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.

Adjudication

Formerly known as the DoD Consolidated Adjudications Facility, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency’s (DCSA) Adjudication and Vetting Services (AVS) is responsible for adjudicating background investigations and monitoring continuous vetting alerts for the DoD, which includes military service members, civilians, contractors, congressional staff, capitol police, and consultants. Using the “Whole

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Background InvestigationsObtaining Security ClearanceSecurity Clearance Process

As the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Defense Counterintelligence Agency (DCSA) continue to move forward with implementing the Trusted Workforce (TW) 2.0 initiative, there will be changes to reciprocity processes and bringing back employees who were previously cleared. When fully implemented, vetting scenarios under Transfer of Trust and

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AdjudicationBackground InvestigationsSecurity Clearance Process

The Defense Counterintelligence Agency (DCSA) provided notification to Industry and Government Stakeholders that because of the lapse on appropriated funding and the government shutdown, it cannot approve/authorize the submission of background investigations that were not scheduled prior to October 1st. Investigations that were in progress prior to the lapse in

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Background Investigations

Almost weekly I get an inquiry from someone who was contacted by a background investigator via text or email for an interview. They usually ask me if it is legit or if it is some phishing attempt to get personal information. I tell them “Yes, investigators conducting personnel security or

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