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 Jobs

The Defense Counterintelligence & Security Agency (DCSA) has opened up their window for student interns to apply for various positions in personnel security, industrial security, counterintelligence, information security, and insider threat operations. Other areas of opportunity are in acquisitions, IT security, financial management, public affairs, and administration. Most, if not

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Security Clearance Denial

The national security adjudicative guideline for allegiance is rarely used in security clearance denials, in fact, I have only come across it used less than a handful of times over the years. Now, one has popped up in a Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals case for a defense contractor. The contractor

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Security Clearance Process

Last month, bipartisan legislation was submitted in the House of Representatives that would prevent federal agencies from denying an applicant a job or security clearance based on their current or prior marijuana use. The bill would also give those previously denied jobs or a clearance a chance to appeal that

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Adjudication

It is common practice for courts to allow individuals who are charged with a felony or serious misdemeanor offense to plea bargain down to a lesser offense just to keep the justice system moving and to avoid long drawn-out trials. For example, someone gets arrested for aggravated assault with intent

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