Unity, dedication highlight Hill's success during inspection

by Micah Garbarino
75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

11/21/2014 - HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- Hill Air Force Base units received high marks after a unit effectiveness inspection wrapped up earlier this month.

The Air Force Materiel Command Inspector General team assessed missions across the base from Oct. 27 through Nov. 10, inspecting the 75th Air Base Wing, Ogden Air Logistics Complex, Life Cycle Management Center, Supply Chain Management Group, Nuclear Warfare Center and other Team Hill mission partners.

"I'm very proud of Team Hill after our recent inspection," said Col. Ron Jolly, 75th Air Base Wing and Installation commander. "We proved to the Air Force that, when it comes to getting the job done, they can 'Count on Us.'"

The inspectors graded on a five-tier scale from Outstanding, Highly Effective, Effective, Marginally Effective and Ineffective. Team Hill did "extremely well" across the board, said Timothy Gray, AFMC deputy inspector general and team lead for the inspection.

· 75 ABW including the Utah Test and Training Range was rated Highly Effective

· AFLCMC was rated Highly Effective

· AFNWC including Little-Mountain was rated Highly Effective

· Ogden ALC including the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group was rated Effective

· 748 SCMG was rated Highly Effective

· 635th Nuclear Storage Facility and those involved in handling Nuclear Weapons Related Material did well, but due to the small size was not rated

Hill units owe much of their success to teamwork. Inspectors noted that units from across the base were very tight knit and worked well together to get the job done.

"The unity was very evident, especially in bi-weekly operational reviews chaired by the air base wing commander, where more than 60 Hill mission partners came together to discuss issues and work as a team to resolve them," Gray said.

The inspectors were also impressed with the hard work and dedication of Hill AFB Airmen.

"Team Hill had many professionals at all levels of their organizations, from the shop floors to the board rooms, who were leading people, driving innovation and getting the mission done right," Gray said.

More than 100 outstanding performers were recognized by the IG team, along with 38 outstanding teams, and another six people received recognition coins from the team.

The IG team was also encouraged by the implementation of "The AFSC Way," the Air Force Sustainment Center model for doing business, which aims for continuous process improvement. They saw it in action and approved of the results.

"Where The AFSC Way has been embraced, we have seen significant improvements. Units rebounded strongly coming out of furlough, sequestration and other down-sizing initiatives," Gray said. "It's powerful to see those organizations who have embraced this actually improve efficiency while undergoing resource cuts and simultaneously expanding missions."

The AFSC Way calls for organizations to "be better tomorrow than we were today," and part of that mindset is identifying weaknesses and addressing them properly. The inspectors encouraged Team Hill to do that wholeheartedly.

"No matter how good we are, we know we have room for improvement as we strive to reach our 'Art of the Possible' goals," Jolly said. "That's what these inspections help us to see. We will continue to make our team better day by day as we execute our mission."