Barksdale OSI keeps community safe

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Allison M. Boehm
  • 2d Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  "This was a real threat--he was going to violently kill his wife, his newborn child and several others. But we stopped him and our actions literally saved peoples' lives. It just doesn't get much better than that."

Not many Airmen get the opportunity to have such a conversation in their workplace, but for Special Agent Eldrick Link, interim commander of Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Detachment 219 - it's just another day on the job.

"AFOSI is not your typical nine-to-five job," said Special Agent Robert Keys, Detachment 219 superintendent. "You can go from filing reports to responding to a homicide scene within a matter of minutes. Every day is different."

Simply stated, AFOSI special agents work to identify, exploit and neutralize criminal, terrorist and intelligence threats to the Air Force, Department of Defense and U.S. government; including threats to Barksdale AFB and the local community. AFOSI's vision is to be the premiere federal law enforcement agency operating throughout the full spectrum of warfare - seamlessly within any domain.

Contrary to popular belief, AFOSI does far more than investigate drug offenses. The organization conducts its critical mission by providing five robust capabilities: protection of critical technologies and information; detecting and mitigating threats; providing global specialized services; conducting major criminal investigations and engaging foreign adversaries and threats offensively.

As part of that responsibility, AFOSI investigates a wide variety of serious offenses from espionage to terrorism to computer hacking and any other illegal activity that undermines the mission of the U.S. Air Force or the Department of Defense.

Due to the diverse nature of their job, AFOSI agents receive extensive training within their career field.

According to Agent Keys, AFOSI agents also have the opportunity to train hand-in-hand with the FBI and CIA.

However, even with a broad range of highly-specialized training special agents rely on other key tools to help solve a case--anonymous tips and confidential informants.

"We realize that only a certain number of crimes are going to find us," said Special Agent Drew Sanguinetti, director of AFOSI Region 2 operating location, which recently activated to provide direct support to Headquarters Air Force Global Strike Command. "We also know there is a certain percentage of crimes that are categorized as victimless, so unless we are proactive in trying to uncover those crimes they may go without being reported."

Here is where the organization's Eagle Eyes program comes into play. The program is a joint effort between security forces, AFOSI and public affairs.

"Peoples' eyes and ears are critical weapons in the fight against crime and terrorism and we realize that we can't fight nefarious activity alone," said Agent Link. "We need everyone's help and the Eagle Eyes program is another great resource tool. However, we are not asking folks to be superheroes. We simply want people to be vigilant, give detailed descriptions, describe unusual behavior, and report information to authorities in a timely fashion. This is your neighborhood and we are here to help keep it safe."

In fact, there are seven specific things that every person should report to the Barksdale Law Enforcement Desk - surveillance; elicitation; tests of security; acquisition of supplies; suspicious persons; dry-runs and deploying assets.

"We need to know if unauthorized persons are recording or monitoring activities," said Agent Link. "This may include the use of cameras, note taking, drawing diagrams, annotating on maps or using binoculars or other vision-enhancing devices."

AFOSI agents and base law enforcement need to also be informed of attempts made to gain information about military operations, elicitation in any fashion, suspicious purchases or stealing of weapons or explosives.

AFOSI also asks that any knowledge or suspicions of people practicing and/or positioning themselves to actually carry out a crime or attack be reported.

"This usually serves as your last opportunity to alert authorities before a criminal or terrorist incident occurs," said Agent Link. "As previously mentioned, Eagle Eyes is just one of several critical tools used by AFOSI agents to carry out their duties."

According to SA Keys, with such a busy operations tempo and the graphic, gory nature of some investigations it takes special people to do this job, and they want special people.

Although AFOSI welcomes more than 230 new special agents into the organization each year, special agents are always trained to be best-of-the-best and have a direct impact on base operations.

"We make a difference wherever we are," said agent Keys. "The intelligence that we gather has affects base operations (both in-garrison and especially in deployed environments) and our goals are simply to put criminals and terrorists behind bars, as well as protect you and your family."

Contact AFOSI Detachment 219 at 456-3881 to report suspected criminal activity and refer to www.OSI.andrews.af.mil for more information.