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.

AdjudicationBackground InvestigationsSecurity Clearance Process

Back in June of 2018 the Director of National Intelligence and the Office of Personnel Management issued a joint memorandum that outlined using a deferment process in background reinvestigations as one of the methods implemented to cut into the huge backlog. The Defense Security Service (DSS) Vetting Risk Operations Center

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Obtaining Security Clearance

Many of our warfighters return from hostile-fire zones all over the world, elect to leave the service, and then end up returning to the same areas as a contractor or consultant making a lot more money. Nothing wrong with that, as they have a special skill set that is in

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Adjudication

Much ado is made about credit reports and how they are used in background investigations. Many misnomers are being perpetuated out there, so here is a quick and easy guide as to what information an adjudicator is looking for on a credit report and what may generate a flag or

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Security Clearance Denial

There are many behaviors and disqualifying conduct under Guideline E: Personal Conduct that cover a multitude of areas which do not fit under other adjudicative guidelines. These include dishonesty, anger issues, employment history, falsification, vulnerability to coercion, and rules violations just to name a few. Here is the primary extract

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