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They collect information, detect problems with investigations and
help protect against crimes by searching for the truth. When all is
said and done, they pass everything along to the inspector general,
wing commander and wing staff judge advocates to take appropriate
actions against an alleged perpetrator.
The Office of Special
Investigations is the Air Force agency in charge of felony, fraud,
sexual assault, counterintelligence and other investigations that
have the potential for legal action. As a tenant unit on
installations, OSI does not work for any unit or wing commander.
Instead, they work for the Inspector General of the Air Force. OSI
draws its pool of agents from active-duty members and civilians in
the U.S. Air Force.
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October 4, 2017 - The Office of Special Investigations arrive at a
simulated crime scene at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. OSI’s
duties include felony investigations, administering polygraphs,
counter intelligence and other specific investigative purposes. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jackson
N. Haddon)
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“We hire civilians, officers and enlisted,” said Special Agent
Christopher Spangler, OSI special agent in charge of Detachment 422.
“We are looking for anyone who can be a help to the team. Right now,
I am not turning away anybody who is interested.”
Typically,
once an Airman joins OSI, they are sent to a new duty location to
start their career. An OSI unit is located at or near every Air
Force installation across the entire country. OSI units serve as the
top investigators for the U.S. Air Force, forming a protective net
around the United States.
“I was prior security forces and I
conducted investigations,” said Spangler. “OSI took on all of the
unique investigations. When I had an opportunity to work with OSI, I
was intrigued by what they did, their professionalism and the
opportunities they offered.”
Today, Spangler has served more
than 10 years as a professional agent. However, he wouldn’t be where
he is today without the training he received upon first entering
OSI.
“They taught us how to shoot, drive at high speeds and
other high-dynamic training,” said Spangler. “They also teach you
interview training and how the human mind and psyche work.”
OSI investigations begin with an allegation: a claim or assertion
that someone has done something illegal. A crime is reported to OSI
by various means (security forces, witness, victim, ect.), leading
them to look at the circumstances, people and places involved with
the allegation.
“It’s our job to determine if the event did
or did not occur,” said Spangler. “We interview the alleged victim
of the crime and witnesses, collect physical evidence, conduct crime
scene searches and talk to the accused. Upon compiling the data and
information, we see if it supports the initial allegation. The
information is then delivered to the squadron commanders, wing
commander and the wing staff judge advocate to make a decision.”
In order to determine if the crime occurred, OSI uses a variety
of methods to support their investigations. One of the possible
avenues is interviewing witnesses, victims and suspects. However,
cooperation with an ongoing investigation is not always easy to
obtain.
Public trust and cooperation can be difficult for OSI
to secure, said Spangler. OSI is an investigative, fact-finding
Agency, rather than a convicting or sentencing organization. “If
someone gets in trouble as a result of our investigation, it’s
because of something that a person did before we got involved. We’re
merely dedicated to uncovering the facts to show if the accusation
is valid,” said Spangler.
People can be challenging, Spangler says. However, collecting and
logging evidence can be the most taxing part of the job,
particularly when the case involves something emotionally
distressing subject matter.
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October 4, 2017 - Special Agent Christopher Spangler, Office of
Special Investigations special agent in charge of Detachment 422,
uses the OSI evidence box for tools to search a simulated crime
scene for clues at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. OSI’s duties
include felony investigations, administering polygraphs, counter
intelligence and other specific investigative purposes. (U.S. Air
Force Photo by Airman 1st Class Jackson N. Haddon)
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“The hardest investigations I’ve run, have been child
sexual abuse cases,” said Spangler. “The things you have to
discuss and see in child pornography investigations are
disgusting. You can’t unsee those things either; they stay
with you.”
Dealing with crime is an integral but
demanding part of the job. A life in OSI means potentially
seeing atrocious things. Due to the multiple challenges of
the job, OSI has tools in place to assist their agents in
being mentally strong and fit warriors.
“We have psychologists on
our team and there is a chaplain usually assigned to us as
well,” said Spangler. “If you go to a crime scene and see
something traumatic, we have those resources available,
giving agents the option to reach out to and receive help.
I’ve known several agents who have taken advantage of the
assistance and there is never punitive action for that.”
No matter how hard it gets at times, Spangler says that
he would never trade in the chance to do it again, citing
OSI as the best career in the Air Force.
“The best
parts of my job are finding justice for people, discovering
that there is a true victim of a crime and corroborating
that to the action authority,” said Spangler. “Being able to
provide the action authority the information to seek a
prosecution for that individual and holding them accountable
for their actions is equally rewarding. Gather enough
information to prove an allegation exonerates an innocent
from a crime they didn’t commit.”
OSI has a vast
investigative capability; one of several specialties
pertaining to it. Along with counterintelligence, polygraph
administrators and several other specialties, OSI continues
to prove itself vital to the mission capability of the Air
Force.
An OSI agent is a permanent member of their
staff, complete with retraining and a different job
identification code. Becoming an agent consists of
retraining into the OSI career field, in addition to the at
their technical training school instruction. OSI offers a
work-training option, for those interested in OSI, but not
fully sure if they would like to go through the process.
“In addition to OSI agents, a uniformed Airmen can be
assigned to us for a temporary controlled tour,” said
Spangler. “Therefore, if someone doesn’t want to be an agent
but want to support OSI, develop a different skillset, or a
different breath of experience, we have that as well.”
What does it take to be a successful OSI agent? Is it
the love for the investigation? A dedication to clearing
someone’s name or providing enough evidence that a
prosecution is able to be made? According to Spangler, it’s
simple.
“Someone who has integrity, above all, would
be a great agent,” said Spangler. “People think OSI is
looking for a certain stereotype and that’s not true. Our
agent population is filled with people from diverse
backgrounds. We have prior aviators, civil engineers,
munitions, but ultimately, I think integrity is huge. That’s
something they can’t forgo. If someone has integrity,
they’re going to run an unbiased investigation; they’re not
going to be influenced by outside factors.”
By U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Jackson Haddon
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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