AFOSI Det. 340 holds annual law enforcement day

  • Published
  • By Mr. James C. Dillard
  • AFOSI Public Affairs
Air Force Office of Special Investigations Det. 340, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., hosted a law enforcement liaison event March 18 to reinforce AFOSI's relationship with the Tampa Bay LE community.

More than 60 LE and state agencies were represented at the event, including prosecutors, judges, federal agents and local police officers, to name a few. The participants played golf and later competed in small-arms target shooting at MacDill's Combat Arms and Maintenance range. They also received a Det. 340 mission brief and enjoyed some barbecue.

"The event was very well received and much appreciated by all," said Special Agent Les Bernys, Det. 340. "It really helped put OSI on the map in Det 340's AOR, while also encouraging the Det. to work together as a team."

Col. Thomas Kreuser, OSI 3rd Field Investigations Region commander, saw the event as an opportunity for Det. 340 to inform their partner LE agencies about OSI's capabilities and likewise for Det. 340 to learn about theirs.

"Law enforcement and force protection happen on the human level and any chance to build relationships amongst our partners can pay huge returns when the time comes to call on those relationships," Colonel Kreuser said. "You cannot build relationships during crisis, so these types of events are very helpful.

In an e-mail sent to SA Bernys after the event, Judge Gregory Holder, a former Air Force member, now serving as a circuit judge in Tampa, said he learned a lot regarding the evolving role of OSI agents.

"I particularly enjoyed hearing about your deployment ops down range and the role of our MC-12 pilots," Judge Holder said in the e-mail. "I can't thank you enough for your gracious invitation. As you know, our court is always open and available to help."

Det. 340 is already planning for next year's liaison event.

"This was our opportunity to thank the Tampa Bay law enforcement community for being so supportive of our mission," SA Bernys said. "This event definitely strengthened the cohesiveness of the law enforcement community in the Tampa Bay area."