AFOSI commander pins on brigadier general stars

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. John Jung
  • Headquarters, Air Force Office of Special Investigations Public Affairs
Brigadier General Kevin Jacobsen, Air Force Office of Special Investigations commander, had his stars pinned on by Lt. Gen. Marc E. Rogers, the Inspector General of the Air Force, in a ceremony held June 1, at the community activities center here at Joint Base Andrews, Md.

General Rogers addressed the assembled crowd of hundreds of family, friends and well-wishers and spoke of the outstanding and extensive service record of Gen. Jacobsen.

"We're here to do something special. We're here to pin on a brigadier general," said General Rogers. "Less than one in one thousand make it to brigadier general. We don't select brigadier generals lightly, and we didn't pick Kevin lightly either."

The ceremony signified the transition of the 16th AFOSI commander from a field grade officer to a flag officer. A flag officer is a commissioned officer who is entitled to fly a flag to represent where he exercises command. General Jacobsen was presented his personal flag by General Rogers at the ceremony. All flag officers must be nominated by the President of the United States and must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate as was the case with General Jacobsen. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 7, 2010.

Of special significance were the general stars and epaulettes presented to General Jacobsen at the ceremony. The general stars were passed on to General Jacobsen by former AFOSI commander, Brig. Gen. (ret.) Richard Beyea and the epaulettes were given to him by former Inspector General of the Air Force, Lt. Gen. (ret.) Ronald Sams.

"When it came time for whether I was going to be promoted or not, the thing I was most afraid of was not being able to serve any more with the people in AFOSI," said General Jacobsen.

"These stars are not mine, but yours," he said after thanking his family, mentors and members of AFOSI for their support. "With this promotion, I continue to serve with the special people and family that make up AFOSI. It is an honor to serve alongside people who put their lives on the line every day to protect this great country."

Leading up to his selection as AFOSI commander, General Jacobsen served as the Special Investigations director for General Rogers at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., where he led a directorate in developing and implementing all Air Force-level plans and policies concerning criminal investigations and counterintelligence operations.

This is General Jacobsen's 30th year of service in the Air Force, and as the commander of AFOSI, he leads more than 3,300 Airmen and Air Force civilians in their mission to identify, exploit and neutralize criminal, terrorist and intelligence threats to the Air Force, Department of Defense and U.S. government.