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

It would not be a stretch of the imagination to think a security clearance applicant with six DUIs, illegal drug use, a violation of a protective order, other criminal charges, and a lack of candor on government forms would be denied eligibility for access to classified information, right? That is

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AdjudicationSecurity Clearance DenialSecurity Clearance Process

Most of the articles I post have dealt with Department of Defense (DoD) security clearance matters and case studies. That is mainly because other than the Department of Energy, there is not much information forthcoming from other Federal agencies regarding numbers of cases, timelines for processing, decisions, and appeals. That

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Security Clearance Denial

With all of the talk about border security and undocumented illegal immigrants I found a recent Department of Energy appeals case apropos’ to the discussion. The statement of reasons and initial denial cited security concerns under foreign influence and personal conduct. Here is a quick summary of the case: The

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Security Clearance Denial

The number of security clearance denials for sexual behavior doubled from last year according to analysis of the top reasons for a denial. Three recent DOHA appeals cases jumped out at me because they involved solicitation of prostitutes or paying for sexual services. This has always been a source danger

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