Office of Special Investigations seeks agents

Published May 17, 2011
By Air Force Office of Special Investigations
Keesler Detachment 407

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- The Air Force Office of Special Investigations is responsible for investigating major crimes and works against terrorist and foreign intelligence efforts. AFOSI is also looking for exceptional noncommissioned officers for duty as enlisted special agents.

With more than 2,700 members, AFOSI has been the Air Force's major investigative service since 1948. It provides criminal investigations and counterintelligence services to commanders of all Air Force organizations. To do that consistently well, AFOSI must constantly replenish its agent force and its primary source of new agents is the active-duty enlisted force.

"Airmen from all career fields in the Air Force can join AFOSI and bring something to the fight," Special Agent Angelina Montecalvo, superintendent of the applicant processing branch at AFOSI headquarters, relocated earlier this year to Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., as part of a base realignment and closure mandate.

"We are constantly seeking top quality Airmen to join our team by retraining into OSI."

"The standards are high and it's tough to make the cut, but we know there are many good Airmen who meet the standards and would make great agents," said Chief Master Sgt. John Fine, AFOSI command chief master sergeant. Chief Fine retrained into AFOSI 23 years ago from the security forces career field and said his career as a special agent has been "very exciting and tremendously rewarding."

According to Agent Montecalvo, AFOSI's primary recruiting focus is on staff sergeants with five to 10 years in service, technical sergeants with less than one year in grade and top quality senior airmen who are eligible to retrain. Others who don't fall within those parameters may be considered.

Once approved for retraining, all new special agent candidates attend training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, Ga. The candidates must complete both the 11-week criminal investigator training program and seven weeks of AFOSI-specific coursework. Both courses offer training in weapons use, forensics, surveillance and surveillance detection, antiterrorism techniques, crime scene processing, interrogations and several other topics.

After successful completion of a one-year probationary period, some agents receive specialist training in economic crime, antiterrorism service, counterintelligence, computer crimes and other sophisticated criminal investigative capabilities. Others attend 12 weeks of training to acquire skills in electronic, photographic and other technical surveillance countermeasures.

"Besides being inquisitive and able to interact with a variety of different personality types, agents must be able to take initiative and be detached enough to handle the possible shock in criminal investigations," said SpecialAgent Shannon Jones of AFOSI Detachment 407 at Keesler.

For more information, log on to www.osi.andrews.af.mil. Interested NCOs ishould review the applicant Web site at www.osi.andrews.af.mil/questions/topic.asp?id=1142 and call 377-3420.