United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations The United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations ( AFOSI , or OSI ) , is a U . S . federal law enforcement agency that reports directly to the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force . Operating worldwide , AFOSI provides independent criminal investigative , counterintelligence and protective service operations outside of the traditional military chain of command . AFOSI proactively identifies , investigates and neutralizes , serious criminal , terrorist , and espionage threats to personnel and resources of the U . S . Air Force and the Department of Defense , thereby protecting the national security of the United States . Overview . AFOSI was founded August 1 , 1948 , at the suggestion of Congress to consolidate investigative activities in the Air Force . Secretary of the Air Force W . Stuart Symington created AFOSI and patterned it after the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) . He appointed Special Agent Joseph Carroll , a senior FBI official and assistant to FBI Director J . Edgar Hoover , as the first AFOSI commander and charged him with providing independent , unbiased and centrally directed investigations of criminal activity in the Air Force who later became the first director of the Defense Intelligence Agency . As of 2007 , the AFOSI has 2 , 900 employees . After pilot training , OSI remains the second - most requested career choice in the U . S . Air Force . AFOSI capabilities : OSI ' s Cornerstone is to vigorously solve crime ; protect secrets ; warn of threats ; exploit intelligence opportunities ; operate in cyber . Organization . In addition to the OSI headquarters at Quantico , Virginia , AFOSI has eight field investigations regions . Seven of the Regions are aligned with Air Force major commands : While the regions serve the investigative needs of those aligned major commands , all AFOSI units and personnel remain independent of those commands . In the OSI chains of command each region is directly under the AFOSI Headquarters . Such organizational independence is intended to ensure unbiased investigations . The single region not aligned with a major command is Region 7 , the mission of which is to provide counter - intelligence and security - program management for special access program s under the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force . At the regional level are subordinate units called field investigations squadron s , detachment s , and operating locations . There are more than 160 AFOSI units worldwide including Jordan , Saudi Arabia , Yemen , Iraq , Afghanistan and other Middle East locations . Operations . Threat detection AFOSI manages offensive and defensive activities to detect , counter and destroy the effectiveness of hostile intelligence services and terrorist groups that target the Air Force . These efforts include investigating the crimes of espionage , terrorism , technology transfer and computer infiltration . This mission aspect also includes providing personal protection to senior Air Force leaders and other officials , as well as supervising an extensive antiterrorism program in geographic areas of heightened terrorist activity . Criminal Investigations The vast majority of AFOSI ' s investigative activities pertain to felony crimes including murder , robbery , rape , assault , major burglaries , drug use and trafficking , sex offenses , arson , black market activities , and other serious criminal activities . Economic crime investigations A significant amount of AFOSI investigative resources are assigned to fraud ( or economic crime ) investigations . These include violations of the public trust involving Air Force contracting matters , appropriated and nonappropriated funds activities , computer systems , pay and allowance matters , environmental matters , acquiring and disposing of Air Force property , and major administrative irregularities . AFOSI uses fraud surveys to determine the existence , location and extent of fraud in Air Force operations or programs . It also provides briefings to base and command - level resource managers to help identify and prevent fraud involving Air Force or DOD resources . Information Operations The Air Force is now countering a global security threat to our information systems . Our role in support of Information Operations recognizes future threats to the Air Force , and our response to these threats , will occur in cyberspace . AFOSI ' s support to Information Operations comes in many facets . AFOSI ' s computer crime investigators provide rapid worldwide response to intrusions into Air Force systems . Technology Protection The desires of potential adversaries to acquire or mimic the technological advances of the U . S . Air Force have heightened the need to protect critical Air Force technologies and collateral data . The AFOSI Research and Technology Protection Program provides focused , comprehensive counterintelligence and core mission investigative services to safeguard Air Force technologies , programs , critical program information , personnel and facilities . Specialized Services AFOSI has numerous specialists who are invaluable in the successful resolution of investigations . They include technical specialists , polygrapher s , behavioral scientists , computer experts and forensic advisers . Defense Cyber Crime Center The Defense Cyber Crime Center ( DC3 ) was established as an organic entity within the Air Force Office of Special Investigations in 1998 . DC3 provides digital and multimedia forensics , cyber investigative training , research , development , test and evaluation , and cyber analytics for the following DoD mission areas : information assurance and critical infrastructure protection , law enforcement and counterintelligence , document and media exploitation , and counterterrorism . DC3 is a national cyber center and serves as the operational focal point for the Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity and Information Assurance Program ( DIB CS / IA Program ) . Training and physical requirements . All new AFOSI special agent recruits — whether officer , enlisted or civilian — receive their entry - level training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco , Georgia . The training requires that each recruit meet physical requirements that are located on the FLETC web site at www . fletc . gov . The candidates attend a mandatory , 11 - week Criminal Investigator Training Program with other federal law enforcement trainees . That course is followed by seven weeks of AFOSI agency - specific coursework . Both courses offer new agents training in firearms and other weapons , defensive tactics , forensics , surveillance and surveillance detection , antiterrorism techniques , crime scene processing , interrogations and interviews , court testimony , and military and federal law . Upon graduation , new AFOSI special agents spend a one - year probationary period in the field . Upon successful completion , some agents receive specialized training in economic crime , antiterrorism service , counterintelligence , computer crimes and other sophisticated criminal investigative capabilities . Others attend 12 weeks of technical training to acquire electronic , photographic and other skills required to perform technical surveillance countermeasures . Experienced agents selected for polygraph duties attend a 14 - week DOD course . Each recruit is expected to participate in each of the following exercises : flexibility , bench press , run / walk and agility run . All students are tested to determine their fitness level , and each test is age and gender normed . AFOSI special agents are expected to remain physical fit throughout their employment and must maintain Air Force physical fitness standards as defined by Air Force Instruction ( AFI ) 36 - 2905 . Firearms . Air Force OSI agent ' s primary firearm is the 9×19mm SIG Sauer P228 . See also . Military Criminal Investigative Organizations Air Force Federal law enforcement