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.

Background Investigations

In accordance with Security Executive Agency Directive (SEAD) 3 all security clearance holders are required to report suspicious contact with foreign nationals, especially if they are associated with a foreign government. In a recent Department of Justice (DOJ) case an Air Force civilian employee, Xiaoming Zhang, was convicted of providing false

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Security Clearance Denial

It is well known that debt is the number one reason for security clearance eligibility denials according to appeals statistics over the years. One would think new clearance applicants would do a little research and make sure their finances were in good shape, or at least not so obviously bad as to

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Security Clearance Denial

Accurate timekeeping relies heavily on the integrity of the person filing hours worked. If supervisors are not paying attention there is always a possibility of an employee taking advantage to claim hours worked when they actually did not. A recent Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals case highlighted the danger

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Polygraph

In one of the more unusual Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals cases, a clearance holder had his eligibility revoked after a polygraph interview revealed he had engaged in sexual services of prostitutes, both in the United States and overseas, on and off for over 12 years while holding a security clearance.

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