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

For some, life events happen, they get down on their luck, and they eventually fall into the hole financially. Adjudicators and appeals judges are fully aware of this and take these factors into consideration when determining whether to grant clearance eligibility. You don’t need to pay all of the debt

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Security Clearance Process

In the personnel and industrial security world there are many words and acronyms used that clearance applicants may not be familiar with which may be confusing. Previously, I provided an article on what the Report of Investigation codes meant. Here are some terms used by security professionals who process, review, or adjudicate

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Security Clearance Denial

Occasionally I run across news stories about men getting caught secretly recording women under their dresses while in changing rooms or bathrooms. In an unusual twist, I found a Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Hearing and Appeals case where the clearance applicant was caught recording other men with his

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Security Clearance Denial

A defense contractor was denied security clearance eligibility by the DoD based on sexual behavior and personal conduct concerns. He subsequently appealed to the Defense Office of Hearing an Appeals, and in reading the summary of proceedings, I found it quite unbelievable that he would even try to appeal the

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