Photo By Prudence Siebert | Inspector General of Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth Bill Foster was...... read more read more
by Tanja Vass/Special to the Fort Leavenworth Lamp
Inspector General of Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth Bill Foster was recognized as the Department of the Army Civilian (GS-9/11) Inspector General of the Year at the Worldwide Inspector General Conference May 24 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Foster has been working on Fort Leavenworth for 14 years and has amassed approximately nine years of IG experience in that time.
Foster said winning the competition was a welcome addition to the honor he felt in being invited to the IG competition in the first place.
Foster was nominated to the U.S. Training and Doctrine Command level. From there, his name was submitted to the Department of the Army IG, and he was invited to the IG competition.
The Department of the Army IG competition was conducted in March at the Pentagon where Foster competed with 41 fellow inspectors general. The competition provided IGs across the Department of the Army with an opportunity to exchange best practices and network with each other.
Foster was one of five winners who proved their comprehensive knowledge and proficiency in the IG program through a series of tasks and assessments.
“There were eight different stations, and the different stations covered the different IG functions,” Foster said.
The four IG functions include inspections, assistance, investigations, and teaching and training.
“(The primary function of the IG) is to ensure the Army is running in accordance with its Army Regulations Policy,” Foster said.
Foster said he appreciated being able to interact with other IGs, but also liked the opportunity to compete.
“The competition itself was very challenging; however, it’s rewarding at the same time,” he said.
He referenced some of the specific ways the environment of the competition challenged participants, including being asked to recall information from memory.
“We were being tested on our knowledge,” Foster said. “Normally whenever we’re given something to look at, we don’t speak unless we reference whatever regulation or whatever issue it is we’re looking at, but in the competition we were asked to do just the opposite.”
In a field that adheres so strictly to the Army Regulations Policy, IGs were kept on their toes throughout the assessments.
“That was the first time I was asked to do something and provide an answer without looking it up first, because we as IGs always have to be right before moving forward.”
Foster was formally recognized by Inspector General of the Army Lt. Gen. Donna Martin and IG Sgt. Maj. Larry Orvis Jr. at the Worldwide Inspector General Conference last month.
“It was first nice to be there and be honored like that also from the IG of the Army herself,” Foster said.
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2023 16:02 |
| Story ID: | 446537 |
| Location: | FORT LEAVENWORTH, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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