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 Process

The Defense Security Service (DSS) is preparing to issue a new Industrial Security Letter (ISL) providing guidance for the implementation of Security Executive Agent (SecEA) Directive 4 (SEAD 4), “National Security Adjudicative Guidelines, signed last year by the Director of National Intelligence.  Specifically, guidance is being provided regarding Guideline C:

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Adjudication

It has been a while since I last posted on the adjudicator role in the background investigation process. Although much has changed as far as the agency in charge (NBIB), types of investigations, timelines and who is conducting them, adjudication has pretty much remained standard. There has been a push within DoD

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Security Clearance Process

As we all know, illegal drug use is one of the disqualifiers for being granted a security clearance, but it can be mitigated depending on several factors. Here is a tale of two drug users who applied for a security clearance with the Department of Energy. Case #1: This applicant

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Security Clearance Denial

The Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals has started 2018 off with a bang in hearing twenty-four appeal cases, of which twenty-two clearance denial decisions were upheld, one denial decision reversed to clearance granted, and one case remanded back to the original adjudicator for a procedural review. As has historically

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