Patterson entered the United States Air Force in 1975 as a missile launch officer. He became an AFOSI special agent in 1979 and commanded AFOSI units at the detachment, squadron and regional levels at numerous stateside and overseas locations. He conducted and supervised a variety of felony-level investigations common to AFOSI, with specialization in counterintelligence and protective service operations as well as oversight of special programs. Prior to his last position as Commander of AFOSI, the general was the Operations Director for AFOSI. Patterson is a native of Washington, D.C.[2]
Assignments
September 1975 – December 1979, missile launch officer, Little Rock AFB, Ark.
December 1979 – October 1980, special agent, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Langley AFB, Va.
October 1980 – October 1982, Commander, AFOSI Detachment 2101, Pope AFB, N.C.
October 1982 – October 1983, Chief of Counterintelligence, Collections and Protective Service Operations, AFOSI District 69, Ankara, Turkey
October 1983 – October 1985, Chief, Counterintelligence and Protective Service Operations Policy Branch, Headquarters AFOSI, Washington, D.C.
October 1985 – May 1989, assistant for Security Plans and Programs, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, D.C.
May 1989 – May 1990, Commander, Air Force Element Counterintelligence Support Activity, AFOSI, Honduras
^ abc This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain."L. Eric Patterson". U.S. Department of Homeland Security. May 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2018.