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

In a recent Department of Energy clearance denial appeal the judge turned the tables on the applicant’s argument that he misunderstood the questions on the SF-86 application as to why he didn’t disclose delinquent taxes, debts, and arrests. The issues in this case involved the applicant failing to file his taxes, getting

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Background InvestigationsSecurity Clearance Process

You were hired on for that dream job, flew through the background investigation process (well, maybe not really, but one can hope), and were granted a security clearance. What should you do now? I always recommend you request a copy of your own closed background investigation to keep for future

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Adjudication

It has been a while since I have focused on the adjudicator’s role in the security clearance process, but a recent Department of Justice report of investigation caught my eye, specifically because it detailed the failure of senior Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) managers to follow the recommendations of personnel security adjudicators in suspending

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Background InvestigationsObtaining Security Clearance

I have seen an uptick in the number of cases taken on by Federal prosecutors related to security clearance holders caught lying on the SF-86. It seems that this particular long-standing issue has garnered more attention in the current clearance reform arena and providing false information is being taken more

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