Feature Search

  • AntiTerrorism Awareness: OSI’s vigilance mission

    August is Antiterrorism (AT) Awareness Month, and serves to remind our military and civilian communities to practice regular vigilance against potential threats. Within the Department of the Air Force and the broader National Security apparatus, the Office of Special Investigations (OSI) plays a

  • Project Blue Book Part 1 (UFO Reports)

    In late 1975, OSI declassified their investigative files of reported Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sightings and sent them to the National Archives for processing. The reports revealed that OSI agents documented and investigated UFO sightings from 1948 until the late 1960s. Contemporary strategic

  • OSI's $615M fraud recovery

    One of the largest monetary recoveries obtained as a result of an Office of Special Investigations fraud investigation, included a $615 million settlement with the Boeing Company. OSI agents worked in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern Virginia, the Defense Criminal

  • OSI PJ key in Noshir Gowadia espionage case

    In 2010, Noshir Sheriarji Gowadia was convicted of 14 out of 17 federal charges that included espionage, violation of the Arms Export Control Act and several associated crimes. The lengthy prosecution began with his arrest in 2005. Gowadia worked on the B-2 Stealth Bomber and various other

  • Joint case yields historic DoD single drug seizure

    In 2003, the Drug Enforcement Administration in Jacksonville, Fla., notified Office of Special Investigations Detachment 311, Moody Air Force Base, Ga., an undercover informant had purchased Ecstasy pills from a male and his girlfriend in Jacksonville. DEA agents conducted queries of the drug

  • Operation RESTORE HOPE (The OSI in Somalia)

    In early December 1992, less than 24 hours after U.S. Marine forces entered war-torn Somalia, two OSI special agents arrived at Mogadishu International Airport to support U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in operation RESTORE HOPE. United Nations’ Security Council Resolution 794 authorized all

  • OSI solves B-52 emergency mystery

    On Oct. 6, 1987, an Air Force B-52 Stratofortress made a forced emergency landing at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The aircraft appeared to be damaged by what looked like small arms fire. OSI agents at Detachment 4203 at Andersen were immediately called to the scene. The on-call duty agent reported

  • Operation URGENT FURY proves OSI readiness in Grenada

    OSI continued to address two unique challenges throughout the 1970s and 1980s: a rise in terrorist activity and the development of a comprehensive wartime mission plan. The counterintelligence mission dictated agents provide support to combatant commanders under a variety of conditions and

  • ASP in Thailand 1965-1972 (Part 2)

    U.S. Air Force bases in Thailand were vulnerable to the same kinds of attacks as air bases in Vietnam. The Area Source Program (ASP-T) was fully operational before the first attack occurred in July 1968. However, several challenges hampered the effectiveness of the program initially.

  • The ASP in Thailand and base-level fraud 1962-1972 (Part 1)

    The Area Source Program (ASP) in Thailand was the heart of OSI’s mission there during the Vietnam War, as Air Force facilities in the country were continually subjected to attack by rockets, mortars and sappers (combat engineers trained as infantry personnel in defensive and offensive operations).