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.

Obtaining Security Clearance

Employees who have a history of quitting or walking off the job without notice may find obtaining security clearance eligibility a challenge. Why? Because it shows the employee is unreliable, has poor judgment, and is not trustworthy, all elements in the adjudicative guidelines under personal conduct. A recent Department of Energy

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Polygraph

The topic of polygraph examiners bullying security clearance applicants has risen to new levels as of late. The Clearancejobsblog.com site has been peppered with stories from intelligence agency applicants depicting disbelief and frustration with their polygraph experiences. One recent applicant said he has no idea why his first two polygraphs were inconclusive because he

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Security Clearance Denial

Illegal drug use appeals are piling up at the Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals, mostly due to marijuana being legalized for recreational and medical use in more and more states. As noted by the Director of National Intelligence in a memorandum published in 2021, marijuana use in and of itself is not automatically

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Security Clearance Process

The Department of State’s (DoS) Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) was accused of discriminatory and biased practices when it came to granting security clearances due to its assignment restrictions policies. Last year, the DoS ended their restrictions policy that had allowed the DS to deny applicants a security clearance for foreign service

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