QUANTICO, Va. -- Editor’s Note: The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Fraud Awareness Week enables OSI to bring awareness and education to its Procurement Fraud mission and how OSI’s PF professionals help protect the United States Air Force and United States Space Force.
Mission
OSI Office of Procurement Fraud (PF) Detachment (Det.) 4, located on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is responsible for conducting investigations designed to protect Department of the Air Force acquisition systems, resources and warfighting capabilities.
Area of Responsibility
PF Det. 4’s AOR includes Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. PF Det. 4 also oversees the Operating Location at Scott AFB, Ill.
PF Det. 4 protects multiple programs which fall under the Air Force Material Command (AFMC). AFMC is the Major Command which is responsible for the development, evaluation, life cycle & sustainment of every major Air Force weapon system, including the iconic F-15 Eagle (manufactured in St. Louis, Mo.) and the staple of the Air Force arsenal, the Joint Direct Attack Munition (manufactured in St. Charles, Mo).
PF Det. 4 keeps a watchful eye on the more than $500B annual Air and Space Force budget within its AOR.
On The Case
To keep the technological edge over near-peer competitors, the Air Force has shifted to rapid acquisition strategies in order to field new technologies at a much faster rate. In some circumstances, the use of rapid acquisitions has allowed bad actors to escape the scrutiny that would have identified them in the past.
In 2020, PF Det. 4 predicated an investigation on an Air Force rapid acquisition program. The program used the rapid nature of the acquisition to bypass defense contractor competition and hand pick companies to award contracts.
Fraud Tips
Can be sent anonymously to OSI at: https://www.tip411.com/tips/new?alert_group_id=21111 Text “AFOSI” plus your tip to 847411 (TIP411), or call 877-246-1453.
For more information, visit the OSI website: https://www.osi.af.mil/