Fresno Air National Guard Base, Calif.– The144th Fighter Wing’s Midpoint Unit Effectiveness Inspection is quickly approaching, so inspectors from the Air Combat Command Inspector General’s office will be here Sept. 5 through 9 to conduct the inspections.
The UEI is part of the overall Commander’s Inspection Program, which emphasizes self-assessment. Both the UEI and the CCIP focus on four Major Graded Areas: Executing the Mission, Managing Resources, Leading People and Improving the Unit. The UEI cycle validates and verifies the CCIP for accuracy, adequacy, and relevance. It also provides an independent assessment of the four MGAs.
The UEI is an ongoing inspection that occurs every four years. The Midpoint inspection marks 24 months into the inspection cycle, and the completion of the UEI, after 48 months, is called the Capstone. During the first 12 months and between 24 and 36 months of the cycle, a virtual inspection, or a continual inspection, occurs. Once the Capstone is completed the UEI cycle begins again.
The CCIP self-assessments are based on the priorities of the wing commander at all levels. They ensure the wing, groups, squadrons, and flights are mission ready, efficient, compliant, and continually improving. To document these self-assessments, one of the tools that offices and shops use is the Management Internal Control Toolset. The MICT is a system used to report compliance and discrepancies up the chain of command. It is continually reviewed at the Major Command level. The MICT is required to be regularly updated. All items should be locked and validated before the end of each 12 month cycle.
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Elizabeth Negrete, Self-Assessment Program Manager, said, “A robust Self-Assessment Program includes many items that wing, group, and squadron commanders assess on a weekly, monthly and semiannual basis.”
A crucial element of the Unit Self-Assessment Program is the Wing Inspection Team. The WIT members are chosen by wing commanders and are Subject Matter Experts in their respective fields. They evaluate exercises and inspections with oversight from the wing Self-Assessment Program Manager and the IG office. The WIT members then submit their observations and log discrepancies into the Inspector General Evaluation Management System.
“MICT and IGEMS are mandatory parts of a SAP, but there are many other programs units use to self-assess, such as: training, readiness reporting, standardization and evaluation programs, wing exercises, quality assurance programs, and several others,” said Negrete.
Maj. Dorian Sherman, 144th FW Director of Inspections, discussed the role of the ongoing inspections. He explained that all Airman have a role in identifying deficiencies and reporting them up the chain of command as they are encountered.
“A daily evaluation should become part of our DNA. It’s something that we do every day,” said Sherman. “We should be incrementally improving. It’s about working together with other units on the base to complete the mission.”
Negrete emphasized the importance of honesty when entering items into the systems.
“It is important to embrace the ‘No.’ If we find a process that is broken, can identify it, and create a corrective action plan, then we are one step closer to a successful Self-Assessment Program.”
Negrete also reiterated that because these inspections are ongoing, the wings programs should be regularly updated and always be ready to be inspected.
“Mission Readiness is Inspection Readiness,” said Negrete.