Plain clothes, special agent

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Micaiah Anthony
  • 2nd Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Radio chatter fills the night air as a mix of red and blue lights swiftly illuminate the neighborhood. Yellow police tape sways as an individual in plain clothes glides under the plastic boundary. The figure stops a few feet short of a series of dark spots on the concrete and pulls out a flashlight. The spots disappear, and in their place, a trail of blood leading to a scattered pile of shell casings. The figure's hip glistens as rays from the flashlight reveal a brass shield with the words, "Special Agent."

When you think about the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, some tend to think about crime scenes or drug busts. There is more to the organization's mission than that.

"Some people may have the misconception that we operate in the dark," said Special Agent Robert Binns, AFOSI Detachment 219 superintendent. "We have certain duties that we can't let everyone know about. If we did, it could give the bad guys a cue on what we are doing. We are simply criminal investigators and our main focus is counter intelligence and force protection."

The AFOSI has career fields or areas of specialties similar to other major criminal investigation agencies.

"We have investigating agents, calligraphers, polygraph agents, cyber investigators, technical agents that work with electronic surveillance and forensic science consultants," Binns said.

The mission of the AFOSI is to identify, exploit and neutralize criminal, terrorist and intelligence threats to the Air Force, Department of Defense and U.S. Government.

"In the big picture, we can investigate anything in the DoD," Binns said. "If a civilian off base tries to target or sell drugs to an Airman, we can run an investigation on them with local authorities."

Det. 219 doesn't just support the local Barksdale area. Its jurisdiction goes beyond the Bossier-Shreveport limits.

"We cover 42 parishes in Louisiana and 41 counties in eastern Texas, so we have a very large area of responsibility," said Bill Messina, AFOSI Det. 219 special agent in charge. "It's not just Barksdale Airmen that we support either, we support all Air Force assets."

Due to the detachment's large jurisdiction, working with other law enforcement agencies is vital.

"We work with security forces, local police departments, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Internet Crimes against Children, the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and pretty much any law enforcement agency," Messina said.

Airmen and their families can help keep Barksdale safe by reporting any suspicious activity through the Eagle Eyes program.

"If we get help from everyone on base we would have roughly 17,000 pairs of eyes to help us identify threats," Binns said. "If you see something, report it. Don't think that any information is insignificant because it may be the piece of the puzzle we need."

Det. 219 is looking for new agents and is accepting applications from senior airman to technical sergeant.

All applicants must meet these standards:

-Investigatively savvy
-Cyber skilled
-Language capable and culturally aware
-Creative and critical thinkers
-Committed, inquisitive and analytical
-Globally mobile
-Socially adept
-Possess unwavering integrity
-Self reliant, adaptive and resilient
-Skilled at situational leadership

If interested in cross training into the AFOSI career field, contact AFOSI Det. 219 at 456-6882 to schedule an appointment.