alexis should be commended, said Kirby, for seeking help from the VA for his apparent psychological problems. Kirby’s point was that the military wants to remove stigma from seeking psychological help.

The Navy's chief spokesman also said that Alexis first got his secret clearance in 2007 and that the clearance is good for ten years. So Alexis’s should still have been good. He did say there are periodic reviews of a security clearance, but did not elaborate or counter the contention by Alexis’s employer that the suspected gunman had his clearance renewed in June or July. The admiral said the eight offenses for which the Navy had sought a “general discharge” for Alexis were “fairly mild”– although he admitted “clearly this was not a sailor that had a stellar career."

Watch the full interview above.