OSI detachment wins ACC award

  • Published
  • 27th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (ACCNS) --   The Office of Special Investigations detachment here is the best small OSI Detachment in Air Combat Command.

The Cannon investigators garnered the award, along with individual awards for the OSI superintendent and information manager, after a banner year.

When I arrived here in June, Col. (Robert) Yates (27th Fighter Wing commander) told me Get drugs and guns off my base, said Special Agent Robert Lomurrow, the OSI Detachment commander.

The detachment office answered that challenge in a big way. Drug cases went up by 111 percent. In 2003, OSI agents closed 33 cases, opened 21 new cases and had 13 courts martial with 12 convictions.

This office has strong leadership, motivated and dedicated agents and the relationship with the wing, the legal office and security forces is phenomenal, said Special Agent Lomurrow. If it wasnt for those relationships, we would not have accomplished half of what we did.

The OSI agents have become a local drug users nightmare, according to Agent Lomurrow. The office conducted an investigation that involved numerous law enforcement agencies in two states and stopped a shipment of drugs before it went through the bases gates.

But, drug investigations are only a part of the unseen activities the plainclothes agents conduct. One of the biggest missions, post-9/11, is counter-intelligence.

The bottom line is, were here to protect Air Force lives and assets, said Agent Lomurrow. We identify the threat to the base and work to reduce those threats. We do counter-intel almost exclusively when were deployed.

At one point last year, Cannons office had four of seven agents deployed.

The agents also conduct fraud investigations, provide protective services for distinguished visitors and help base law enforcement. Besides putting bad guys in jail, the office helped clear three airmen of false rape charges last year.

OSI is a great and challenging organization, said Agent Lomurrow.