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.

Security Clearance Denial

According to psychologists, a gambling disorder involves repeated, problem gambling behavior. The behavior leads to problems for the individual, families, and society. People with a gambling disorder have trouble controlling their gambling and will continue even when it causes significant problems with relationships and finances. A recent Department of Energy Office

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Security Clearance Denial

Security clearance holders receive an initial security briefing and subsequent annual briefings that provide them information on their responsibilities, what kind of things they should avoid, and what they are required to report. It is well known that marijuana, as well as CBD and THC extracts, are off limits for

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Background Investigations

There was a lively and informative conversation on a recent ClearanceJobs Blog posting when a security clearance applicant asked for advice on whether they needed to report a domestic violence arrest where the judge deferred sentencing as part of a plea agreement by the defendant. Let’s take a look at what deferred

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Adjudication

Having reviewed a ton of resumes for job applicants who have security clearances, I have noticed a trend in the way many from the Defense Department are listing their current clearance level when it comes to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) eligibility. When the DoD’s Central Adjudications Facility reviews and adjudicates

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