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.

Background Investigations

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During the last 5 years have you been fired from a job for any reason, did you quit after being told you would be fired, or did you leave a job by mutual agreement due to specific problems?

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Obtaining Security Clearance

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In a not so frequent ruling by the Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals, the board overturned a favorable security clearance eligibility decision by the judge that had heard the initial appeal. The main issues in this particular case fall under Guideline E (Personal Conduct), Guideline G (Alcohol Consumption), Guideline

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Career Advice

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Lately I have ran across numerous situations involving the illegal recording of private conversations and thought I would highlight the legalities and pitfalls involved. With the mass availability of devices (cell phones, mini-recorders, laptops, watches, i-pads) that can surreptitiously record telephone and face to face conversations there is now an

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Security Clearance Process

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Last week the Office of Personnel Management made a decision to shut down the e-QIP application used to process 90% of Federal government background investigations for 4-6 weeks. At the same time, due to the data breach which allowed hackers access to OPM investigative records through a laptop that was

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