Lee M Russ
Lee M. Russ is a member of the Senior Executive Service who serves as Executive Director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations' Office of Special Projects, designated AFOSI/PJ — the unit responsible for safeguarding the Air Force's most sensitive Special Access Programs — and as Director of the Air Force's departmentwide SAP Security enterprise. He succeeded Terry Phillips in these roles following Phillips's retirement from federal service around January 2022, after Phillips had held the position for approximately three decades. Russ has more recently been named to a Pentagon-wide role as one of the Department of Defense's first Executive Directors of Counterintelligence and Global SAP Security.
| Role | Executive Director, AFOSI Office of Special Projects (PJ); Director, Air Force Special Access Program Security enterprise |
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Role in UAP Programs
UAP Gerb's Special Access Required Vol.2 names Russ as one of two individuals — alongside his predecessor Terry Phillips — the presenter identifies as "paramount gatekeepers to the UFO topic" within AFOSI/PJ, stating he would "not be surprised if documents are ever released that directly state Russ has been involved in UFO narrative shaping." The video frames AFOSI/PJ, under both Phillips and Russ, as a "program protection" office deputized to enforce insider- and outsider-threat protection for Air Force Special Access Programs, characterizing such offices collectively as the "antibodies" of the legacy program onion.