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

I have noticed an uptick in the number of Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals cases involving foreign influence. It could be a coincidence, but I suspect it is not, considering the current political environment regarding the focus on foreign nationals living in the United States and Department of Homeland

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Security Clearance Process

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) recently announced changes to required training for Insider Threat Program Personnel to address the increasingly aggressive tactics used by adversaries in recruiting U.S. employees with access to proprietary or classified information. With all of the recent downsizing of federal agencies and the slew

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Security Clearance Process

As is evidenced by numerous state laws, the use of marijuana (THC) products for medical use is quite common now even though still illegal under federal law. So, what happens when you have a security clearance, and your attending physician prescribes THC products to alleviate the pain of a medical

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Security Clearance Process

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency is responsible for implementing Continuous Vetting (CV) for DoD security clearance holders once they become eligible for access to classified information. One piece of the continuous vetting process is enrollment into the FBI’s Rap Back program which provides notifications to the clearance granting agency

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