Author Archive

Marko Hakamaa

Marko Hakamaa served in various military police positions with the United States Army worldwide for 22 years before retiring in 2006 as a Master Sergeant. Afterwards, he transitioned into the civilian workforce as a contractor background investigator for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) before entering civil service as a Security Specialist in 2009.

Security Clearance Process

The FY 2016 1st Quarter report on Insider Threat and Security Clearance Reform generated by ODNI shows that the timelines for several initiatives were not met. The Performance Accountability Council (PAC) is responsible for oversight and implementation of the proposed reforms and is the lead in unifying and standardizing the

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Obtaining Security Clearance

Contractors who apply for jobs that require a security clearance and don’t already have one may be eligible for an interim clearance while the background investigation is in progress. Depending on the agency for whom the work is being done, interim clearances can be granted at both the Secret and

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Background Investigations

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released the latest notice for their billing rates for background investigations aligned with the newly implemented 5 Tier background investigation system they incorporated late last year. How they come up with the rates for each type of investigation is a mystery and requires hiring

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Background Investigations

When filling out the Questionnaire for National Security Positions (SF-86) there is a section right after the instructions you have to acknowledge as having read.  It states “I have read the instructions and I understand that if I withhold, misrepresent, or falsify information on this form, I am subject to the

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