442nd shows excellence in triple AFRC inspection

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Leo Brown
  • 442nd Fighter Wing public affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  It's always a little nerve-wracking waiting to see how you did on a test. But 442nd Fighter Wing Airmen are breathing a little easier now that they know the results of the August unit compliance inspection.

The five-day review, conducted by Air Force Reserve Command's Inspector General team, also included detailed looks at maintenance and medical operations, and ended with inspectors and wing commander, Col. Steve Arthur, very pleased.

"The overall big message is 'well done,'" the colonel said. "With the pace we're setting in just the one year I've been here, this inspection shows we're doing an admirable job of prioritizing what's on our plate and getting those things done."

While an operational readiness inspection tests a unit's combat readiness, a UCI ensures a wing is operating in accordance with federal laws and military standards.

"A unit compliance inspection takes a look at a wing's processes and procedures to determine whether it is operating 'by the book,'" said Col. Jon Berrie, AFRC Inspector General and UCI team chief. "There are legal and regulatory requirements that must be met for a unit to be in compliance with Congressional directives, the law, and Air Force and Department of Defense regulations, as well as regulations from other federal agencies. Our job is to ensure those laws and regulations are being followed. It's a requirement that we inspect units and make sure Air Force Reserve Command units are good stewards of taxpayers' money."

At the inspection's out-brief August 5, several Airmen were recognized as "superior performers," including Master Sgt. Jeff Caldwell, 442nd Operations Group career advisor.

"This was a very thorough inspection," he said. "They came in and looked at our programs and they dug in pretty deep. But we're ready (to fulfill our mission). That's the bottom line."

The wing's maintenance Airmen also impressed inspectors during the maintenance standardization and evaluation program review, an inspection that the AFRC inspector general Col. James Stewart described as "brutal."

"That's an accurate portrayal," Colonel Arthur said. "But when you look at it, we had the second highest MSEP score for the evaluation portion in AFRC history, and it was a 'sat' (satisfactory), so that tells you the difficulty of the inspection."

"Satisfactory" is the third tier in the MSEP's five-tier scoring range of outstanding, excellent, satisfactory, marginal and unsatisfactory.

The MSEP looked at two areas, program management and evaluation. Colonel Arthur said program management is very objective versus evaluation, which is quite subjective.

"Program management is pretty straight forward, whereas there's a lot of interpretation with evaluation performance," he said. "This is where evaluators are watching our talented maintenance people repair and maintain A-10s. They look at how they utilize technical orders, how they follow procedures. These inspectors did a very fair, accurate assessment and they showed us some areas where we can improve."

"This is very difficult to pass," Colonel Stewart said. "But this is a unit that is war-tested and you can tell in the quality of the individuals here. Another thing that stands out is how friendly and professional and courteous everyone is. Everyone seemed to be well-prepared."

With the current fast and furious operations the wing's involved in, Colonel Arthur said such inspections can be "a bitter pill to swallow" but they yield good fruit in the end.

"The reality is that every once in a while it's good to have an outside organization come look at how you operate," Colonel Arthur said. "It gives you a different perspective and that's important because when you're here day in and day out, a lot of things can become routine. It's sometimes easy to overlook the details.

"When you have a high tempo of operations, one of the first things that drops is documentation," he said. "Our tempo isn't going to let up, but this inspection is absolutely indicative of having lots of talented, experienced people. The calm that we're operating with now shows we know how to handle pressure."

Tech. Sgt. Shaun McCrea, the computer systems administrator for the maintenance group, was one of several Airmen recognized for outstanding performance at the MSEP outbrief.

"It was intense," he said. "They definitely went through with a fine-toothed comb. Sometimes you don't get the big picture, but they made suggestions and we'll go off those. I know our unit is top notch. We have people who've been doing their jobs a long time and it just goes to show what experienced, hard-working individuals who know their job can do. It just shows excellence in all we do."

"We knew it'd be tough going in," said Lt. Col. Eric Vander Linden, 442nd Maintenance Group commander. "As Colonel Arthur said, with everything we have going on, plus the gravity of this inspection, this was a major undertaking. When you look at what our people did, it speaks volumes about them and what a great job they did. With wanting to do well, to further the legacy of this wing, you look at not just our inspection history, which has been outstanding, but our deployment history, too. This is a great organization and with that comes a desire to perpetuate that legacy."

At the MSEP out-brief, Colonel Arthur had high praise for the wing's maintenance Airmen and he made an admission to them.

"You are all awesome," he said. "From day one, I knew you were absolute professionals. I don't gather you up and thank you enough, but I am the luckiest wing commander in the world to have you.

''Let's keep our focus, as we spin-up for the AEF (air expeditionary force),'' Colonel Arthur said. ''Great job."

On the medical side of the house, IG teams conducted a health service inspection, which looked at three areas, expeditionary medical operations, in-garrison medical operations and leadership.

As with the UCI and the MSEP, the HSI showed the medical squadron had some strengths and some areas needing improvement.

"Our primary mission is to have combat-ready people and combat-ready equipment," Colonel Arthur said. "When we get an opportunity to bring a team in to help us, it's a tremendous opportunity. We have a tremendous group of people in the medical squadron and I'm very proud of you, and I know General Bradley is proud of you."

A handful of medical squadron Airmen were recognized for their efforts, including Staff Sgt. Amy Cottrell, non-commissioned officer in charge of medical readiness.
"I think, as a squadron, we've tackled a huge obstacle," Sergeant Cottrell said. "I think we're going to come out of this feeling more cohesive. During the inspection, we just asked what we could do for each other."

"The main message I want to take back to headquarters is that the 442nd Fighter Wing will continue to serve this nation and the Air Force in an outstanding manner," Colonel Berrie said. "This wing's men and women are mission-focused and highly professional. I want to let Gen. (John) Bradley (AFRC commander) know that at Whiteman AFB, Mo., there exists motivated, competent and well-trained people in an A-10 wing that is ready to go to war and support our national objectives whenever and wherever they are needed."