QUANTICO, Va. -- Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Kaleth O. Wright received an indoctrination to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations during a guided tour of its headquarters here Aug. 14, 2017.
The orientation fortified the impression the Air Force’s top enlisted leader has maintained all along.
“I’ve always believed Air Force OSI is an extremely professional counterintelligence and criminal investigations organization,” Wright said. “All of my dealings with them have been amazing. All the information and situational awareness I’m provided has been fantastic. To get to see it up close and personal is a treat.”
Wright was immersed with briefings covering OSI’s Criminal Investigations, Fraud, Counterintelligence, Cyber, Special Projects and Anti-Terrorism Specialty Team missions.
Those mission sets showed how OSI will advance the new Air Force priorities recently endorsed by Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson, Air Force Chief of Staff General David L. Goldfein and Wright himself.
“OSI will play an integral role, particularly in restoring our readiness,” Wright explained. “I think the Airmen in OSI and the things they do for us from a counterintelligence standpoint ensure the Air Force will always be ready to go. A lot of the work they do most Airmen and Americans don’t see. The amount of counterintelligence and advance-type work they do that allows us to set the conditions to be successful in a lot of these countries is just masterful.”
Wright then underscored why all Airmen should understand how important OSI is to their Air Force.
“If there’s one theme I want every Airman to know is that Air Force OSI plays a huge role in helping keep all of us safe on many fronts,” he said. “They keep us honest with all their criminal dealings, their role of investigating sexual assaults and in the area of fraud, they save money.”
As the 18th chief master sergeant of the Air Force, Wright noted the legacy of the OSI Hall of Heroes which honors 16 Fallen Heroes.
“It would have been one thing to walk down the Hall of Heroes and read some of the plaques,” he said. “But (Hall of Heroes guide Staff Sgt. Aaron) Coleman really explained to me what happened to each of those heroes. I was also extremely pleased to see two (of the enshrined) Security Forces members and Master Sgt. (Tara) Brown, an administrative member, are recognized as heroes alongside the agents. That was pretty powerful.”
Wright’s visit also included a tour of the OSI Enlisted Heritage Hall, a luncheon and an hour-long All Call in the Russell-Knox Building Collaboration Center Auditorium.
There, Wright shared his leadership philosophy, thoughts on leadership development, and his goal to get the Air Force “in balance” between the mission and its people. Then he fielded a variety of questions from the capacity audience.
To accommodate the overflow crowd, the All Call was video teleconferenced into five additional rooms.
Prior to his departure, Wright said, “I thank the men and women of Air Force OSI for what they do every day, including support personnel, who help take care of the agents and folks who mean so much to our Air Force and the Nation. I appreciate it and look forward to working with the agency on a regular basis.”