QUANTICO, Va. -- Although Fallen Special Agent Michael A. Cinco hailed from a small Texas town, his legacy will forever loom large, not only in the history of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, but now at Beale Air Force Base, Calif.
On Dec. 14, 2016, his memory was permanently displayed on Building 5710, the new home of AFOSI Detachment 218 at Beale, during a dedication ceremony honoring the Fallen Agent who was among the six Airmen killed by a suicide bomber while part of a dismounted patrol conducting a counterintelligence mission near Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Dec. 21, 2015.
In March 2016, per Air Force Instruction, the Memorialization Request was submitted to the approval authority at the major command level. The request was from former 9th Reconnaissance Wing Commander, Col. Douglas J. Lee who wrote to the Air Combat Command Vice Commander Maj. Gen. Jerry D. Harris.
“As a result of his outstanding performance and loyalty to the United States Air Force, along with his commitment to the Air Force OSI mission, SA Cinco was recruited by OSI Det. 218 agents,” Col. Lee wrote. “For his sacrifice, it is appropriate to name the new facility on this installation in his honor. The connection between SA Cinco and Team Beale remains strong.”
Col. Lee highlighted SA Cinco’s time assigned to the 9 RW Security Force Squadron from 2007 until 2013. During that period Cinco served as a defender ensuring the safety of Beale Airmen and their families. He also served as a special investigator and was dual hatted as a valuable member of the OSI Joint Drug Enforcement Team. SA Cinco deployed twice supporting Operation Enduring Freedom as a Security Forces Fire Team Leader, a Fly Away Security Team Leader, plus a member of Tactical Security Element and Reconnaissance Foot Patrols.
Prior to remarks at the dedication ceremony by 9th RW Vice Commander, Col. Chris Stricklin and OSI 2nd Field Investigations Region Commander, Col. Terry Bullard, OSI Det. 218 Commander Special Agent Amanda Anderson addressed the gathering, which included various Cinco family members plus agents from OSI’s 1st Field Investigations Squadron and Det. 303, Travis, AFB, Calif.
“While I did not have the pleasure of working with Agent Cinco, I’ve learned so much about him through the memories he left here at Det. 218 and the 9th Security Forces Squadron. He was an instrumental asset to OSI and Team Beale,” SA Anderson said. “To the Cinco family from your Detachment 218 family, we’d like you to know Agent Cinco’s memory will forever remain here and he will NEVER be forgotten.”
To ensure that pledge, besides the building that now bears his name, SA Cinco is also memorialized at the entrance with a plaque stating when and how he was killed in action, plus inside with a framed portrait and biography chronicling his military career and a shadow box containing his utility uniform as a member of Team Crimson in Afghanistan.