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

The National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) reported the number of new security clearance applications has risen to almost 500,000 over the past four years. This increase, combined with the current investigation backlog, does not bode well for companies who rely on a pool of cleared employees to work on classified projects.

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Security Clearance Denial

In the world of high tech defense activities, contractors move around or change jobs quite often. For that reason, companies frequently have their employees sign non-disclosure and non-compete statements. The main purpose of this is to prevent the loss of proprietary information to competitors. A defense department contractor recently found

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Background Investigations

The number of background investigators working on National Background Investigation Bureau (NBIB) cases has tripled over the last few years in an effort to whittle down the massive backlog of cases. As well, the number of companies providing contractor investigative services went from two to four. While this is good

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Obtaining Security Clearance

More than a year ago, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) added marijuana extracts to its list of Schedule 1 drugs. Schedule 1 drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Cannabidiol (CBD) and CBD oils are considered extracts. These

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