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 has worked as a contractor background investigator, a government industrial and personnel security specialist, and as a national security and public trust background investigation adjudicator.

Security Clearance Process

The Questionnaire for National Security Positions (SF-86) has various questions that ask for information within certain timelines. For example, residence and employment history go back 10 years and foreign travel and business activities go back 7 years. There are several sections with questions that ask for 7 years of history,

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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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