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 Denial

Time and time again I read security clearance appeal cases where the applicant brings in supervisors or co-workers to testify on their behalf as to what a good worker they are to recommend getting a security clearance granted or reinstated. Although this is a factor in looking at the “whole

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Security Clearance Jobs

The Department of Justice published a press release outlining an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) involving a Department of State (DoS) employee with a Top-Secret security clearance who was selling sensitive and classified information to someone who turned out to be working for the People’s Republic

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Security Clearance Jobs

When the current administration started rolling out executive orders calling for a reduction in the federal workforce and sent federal workers the “fork in the road” email, Defense and Intelligence agencies were exempt. However, it was not long afterwards that we started hearing stories indicating otherwise. Applicants on ClearanceJobsBlog were

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Security Clearance Denial

Another interesting Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals case caught my eye because it involved a systems administrator and installation and use of a Chinese made web browser on his government workstation. The DoD initially denied his clearance eligibility based on security concerns involving finances and use of information technology.

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