CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Each command aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune has its very own inspector general's office. From the inspector general himself all the way down, there is a qualified team of special agents, criminal investigators and auditors who ensure that the Department of Defense, its employees and those who work with the government meet the highest standards of honesty, accountability and efficiency.
Their mission is to conduct annual inspections, handle request mass, assessments, inquiries and investigations regarding fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct and mismanagement of a command's programs and operations.
However, if one can't call in to the appropriate IG office to file a complaint or give information for a particular case, what's the use?
Service members and other DOD employees aboard the base can call the hotlines and submit information anonymously. If that doesn't work, the commands themselves have a sort of check and balance system to help weed out issues.
In most cases, an IG office is considered a last resort; however there are certain issues only the IG office in a command can resolve. Despite the fact that all the IG offices technically have the same mission, there are separate offices for each of the commands and calling the correct office is the first step to seeing an issue resolved.
"Many (Marine Corps Base) Camp Lejeune personnel thought there was only one office for the (inspector general) and our office would receive most of the calls for them," said James Rohn, the operations officer with Marine Corps Installations East and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune IG office. "There's an inspector general's office for the II Marine Expeditionary Force, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 2nd Marine Division, United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, MCIEAST, Naval Hospital (Camp Lejeune) and the Training and Education Command."
Rohn said there are specific IG hotlines for each command in which the Marines, sailors and their dependents can use to identify problems that they see aboard MCB Camp Lejeune and the surrounding area.
"They still need to go through their chain of command, which is set up to resolve those issues," said Rohn. "If they believe they have gone through that chain of command and it hasn't worked out, then they can contact the IG office and try and get some resolution."
Daisy Kiley, inspector general chief with II MEF, said there is no real difference in each of the IG offices, besides the fact that each office is responsible for its own programs and operations.
"One thing all IG offices do is the Commanding General Readiness Inspections," said Kiley. "Each of the major subordinate commands are on a rotation for these inspections every couple of years. The inspection areas are called Automated Inspection Reporting System, which covers all the details of every inspect able area."
Kiley added each IG puts together inspection teams go out to the MSCs for inspection and a report is put together to let the command know where they stand.
"If there are things that need to be corrected, then they can correct them," said Kiley. "Each command has an inspection office which handles issues that fall within their commands. The 10th Marine Regiment, for example, is a 2nd Marine Divison unit so they would take care of issues pertaining to 2nd Marine Divison. If an issue is found within the II MEF Headquarters Group, 2nd ANGLICO (Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company) or 8th Communications Battalion, the II MEF IG would take care of it."
Darry L. Perkins, the operations assistant with the MCB Camp Lejeune and MCIEAST IG office, said they handle things such as domestic assault, violence or even when juveniles are involved.
Also, the MCIEAST and MCB Camp Lejeune IG office is the only office which conducts the mission of the Juvenile Disciplinary and Rehabilitation Board, which is held to informally hear cases of juvenile misconduct aboard the base.
"If the person is a military dependent, we suspend their base privileges for at least six months," said Perkins. "If they are sponsored by a service member, we issue a letter to the sponsor and make them aware that their responsible for anyone they sponsor aboard the base."
A few of the Command Inspector General web pages and hotlines are listed below:
II MEF - 451-5555
marines.mil/unit/iimef/Pages/Contact-Us/default.aspx
MCIEAST/Camp Lejeune - 451-3928
lejeune.usmc.mil/ig
TECOM - Hotline number (703) 432-1650 or
tecom.ighotline@usmc.mil
Naval Hospital - Hotline numbers 450-4154/4155
med.navy.mil/sites/nhcl/Pages/feedback.aspx
MARSOC - 440-1045/0941
marines.mil/unit/marsoc/Pages/ig/Inspector-General.aspx