USAFE pilots new AF inspection process

Published Dec. 3, 2012
By Staff Sgt. Daryl Knee
52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- U.S. Air Force leaders continue to develop and refine the process in which service members maintain a high degree of job performance, military discipline and effective leadership.

Specifically, revisions are being made to the force's ability to self inspect, evaluate findings and adhere to corrective actions.

U.S. Air Forces in Europe is the pilot major command for an updated version of the Air Force Inspection System, said U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Kirk Baldwin, 52nd Fighter Wing Self Assessment Program Manager. The intended goal of the new system is to adequately report data to higher headquarters without being overly burdensome or disruptive to military operations.

The initial planning meeting with USAFE leadership found that the current system contains too many independent or otherwise segregated assessments conducted in an uncoordinated manner. In an average five year's time, there were more than 700 days of inspections at any given base.

USAFE began to transform the inspection program by using a three-phase approach. First, the command organized the inspection system, where they reduced, integrated and synchronized individual inspection components. Next, they developed and tested wing-level inspection capability, shifting the focus of inspections. Lastly, if the test system is adopted force-wide, Air Force leaders will improve and integrate the system to achieve a cohesive, synergistic inspection program.

"The end goal is a state of constant compliance," Baldwin said. "Be mission ready, not inspection ready. Historically, the Air Force spends an incredible amount of time preparing for inspections. If you just do your job, you don't have to waste man hours on useless preparation ... and, in fact, you can be written up for [wasting time] in the new system."

One of the more noticeable revisions of the inspection system is the "Unit Effectiveness Inspection." This inspection focuses on four major graded areas: executing the mission, improving the unit, managing resources and leading people. Baldwin said some areas are easier to identify as in compliance; others may be more difficult.

For example, "leading people" cannot be quantified on paper, he continued. The inspector will use a sampling method of surveys and interviews to gauge the different quality of life and leadership initiatives throughout the wing. The inspectors may then follow a thread of conversation to see if there are any continuing issues to resolve or best practices to share.

Another way the Air Force has updated the inspection process is the implementation of the Management Internal Control Toolset. MICT is a system of record for self assessment and comprises centralized locations to find all of a unit's self-assessment checklists. As these self assessments are required twice a year, the ease of MICT allows members to update checklists at the push of a button.

"You can go back and look at old inspections, keep your records and track the status of fixes or updates," said Staff Sgt. Matt Hodson, 52nd Security Forces Squadron NCO in charge of resource protection. "I like it. For me, electronic files are far better than 800 hardcopy binders.

"For continuity purposes," Hodson continued, "we can see what actions have been taken in the past, what works and what doesn't work."

As a whole, the commander's inspection program is designed to uncover and promote continuing actions that are aligned with Air Force goals and priorities. Alternatively, the self assessments allow Airmen to correct any oversights or problems with their current programs.

"The point is, we're looking to see if there is a trend," Baldwin said. "These trends create action at a higher level. We capitalize on best practices as a good way to affect change throughout the Air Force, and if we find any problems, we're then able to fix them responsibly. It's our job to be good stewards of government time and resources."

Baldwin said integrity is the only way to accurately find and fix those problems. A base's Airmen -- not an external inspection team -- must run self- assessments, so the Air Force relies heavily upon the honor and courage of its members. Self assessments must be run as if in a snapshot of time -- a unit could have 20 deficiencies open, but everything is as it should be if there are plans for corrective actions. However, deficiencies without planned corrective actions are not acceptable.

If adopted, USAFE's pilot inspection system will change the face of Air Force inspections. Eventually, being inspection ready will be a natural consequence of base commanders focusing squarely on daily mission readiness.