 Things we have just seen are all examples of the work done by the Office of Special Investigations Department of the Air Force. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., the OSI is part of the Inspector General's Organization under the control of the OSI Director. Its area of operations includes the entire world, with 41 district offices, 190 detachments, and 31 resident agencies. In all, the Office of Special Investigations maintains over 260 operating locations. By direction, the OSI is a centralized worldwide fact-finding agency designed to provide a fast coordinated service to Air Force commanders no matter where they are. Investigative assignments can be channeled through Washington, or one OSI office may communicate directly with others anywhere in the world. For instance, at an Air Force base in England, the base commander requires that one of his civilian employees be investigated for access to top secret materials. Since the man has previously lived in Hawaii in San Francisco, a request for the necessary background investigations is sent from England to the respective OSI district offices. In Hawaii, OSI District Office 44 assigns an agent to cover the subject's past. John Dana? Yes? I'm agent William Elliott, Office of Special Investigations Department of the Air Force. I set up at the house, I might find you down here. Yes, since I retired, I spend most of my time in my hobby here. Won't you sit down? What can I do for you? We're conducting a background investigation on a man we believe was one of your former employees. I'd like to ask you a few questions about him. I've employed a lot of men in my time. I hope I can remember the one you're interested in. What's this all about? Well, we're considering this man for a position of trust. While this investigation is proceeding in Hawaii, OSI District 19 in San Francisco has also been contacted. They determine that the subject's former wife, from whom he has been divorced, has moved to New York. There, no record of a woman by that name exists. And the apartment house address given is today a parking lot. Calls are made to the telephone and utility company that service the building and to the real estate firm that manage the property. From their files, the names of persons are obtained who were former residents of the demolished apartment house. The landlady is located. She remembers the woman very well and even has a recent photograph of her cut from a newspaper. She identifies her as an actress, whose stage name is now Elizabeth Collins. A call to Actors' Equity, the Actors' Union, locates Ms. Collins. Only a short time after the request was sent from England, a special agent of the OSI makes an appointment with the actress and conducts an interview with her at a theater in Syracuse, New York. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., in a building not far from the Capitol, a search is being made of the OSI files. Here, 2,600,000 cards are cross-filed in automatic card finders. With the push of a button, the file cards referring to similar names as that of the subject are located. In this case, the search is negative. But had the name appeared on a card, it would have directed the searcher to one of the more than 700,000 case histories filed in the vaults of the OSI. Similar index systems and case histories are kept in Washington by other investigative agencies such as the FBI, the Office of Naval Intelligence, the State Department, the CIA, the Intelligence Corps of the Army, and several others. A search of these files is known as an NAC, a national agency check. These are made primarily to help qualify those who require a secret clearance. But in this case, both an NAC and a complete background investigation requiring many more personal interviews will be conducted before all the facts are assembled. The results of the investigation are presented to the Commander in England. He or his staff will make the necessary determination. In this case, as in all others, the OSI acts only as a fact-finding agency. Every year, the OSI conducts more than 260,000 national agency checks and 90,000 background investigations. One thing that we will stress as this class continues is that you as OSI agents have just as great a duty to uncover evidence that will prove a man innocent as to prove him guilty. This is the mark of every competent investigator. This is a class for OSI student agents. 40 men chosen from over 300 applicants. In 10 weeks of intensive training, they will receive instruction on everything from routine observation to the unexpected. Many people have difficulty in giving accurate verbal descriptions of another person. They may, however, be able to identify particular facial features with the aid of a portrait... I told you I'd get you! Okay, men, let's get back in our seat. Hannah, here are the questions. Who are the intruders? What do they wear? How many shots were fired? What type of guns were you? Write down every detail that you can. The size of the men, their height, weight, color of hair, eyes, and so on. I know some of you are going to find it difficult to answer these questions, but this is just the kind of situation that shows how hard it is to get an accurate description from a witness who may have been under stress. This is the Applied Techniques Laboratory. And here the students learn a variety of skills required in the handling of the more than 70 types of investigations conducted by the OSI. With the help of a crime kit, they make plaster casts of footprints and tire tracks. They use molds to preserve marks of burglar tools on jimmied doors and a damaged safe. They practice dusting for the lifting of fingerprints from walls, floors, and other objects. They collect and preserve any type of evidence for laboratory analysis. These men come from many career fields within the Air Force. Administrative personnel, aircraft mechanics, ROTC, electronics technicians, air police, and a former flyer. All are being trained to be professional investigators, to gather facts and to be meticulous in the sketching and recording of everything that even remotely may be connected with a crime. During the course, there is field work on several types of simulated cases. This is a homicide investigation that is a day's assignment for a team of students. As in an actual case, no one knows what items may be valuable clues and what simply may be the carelessness of a passing litterbug. Firing, clear and hold through your weapon. Relate two on the line. Upon completion of small arms training, the class is about to graduate. Soon, these men will join the ranks of many skilled OSI agents already in the field. Is the line ready? Every year, the Air Force spends billions of dollars. Unfortunately, a few people succumb to temptation. I just did. I've had several complaints that men are picking up travel pay for TDY they never performed. In fact, the finance officer just called me about an airman that seems to have been in two places at once. A typical OSI case. A commanding officer requests an investigation concerning a false travel claim. The OSI agent assigned to the case prepares travel orders with the claim submitted. He also has checked the whereabouts of the suspect by visiting his billet and interviewing men in his work group. And then, after the evidence has been gathered, the man is called in for questioning. Now that I've read your article 31, I must explain that you don't have to answer any questions I ask you. You may remain silent and consult with legal counsel. Now, I've been assigned to your claim against the government for travel pay for a TDY trip. The allegation is you didn't take it. And I must warn you that anything you tell me may be used in evidence against you. Here we see illustrated the procedure that the OSI follows before an interrogation. Suspects are always given an opportunity to tell their side of a story. But only after they have been fully advised of their legal rights. After their money was too tempting, an OSI agent was confronted with a paper puzzle. A contractor complained that the award of an Air Force contract had been improper. Yet on the surface, everything seemed to be in order. An invitation to bid, bids from reputable companies and the contract awarded to the lowest bidder. Still, on looking things over, the agent's intuition told him that something was wrong. And then the answer came to him. There were no folds in the unsuccessful bids. This indicated that they probably had not been mailed. On checking, this was confirmed. The higher bids had been forged and placed in the file. Collusion existed in the submission of bids and a crime had been committed. Andrews Air Police, this is Unit 10. There's been a break into the main exchange. Here is another type of case handled by the OSI. Breaking and entering at an Air Force installation. As usual, emphasis is on thoroughness and the use of professional techniques in gathering and preserving the evidence. The jewelry case is photographed and dusted for fingerprints. Serial numbers of the stolen watches are noted. A piece of torn cloth is recovered. Since this case involves the theft of government property, the FBI is notified. The local police will also be furnished with complete information on the stolen items. Eventually, most of the material collected will end up as evidence used in a civil court or a court martial. For the items to be legally admissible, OSI agents must have knowledge of the law and be prepared to testify to certain essential facts. Evidence must be specifically identified and testimony must be given to show where, when, and how the item was collected and what connection and significance between the item and the offense being tried. To help in supplying these facts, OSI evidence identification tags are attached to each object. They carry the item's complete history. In this manner, piece by piece, the jigsaw is assembled. The shred of torn cloth. A shirt with a piece ripped from the pocket. The cast of a footprint made by a shoe with characteristic marks on the sole. A shoe that fits the cast. Three of the stolen watches recovered from a pawn shop. A clear fingerprint found on one of the watch cases leading to a man. And finally, a positive identification made by the pawnbroker. One more of the nearly 16,000 criminal investigations handled each year by the OSI seems well on its way to a solution. The details and specifics of the counterintelligence mission is virtually all classified information. However, in general, this mission has two main objectives. First, to provide Air Force commanders with a counterintelligence investigative service. Second, to collect, analyze and disseminate information pertaining to espionage, sabotage and subversive activities which may affect or be of interest to Air Force commanders. These men are OSI agents who in the past months have been exposed to intensive training in a variety of subjects before reporting to overseas assignments. In certain parts of the world the laws and customs differ from ours and knowing them is one part of the job. Proper etiquette and the niceties of protocol are always important when dealing with officials of another country. On the other hand, OSI agents must be reminded that in some areas of the world the most innocent objects reveal the elements of danger and destruction. They must learn to recognize such devices and call in demolition experts. Foreign languages are a must. And while OSI agents learn these at accredited schools and colleges, keeping in practice is essential. In a city in Germany an OSI agent has informed a local official who is chief of counter-subversion that a so-called disarmament organization is planning a peace demonstration in front of the local air base. Because of the planned size of the demonstration the OSI is concerned for the safety of the installation and its personnel. The German official has some additional information of significance. As I feared, we have received confidential information regarding this incident. Here, take a look at it. Aha! That's what we've been looking for. That's why I asked you to... In service reports that this is not an isolated incident, but one of many planned. This information is immediately sent to OSI Washington and to other OSI districts in Europe. In Washington, OSI assembles bits and pieces of facts, rumors and suspicions and then compares them with reports from other United States intelligence and security agencies. Soon the picture is confirmed. Demonstrations also have been organized in other countries. They will be directed by various known communist front organizations. In less than 24 hours the Air Force commands and the other United States military bases concerned have been alerted, apprised of the known facts This is Air Force One, the official plane of the President of the United States. It is leaving an Air Force base after a visit by the President. While the Secret Service is directly responsible for the President's safety and coordinates the security requirements, another duty of the OSI is assisting in the protection of the President when on an Air Force base. The agents chosen for this work receive special training and the experience particularly qualifies them for this assignment. CP, this is Car 1-2 over assignment completed take off without incident over 10-4 CP This is John Williams. In many ways he is typical of all the OSI special agents who serve the United States Air Force around the world. 38, 14 years in the Air Force 12 years with the OSI married fluent in a foreign language cleared for top secret salary $6,000 to $8,000 per year He loves his work and his loyalty isn't for sale. Why does John Williams do it? For one thing he is by choice a career man in the Air Force. He knows that he's part of the Air Force team performing an important job. He knows that in today's world threats to our security and to the Air Force take many forms. It may be the simple theft of some government property or it may be the dangerous activities of a subversive group. As an OSI agent these are the things he fights against. John Williams is one of a select group of men carefully chosen for this job. Men selected educated and trained to become professional investigators mature in judgment responsible in action able in leadership and unquestioned in loyalty. These are the agents of your OSI a worldwide organization whose mission it is to provide criminal counterintelligence and special investigative service for all Air Force commands.