Hanscom OSI improves information collecting program Published May 2, 2006 By 2nd Lt. Geoff Buteau 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations here, Detachment 102, implemented a system May 1 to streamline the base's travel briefing program, placing the emphasis on information from recently returned travelers. The old system required Hanscom personnel traveling to foreign countries to physically attend a briefing at the AFOSI building. The new system sends the pre-travel briefing to the traveler via e-mail and shifts the focus of OSI agents' information-gathering techniques to the post-travel debriefing questionnaires upon return. AFOSI Special Agent Geoff Keller said the previous method of briefing outgoing travelers was too time-consuming. Now electronic, the e-mailed briefing includes awareness information about criminal, terrorism and foreign intelligence-gathering threats while abroad. All parts of the brief remind travelers to stay aware of surroundings, travel in groups, maintain low profiles and be unpredictable. This new system still requires travelers to obtain security clearance verification and an Air Force Materiel Command Form 97, Visit Request, from their security manager to submit to AFOSI, but the lengthy pre-travel brief has been cut. "This new focus improves our operational and daily method for collecting information," said David Harper, Special Agent in Charge of AFOSI Detachment 102. "Now, the traveler's and agent's time and resources are better used directly supporting the Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st century initiatives." AFSO 21 is an initiative in the Air Force to save resources by improving operational resources. The information gathered in a particular region will help future travelers to that location, Special Agent Keller said. While all travelers to foreign countries will complete the elements of the debrief program, the analysis by AFOSI agents will focus on travelers that reported a suspicious incident. The idea to divert the agents' resources, time and energy from the initial brief to analyzing the debrief information came from efforts within the counterintelligence function at the Hanscom detachment, said Special Agent Keller. They had been working on the change for about a month. "The debriefing program is a vital piece because it allows information-flow from the travelers," he said. "They are the ones that act as additional eyes and ears for discovering and preventing attacks." Special Agent Keller said approximately 200 people require travel briefings per month, depending on the tempo of deployments and temporary duties. The new initiative will not change the style of briefings for deploying chalks during future base readiness exercises, Special Agent Keller said.