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.

Obtaining Security Clearance

There are lots of questions on this site from security clearance applicants regarding what or how to list employment activities in Section 13A on the SF-86. The more accurate and thorough you are, the easier it is for investigators and records custodians to verify the information and check the block.

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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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