AFOSI Polygraph Challenge Coin

[George W. Maschke]

In the U.S. military, there is a tradition whereby units have a medallion about the size of a silver dollar made up. These medallions are typically referred to as "unit coins." Members of the unit carry the coin with them at all times, because if servicemember is challenged to produce his unit coin (one challenges another by producing his own), and is unable to do so, he owes the challenger a drink. On the flip side, if the person so challenged does produce his coin, then the challenger owes him a drink. I believe that this tradition originated with the U.S. Army's Special Forces, but other units have adopted it, too.

Among those who have created a challenge coin are the polygraphers of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI). I have recently come into possession of an AFOSI Polygraph challenge coin:

Note the motto: IN GOD WE TRUST ... ALL OTHERS WE POLYGRAPH

The irreverent black humor aside, what I find most amusing about this coin is that the word LIE appears in front of the diagonal red line, not behind it!  How appropriate!

[Duc748]

The irreverent black humor aside, what I find most amusing about this coin is that the word LIE appears in front of the diagonal red line, not behind it!  How appropriate!

I have a lot of these coins from Bosnia, Kosovo, Saudi and several of my units. My favorite is from the Kosovo campain. On the 5th ATAF lion script it reads; and like this:

f u e s
c k e r
t h b s

read 1st two letters, then move down to the 2nd row. Read first two letters, then move to the 3rd row, read the first two letters, then move back up to the top and read down the same way.

Anyway, with regard to LIE being in front of the red cross-out symbol, if it was behind, then you couldn't read it.

I see your inferrence though. Interesting that the military poly guys have their coin made up. We in the intelligence field say:

"In God we trust, all others we monitor."

[George W. Maschke]

A second version of the AFOSI Polygraph challenge coin was recently offered for sale on eBay:



Note the changed motto: AT THE HEART OF TRUTH IS "U"

Isn't that special?

[orolan]

Perhaps the true usage of the coin is to determine DI / NDI? Flip it, catch it, look at it. Face-up would be DI, face-down would be NDI. After all, the accuracy is about the same.

[Not Batman]

This isn't the current coin and it wasn't meant for sale!

[George W. Maschke]

A new AFOSI challenge coin was recently sold on eBay:



This time, there is no red stripe across the LIE (whether in front of or behind it). The big LIE just lies there, exposed. It seems strangely appropriate, considering that we invaded and occupied Iraq -- a country that neither attacked nor threatened us -- ostensibly to disarm it of what our president termed "weapons of mass mass murder" that it did not possess.

[Administrator]

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