Air Force changes inspection process

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Andrew Caya
  • 914th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION, N.Y. --  Changes are slated to occur with Air Force inspections, according to the Air Force Reserve Command inspector general.

Brig. Gen. John J. Mooney III, AFRC IG, said the unit effectiveness inspection is the new process that replaces the old system of multiple top-to-bottom inspections.

"(A UEI) is a complete change of direction for us and how the Air Force is going to conduct inspections going forward," said Mooney. "Right now, our wings spend an awful lot of time and energy getting ready for either a readiness inspection or compliance inspection. All of that needs to go away, and through the UEI process, it will."

A UEI is a two-year long, continuous look at a wing. Over that two-year period, functional area managers and IGs will be looking in management internal control toolsets to verify that appropriate documentation is being uploaded.

MICT is an electronic program which allows units to conduct and maintain their own self-inspections and upload supporting documentation as evidence of their unit's compliance with Air Force standards.

Under the new system, exercise evaluation teams and combat readiness offices will be renamed wing inspection teams and inspector general inspections, respectively, said Mooney.

Instead of an inspection every three to four years, the wing IGI and WIT will be inspecting the wing more frequently and giving their results directly to the wing commander.

"What we're moving towards is a system where the wing commander gets his unit commanders to find and fix deficiencies at the local level by concentrating their efforts on four major graded areas," said Lt. Col. James Johann, 512th AW readiness officer. "Then, this work is validated via the wing IG team and WIT members who will inspect and report to the wing commander."

The four graded areas include managing resources, leading people, improving the unit and executing the mission

As operational readiness inspections go away, the wings will also have their own readiness exercises as part of the UEI, Mooney stated.

"Units will then be inspection ready when commanders focus on mission readiness and on building a culture of disciplined compliance in which every Airman does his or her job right the first time and when no one is looking," said Johann.

By doing this, in one year the IGI and WIT will be able to observe all the wings and verify their self-assessments are accurate, said Mooney.

Following the internal inspections, there will be an external assessment by the IG every 24-36 months.

After reviewing MICT, a smaller group of inspectors can be sent to the wings to look at items that they feel need direct inspection.

The inspectors from higher headquarters will be here for a very straightforward reason, said Mooney.
"When an inspection team comes in for a UEI, their job is simply to verify and validate that your (WIT) is doing what it needs to do," said the general. "We're not down here to see if the (wings are) compliant; we are here to find out if there are areas of unknown non-compliance.

"We are going to come here and inspect you while you do your job," he added. "And, that's the beauty of it. Everyone should stop focusing on getting ready for inspections and start focusing on doing their job."

Mooney also stated the implementation of the UEI will allow Air Force leadership to have a better understanding of the true readiness of their units.

The major commands and numbered air forces will receive what are called management inspections. The wings will receive UEIs, while the groups, squadrons and Airmen will inspected by wings IG, said Mooney.

(512th AW Public Affairs contributed to this story.)