QUANTICO, Va. -- On the day normally reserved to annually honor military veterans collectively, one former Office of Special Investigations (OSI) Special Agent was accorded a lasting tribute.
Nov. 11, 2020, Veterans Day, provided the backdrop as former OSI SA Robert H. Milligan was enshrined on the Interagency Training Center (ITC) “Wall of Honor” at Fort Washington, Md.
Milligan enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on Jan. 19, 1999, as a Communications Cable and Antenna Systems journeyman, serving at three locations before recruited to OSI in 2005. Upon completion of training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Ga., Milligan became a credentialed Special Agent.
Due to his technical acumen, SA Milligan was recruited into OSI’s Technical Services specialty, where he received training at the ITC to become certified in technical operations, supporting criminal and counterintelligence investigations and operations. He also learned how to identify and neutralize foreign technical listening devices, earning the title of a Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) agent.
For the next five years, SA Milligan would serve in prominent positions both deployed and stateside. His first duty station was Andrews Air Force Base, Md. where he was responsible for technical investigative services spanning a 14-state area of responsibility, to include all senior leadership within the National Capital Region.
He later volunteered for a deployment to Baghdad, Iraq, in support of OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM.
While in this challenging environment, he supported 41 offensive counterintelligence operations and eight tactical TSCMs. His efforts resulted in the identification and mitigation of insurgents, the safeguarding of sensitive Department of Defense information and the lives of the 30 case officers within his unit.
The ITC, also known as the Fort Washington Facility, is a National Security Agency Central Security Service school and training facility for technical surveillance counter-measures. The U.S. government requires all TSCM technicians are certified there.
In March 2010, SA Milligan was medically retired as a staff sergeant. On Dec. 2, 2019, SA Milligan passed away after a long battle with liver disease. He was 39 years old. He is survived by his wife and five children.
The life and OSI legacy of SA Milligan will always be remembered.