18.1 The Air Force Inspection System

Purpose of the Inspection System

The Inspection System of the Department of the Air Force "provides commanders with a credible, independent assessment process with which to measure the capabilities of assigned forces." Per DAFI 90-302, its purpose is to:

1. Enable and strengthen commanders' mission effectiveness and efficiency
2. Motivate and promote military discipline
3. Improve unit performance and management excellence throughout the chain of command
4. Identify, report on, and analyze issues interfering with readiness, economy, efficiency, discipline, effectiveness, compliance, performance, and surety

Commanders at all levels are required to continuously evaluate force readiness, as well as organizational economy, efficiency, and effectiveness, and "supervisors at all levels play an integral part in this process through continual assessment of personnel, programs, and their areas of responsibility."

The Inspector General

The Inspector General (TIG) serves as the functional and force management proponent for the DAF IG system and communicates directly with the Secretary of the Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Chief of Space Operations, and all other USAF and USSF command elements on IG matters. TIG also provides guidance and oversight to the Air Force Inspection Agency and AFOSI.

The IG mission is "to independently assess and report on the discipline, readiness, economy, efficiency, and overall readiness of the DAF to the SecAF through specified inquiries, investigations, and inspections." Programs include: the Air Force Inspection System; the Complaints Resolution Program; and portions of the Insider Threat and Antiterrorism Programs.

The IG's Role

AFH 1 uses a memorable phrase: "While IGs at all levels are the 'eyes and ears' of the commander, their role is aligned to remove perceived conflicts of interest, lack of independence, or apprehension by DAF personnel with regard to the chain of command."

The primary charge: "to sustain a credible DAF IG system by ensuring the existence of responsive complaint resolutions, including investigations, characterized by objectivity, integrity, and impartiality."

Wing, Delta, and equivalent IGs specifically:

• Execute the commander's inspection program
• Validate and verify unit self-assessments
• Provide the commander an independent assessment of unit effectiveness
• Inform the commander of potential areas of concern as reflected by trends
• Function as the fact finder and honest broker in the resolution of complaints
• Educate and train commanders and the base population on their rights and responsibilities
• Help commanders prevent, detect, and correct fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement

"Fact finder and honest broker" is the phrase most likely to be reused verbatim.

IG Selection Criteria

Eligible personnel are selected as functional experts with broad contemporary experience from across the USAF. Beyond the job requirements in DAFI 90-302, selectees should:

• Possess attributes of the highest professional standards and moral character
• Demonstrate potential for future service and continued promotion
• Provide credibility for those who seek IG assistance
• Attain and hold a security clearance commensurate with IG duties
• Have no record of civil conviction except for minor offenses
• Have neither conviction by court-martial, non-judicial punishment, nor an Unfavorable Information File in the official military personnel file
• Present good military bearing and appearance

Nuclear surety inspection inspectors must additionally have prior nuclear experience or experience applicable to current systems in the respective MAJCOM.

Gatekeepers

The Air Force Inspection Scheduling Process — the "Gatekeeper" — exists to "synchronize inspection efforts to maximize unit training days available and inspection resource usage, build out year schedules, and align non-AF inspection requirements."

Gatekeepers ensure the system can inspect units independently and efficiently on behalf of the command chain and ensure a commander's priorities take precedence over non-mission essential activities of any unit or organization.

Their authority is a testable four-part list: gatekeepers may approve, disapprove, schedule, deconflict, and eliminate duplication between all inspection-type activities on behalf of their commanders.

The Three Inspection Types

The Four Major Graded Areas

These four are the single most tested list in Section 20A. Note that they map directly onto the UEI's assessment of resource management, leadership, process improvement, and mission execution — and that improving the unit is where continuous improvement appears as a major graded area, as Chapter 13 stated.

Note also the relationship among the types: the CCIP is the wing's own program; the UEI is external and evaluates the CCIP itself; and the NSI runs as a component of the UEI for nuclear-capable units.

The Unit Self-Assessment Program

"One of the primary objectives of the AFIS is to foster a culture of critical self-assessment and continuous improvement and reduce reliance on external inspection teams."

The primary purpose of the self-assessment program is "to accurately identify and report issues to the command chain in such a manner that makes Airmen feel they can safely report what's true, not what they believe their commander or IG expects them to report."

That sentence is the heart of Section 20A. It connects directly to the culture of yes in Chapter 16 — a self-assessment program where Airmen report what leadership wants to hear produces exactly the silent-endorsement failure AFH 1 warns against.

An effective USAP depends on Airmen reporting the status of compliance with directives, and when they cannot comply, reporting what constraints prevent them from doing so. Reporting the constraint, not merely the non-compliance, is what makes the data actionable.

Note the direction in the SAC definition — risk and program health travel up and down the chain, not upward only.

Reporting Inspection Findings

IGs will ensure inspection reports document inspection activity findings, including safety, surety, or issues of military discipline.

Upon completion, reports include validated data categorized as:

1. Strengths
2. Deficiencies
3. Recommended improvement areas

Three categories — an item offering only strengths and deficiencies is incomplete.

The non-duplication rule: "IGs at all levels should not duplicate deficiencies or observations which are already entered into the Inspector General Evaluation Management System (IGEMS), MICT or other self-assessment documentation or tracking methods by the inspected organization." A unit that has already self-identified and documented a problem should not have it re-reported against them — which is precisely the incentive structure that makes honest self-assessment worthwhile.