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.

Career Advice

The on-going political drama created by our elected officials resulting in thousands of Department of Homeland Security employees going without a paycheck for the second month in a row is deplorable. These hard-working and dedicated civil servants having to work without getting paid is causing a huge strain on their

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Security Clearance Denial

It really does amaze me how some people are completely unaware of acceptable personal conduct as an employee in a professional workplace. A recent Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Hearing and Appeals case highlighted what employees should NOT be doing while they are supposed to be working. Here are

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Security Clearance Denial

A former Department of the Army civilian employee who had a Top-Secret security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information access was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last week and charged with transmitting classified national security information to unauthorized persons. Courtney Williams had been an employee with a Special

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Security Clearance Denial

I ran across an unusual Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals (DOHA) case for a defense contractor who was initially denied security clearance eligibility by the DoD due to concerns related to adjudicative guidelines falling under sexual, criminal, and personal conduct. Not sure why it took so long, but this

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