QUANTICO, Va -- Over the past year, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) Region 6 has stepped up engagement with Indo-Pacific partners, a deliberate shift its commander says is necessary to counter threats across one of the world’s most complex regions.
“Given the incredible geographic size of the Indo-Pacific, as well as the prevalence of significant adversaries throughout the region, it is essential that AFOSI operates with our partners in the Indo-Pacific,” said Col. James Merenda, commander of the 6th Field Investigations Region.
Merenda, a fluent Japanese speaker with extensive experience throughout the region, said as he took command Aug. 2024, it was clear the agency could not address those challenges alone.
“Once I got settled into my role, I grasped the enormity of the challenge we face and the pervasiveness of threats throughout the region,” he said. “It very quickly became clear this was not something AFOSI could do alone, that’s why Region 6’s approach with international counterparts is really the only way to combat threats.”
This approach also reflects the 2026 National Defense Strategy’s focus on strengthening partnerships across the Indo-Pacific to deter threats and support a stable regional balance.
According to Merenda, the region has expanded its engagement across the Indo-Pacific over the past year, increasing its focus on relationships with allied counterintelligence and law enforcement organizations while continuing to prioritize its people more than before.
“My first year in the seat, I did relationship-building, but I was focused on visiting the detachments and understanding the field units’ challenges at a granular level,” Merenda said. “In the last year, I’ve switched my focus to more of the partner engagement and relationship-building piece of it.”
As part of that effort, Merenda and members of his team have strengthened ties in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Philippines to strengthen coordination and interoperability with regional partners.
“The security environment across the Indo-Pacific has been our driving focus,” he said. “As we identify the flashpoints in the region, we’re focusing in areas where we can develop
connectivity and interoperability with partners to stop threats to our forces and American interests throughout the region.”
That effort was on display March 25 at the Russell-Knox Building in Quantico, Virginia, where Philippine Air Force Commanding General Lt. Gen. Arthur Mirasol Cordura visited AFOSI’s headquarters for senior-level discussions, mission briefings and counterintelligence-focused engagement.
Merenda, who attended the event, said the visit represented an example of important steps toward strengthening cooperation with Philippine counterparts.
“This was a solid foundation for strengthening our relationship with the Philippine forces,” he said. “We see real opportunity there to build on existing engagement and work more closely with that team.”
That same focus on deepening partner relationships has extended to other allies across the Indo-Pacific.
Earlier this year, Merenda also visited AFOSI Det. 633 at the U.S. Embassy in Australia and met with Australian partners to bolster shared regional security efforts. In addition to meetings with leaders, AFOSI Reg. 6 personnel have supported multinational participation in Indo-Pacific exercises.
For example, during Resolute Force Pacific 2025, which is the Pacific Air Forces’ most comprehensive contingency-response exercise in decades, U.S. and partner forces were tested strengthen multinational readiness.
“Exercises like Resolute Force Pacific and Keen Sword (in Japan) reflect the broader emphasis in the 2026 National Defense Strategy on improving coordination with allies and partners and strengthening collective readiness across the Indo-Pacific,” Merenda said.
Keen Sword 25 in Japan, a bilateral exercise focused on interoperability and operational resilience between U.S. forces and the Japan Self-Defense Forces, also tested AFOSI personnel across the region.
“International relationships are really interpersonal relationships,” Merenda said. “Traveling to these places, having one-on-one meetings, or hosting conferences or subject matter exchanges, these things are interpersonal relationship-building, and that becomes the foundation for the organizational relationships.”