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 and Security Agency (DCSA) is in the process of building an Information Technology (IT) system for personnel vetting to replace the systems currently in use by various agencies. This new system is called the National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) and it will include all of the steps

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Obtaining Security Clearance

Adjudicative guidelines provide adjudicators the option to grant applicants a security clearance under conditions when the issues present have been partially mitigated and the applicant has shown intent to follow through on resolving any remaining concerns. This is considered an exception as defined in Security Executive Agent Directive (SEAD) 4: National Security

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Security Clearance Denial

In May 2020, a Department of Energy (DOE) contractor had her security clearance suspended after the latest alcohol related incident involving public intoxication (PI) on an airplane in 2019. Additionally, the contractor intentionally provided false information to the psychologist concerning her alcohol consumption. The Local Security Office (LSO) further alleged

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Background Investigations

Adjudicators must be decisive and efficient critical thinkers to make quality adjudicative decisions and meet timeliness standards, ensuring mission readiness and risk mitigation. They require a strong knowledge of the policies and procedures that govern adjudications and need to be able to efficiently review a subject’s case, identify the information

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