Inspector General maintains wing’s standards

Photo By Cpl. Scott L. Tomaszycki | The Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2 color guard gets evaluated during the Inspector General inspection on Cherry Point May 16.  

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NC, UNITED STATES

05.23.2013

Story by Cpl. Scott L. Tomaszycki 

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. - The Inspector General of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing maintains operational readiness standards throughout 50 commands. Over the course of one week, the IG personnel examine every aspect of a command’s operations to ensure the unit is ready to take the fight to the enemy and its Marines are taken care of.

Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2 received a mission capable rating by the Inspector General’s office Friday after standing the inspection last week.

“Combat and operational readiness is what we focus on,” said Terry L. Rudisill, the deputy wing inspector for 2nd MAW. “The IG is considered the eyes and ears of the commanding general. With 50 commands, he can’t get around to everybody, so that’s where the IG and my team comes into play. I’ll bring in a team of about 20 to 25 subject matter experts from the wing headquarters and we’ll do about 55 to 60 different functional area checklists.”

The inspection covers everything that impacts a unit’s operational capacity. They consider facility conditions, living conditions, safety programs, administrative proficiency, morale, sexual assault and suicide prevention programs, pilot training and everything else that makes up the unit.

It is understood that the inspecting team is there to help the squadron improve, not to punish, said Sgt. Maj. James E. Monroe, the sergeant major of VMAQ-2. It helps a unit stay focused on being mission capable and assures the commanding general that if a unit passes their inspection, it is fully ready to deploy.

Before the inspection, however, the unit makes every effort to make sure they are up to the challenge without compromising current training operations.

“To prepare for it, we sit down as a unit to make sure we understand the tabs they have for the inspection, setting dates so we can do a pre-inspection and everyone who is responsible for particular (inspection items) can get prior knowledge,” said Monroe. “We prepare, we prioritize, we make it durable, so when the inspectors come, we don’t need to worry about not making the mission at the same time.”
Rudisill said failing to meet the standards can have a negative effect on a unit’s capabilities.

“Let’s use morale and welfare as an example,” said Rudisill. “If they’re not meeting the standards, you could have Marines that are disgruntled because their (proficiency and conduct marks) are incorrectly run or their fitness reports are not run in a timely manner, and that affects the morale of the Marines.”

After the inspection, the Inspector General’s office creates a report and briefs the commanding general on the state of the examined squadron, said Rudisill. This report is part of the decision-making model the commander uses to determine which units to deploy or send to major training exercises and which may need help addressing specific areas.

“Everybody in the Marine Corps is judged and graded by standards and they have a certain standard to meet,” said Rudisill. “My job is to assist this command and this commanding officer in particular in having a successful tour. The way I do that is by providing an evaluation form to see, from the outside looking in, if all of his standards are being met.”

• Date Taken: 05.23.2013
• Date Posted: 05.23.2013 09:47
• Story ID: 107437
• Location: MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NC, US