Consolidated unit inspection underway

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Danielle Johnston
  • 442nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  Inspectors will begin arriving today for the wing's consolidated unit inspection.

Inspectors will focus on programs and files throughout the wing, such as the family care plans, civilian time cards and record management. The regular inspection will also be combined to include a health services inspection, safety program evaluation and logistics compliance assessment program.

The wing began preparing in 2011 for the inspection. Checklists were provided by higher headquarter functional units and reservists completed them to identify deficiencies within their workspaces. Deficiencies that could be corrected were addressed. For those that required more time, manning, money or additional assets, a course of action was put in place to correct the deficiencies.

"There are literally hundreds of checklist items for this inspection in the safety office alone," said Lt. Col. Patrick Murphy, 442nd Fighter Wing chief of safety. "We also have about 30 programs the inspectors will evaluate to see how effective we are throughout the wing."

After the checklists were completed and deficiencies identified, a virtual inspection was completed online and sent to the inspectors along with supporting documentation. The inspectors then had the option to provide feedback to shop chiefs prior to the in-person inspection.

"The 'virtual inspection' works great for us because we can review the inspector's comments and have time to gather more documentation by the time they arrive," Murphy said. "It allows us to counter their requests efficiently so we're more prepared for the in-person inspection, and ultimately that gives us a better chance to show them how effective some of these programs are."

Inspectors are hand-selected from the Air Force Reserve Command and other Reserve units and write the final report grading the unit inspected. The wing can receive the following grades for the inspection: Outstanding, excellent, satisfactory, marginal, and unsatisfactory.

"We've worked hard to prepare for this inspection," said Maj. Cathy Roberts, 442nd Fighter Wing CUI project officer. "Thousands of checklist questions have been answered; our programs have been scrubbed, and our processes have been re-thought. We're prepared to highlight our accomplishments and strengths, and in the end, we'll be better organized because of this inspection."

The inspector general team will outbrief the wing commander, Brig. Gen. Eric Overturf, Tuesday at 9 a.m.