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

After taking a quick peek at the latest Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals (DOHA) case it is still clear without a doubt that financial issues dominate as the number one reason applicants are denied security clearance eligibility. The types of issues run from running up credit card debts and

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Security Clearance Denial

A Department of Energy (DOE) contractor was denied clearance eligibility based on his inability to be forthright and honest about the extent of his illegal drug use. What set this particular appeals case apart from other similar cases was the extent his lies, both on the SF-86 questionnaire and in

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Background Investigations

The ‘Contract Rebid Summer 2022’ blog posting on Security Clearance Jobs Discussions is a hot topic of discussion these days with hundreds of posters weighing in on the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency’s solicitation for bids for companies to provide background investigation field services. CACI has the current prime contract for DCSA,

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Security Clearance Denial

Claiming hours worked when you don’t actually perform the work is never a good idea, yet it happens quite frequently with defense contractors working on government projects. A Raytheon systems engineer, who had a Secret clearance, had a habit of disappearing every Friday even though he claimed to be working during

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