MacDill reservists welcome new inspection process as way of life

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Adam C. Borgman
  • 927th Air Refueling Wing / Public Affairs
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Airmen from the 927th Refueling Wing, Fla., welcomed an inspection team from Air Force Reserve Command for the completion of a two-year inspection process, June 24-30, here.

Known as a Capstone, now a Commander's Inspection Program, is led internally by a Wing Inspection Team.

The 4 major graded areas are:
Executing the Mission - can we fly, fight and win?
Managing resources - can we account for our equipment and resources?
Improving the unit - do we collect and act on key data?
Leading the people - are people trained, developed and empowered?

According to the wing inspection team, the Air Force Inspection System requires a complete mindset shift in how Airmen think about inspections.

"The new culture mindset is that we are always ready," said Master Sgt. Trent Phillips, from the 927th Air Refueling Wing Inspector General section. "Instead of three months out, preparing for an inspection, we will always be in compliance."

With the new process in place every unit and Airman will continuously improve.

"It is a transition from the 'inspection' mindset to continual improvement," said Senior Master Sgt. Danica Sancic, 927 ARW IG NCO in charge. "This not only allows for continual improvement within the units, but it also leads each Airman a higher level of proficiency."

The new mindset changes the public perception of the Air Force inspection process. With this new process IG members assist units and thier members to put proper programs in place streamline compliance of Air Force regulations and standards. Broken systems are not going to be able to hide; problems will be found and fixed.

The 927 ARW IG team explained that it is tough to show your own short-falls or air your own faults with in your programs. The new process looks at 'the items in red' as a good thing, that means individuals and units are identifying where they can improve.

"You can't fix problems or learn to do them better if you hide them," said Sancic. "It is not an inspection anymore, it is a process."

According to the AFIS web site, there are five grading tiers for the new program starting with the highest rating of outstanding, then highly effective, effective, marginally effective and ineffective being the lowest.

For a unit to receive a rating of "effective," all requirements in all mission areas must be met: leaders must treat Airmen with respect and provide a healthy and safe work environment; continuous self-improvement efforts must be made; and critical programs and processes must be measured with few significant deficiencies noted.  

While the formal capstone inspection is complete, the local IG team emphasizes that this new system is a continuous process and validation happens every two years.