The United States Air
Force Office of Special Investigations is a field operating agency with headquarters
at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C. It has been the Air Force's major
investigative service since August 1, 1948.
Mission
The
primary responsibilities of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations are
criminal investigative and counterintelligence services. The organization seeks
to identify, investigate and neutralize espionage, terrorism, fraud and other
major criminal activities that may threaten Air Force and Department of Defense
resources. AFOSI provides professional investigative service to commanders of
all Air Force activities.
Personnel and Resources
AFOSI
has about 2,000 personnel, of whom two-thirds are special agents. Eighty-eight
percent of the special agents are military and 12 percent are civilian. AFOSI
consists of seven regional offices, seven overseas squadrons and more than 160
detachments using a worldwide network of agents at all major Air Force installations
and a variety of special operating locations.
Operations
Counterintelligence. The counterintelligence mission primarily is to counter the
threat to Air Force security posed by hostile intelligence services and terrorist
groups and to identify and assess the threat for Air Force commanders. AFOSI manages
offensive and defensive activities to detect, counter and destroy the effectiveness
of hostile intelligence services and terrorist groups that target the Air Force
for espionage. This includes investigating the crimes of espionage, terrorism,
technology transfer, computer infiltration and other specialized counterintelligence
operations. The counterintelligence mission also includes providing personal protection
to senior Air Force and other officials as well as supervising an extensive anti-terrorism
program in geographic areas of heightened terrorist activity.
Criminal
Investigations. The vast majority of AFOSI's investigative activities involve
general felony crimes. These crimes include robbery, rape, assault, major burglaries,
drug trafficking and other criminal activities. The most complex of these crimes
require investigators to use their specialized expertise and advanced techniques
learned from initial training and on-the-job experience.
Economic Crime
Investigations. A significant amount of AFOSI investigative resources are assigned
to economic crime or fraud investigations. These include violations of the public
trust involving Air Force contracting matters, appropriated and nonappropriated
funds activities, computer systems, pay and allowance matters, environmental matters,
acquiring and disposing of Air Force property and major administrative irregularities.
AFOSI uses fraud surveys to determine the existence, location and extent of fraud
in Air Force operations or programs. It also provides briefings to base and command-level
resource managers to help identify and prevent fraud involving Air Force or DOD
resources.
Specialized Services. OSI has numerous specialists who are
invaluable in the successful resolution of investigations. They include technical
specialists, polygraphers, behavioral scientists, computer experts and forensic
advisers. These investigators provide assistance when a specialized technique
may move the investigation closer to a suitable conclusion.
Training.
To do its investigative mission, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations
recruits, selects and trains its own agents. Officer, enlisted and civilian candidates
attend a mandatory, 10 1/2 week basic Special Investigator Course at the U.S.
Air Force Special Investigations Academy, Washington, D.C.
The basic
investigator course includes instruction in law, investigative theory, report
writing, forensics, interview techniques and other subjects designed to prepare
special agents for the challenges of investigative duty. Upon graduation, new
OSI special agents spend a one-year probationary period in the field. Upon successful
completion, the agents may return to Washington, D.C., for further specialized
training in economic crime, anti-terrorism service, counterintelligence and other
sophisticated criminal investigative capabilities.
Selected special agents
attend 10 weeks of technical training to acquire electronic, photographic and
other skills required to perform technical surveillance investigations. Experienced
agents selected for polygraph duties attend a 14-week DOD course.
Point
of Contact
Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Public Affairs
Office; 226 Duncan Avenue, Suite 2100; Bolling AFB, D.C. 20332-0001; DSN 297-5352
or (202) 767-5352.
October 1995
