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 Denial

Through the end of November 2017 the Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals (DOHA) Board heard 2,054 clearance denial appeals. As you can see, financial issues continue to outpace all other issues combined. Below is a breakdown by adjudicative category of the types of issues involved (Note – many cases

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Security Clearance Process

Due to an increase in inquiries on this topic I felt the need to post some information about overseas travel for security clearance holders. This information is only intended to provide general guidelines and requirements. If you already have a security clearance or intend on applying for one, I advise

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Security Clearance Process

The congressional push for a return to the “old days” when the Defense Security Service conducted all of the background investigations for the DoD prompted various news outlets (Federal News Radio, FedSmith, Government Executive) to weigh in. Even the Office of Personnel Management (parent of NBIB), which remained out of

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Adjudication

When applicants receive a Statement of Reasons (SOR) intending to deny them eligibility for a security clearance it usually contains details of the disqualifying issues found in their background investigation and identifies the specific adjudicative guidelines they fall under (e.g., Guideline E: Personal Conduct). However, on appeal when an administrative

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