AFMC establishes Information Protection office Published Jan. 23, 2009 By Capt. Bob Everdeen Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- A new two-letter office is in place at Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command here, two months after the Air Force chief of staff directed its creation. The AFMC Information Protection office, which reports directly to the AFMC vice commander, is responsible for information, industrial, personnel and operations security. The organization's charter is to implement risk management and mitigation actions to prevent the compromise, loss and unauthorized access or disclosure for the life cycle of information. The command has established a major command Security Advisory Group, or MSAG, to work issues that cut across the security environment. The MSAG is comprised of representatives from the Office of Special Investigations, Foreign Disclosure Office, Acquisition Security, Public Affairs, Special Access Programs, Special Security Office, Manpower and Personnel and others. The group focuses on obtaining a convergent view on administrative security issues. "With a collaborative, cross-functional effort we can more easily and completely get answers for an enterprise-wide solution for issues that are important to the commander and vice commander," said Larry Huyett, AFMC Information Protection chief. Officials say the stand up of AFMC/IP should be mostly transparent since the work was traditionally handled by a similar organization assigned to security forces squadrons across the Air Force. "A new, separate office was needed because security forces were going through a phase where they were becoming a more expeditionary force," Mr. Huyett said. The work shifted to the new independent organization after direction from Gen. Norton Schwartz. The next phase for AFMC will be the creation of wing-level information protection offices that report to installation vice commanders.