IG checks 21 SOPS twice

by Staff Sgt. Julius Delos Reyes
50th Space Wing Public Affairs

1/9/2013 - SCHRIEVER AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- After a Consolidated Unit Inspection Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, the 21st Space Operations Squadron will undergo another CUI in January as a tenant unit at the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

The 30 SW is receiving a CUI Phase 1 and 2, as opposed to the 50th Space Wing's Phase 0. Phase 1 and 2 focuses heavily on readiness, including responses and deployments, while Phase 0 is strictly compliance.

"One of the challenges of being a geographically-separated unit is that you have to work with multiple organizations and bridge the gaps between host and parent unit activities," said Lt. Col. Michael Wulfestieg, 21 SOPS commander. "As a valued mission partner of 30 SW, we will support their inspection at whatever level necessary to prove to the IG that 30 SW can fully execute its mission and all those assigned to this base."

The AFSPC IG team is expected to focus the inspection on 30 SW's readiness and exercises and may visit 21 SOPS to observe its interactions with the wing. This includes how guidance and information from the wing is transmitted to 21 SOPS and how they work together. Individual programs will also be assessed in association with the inspections on the wing-level functional area manager.

"As with any inspection, this allows our team to focus on our programs and tighten up anything that may be lacking," said Kathryn Brady, 21 SOPS unit program coordinator. "It also gives us a chance to interact with our host base functional area managers and IG, which will strengthen our professional connections with Vandenberg."

Wulfestieg said the preparation for the last CUI is beneficial for ensuring another successful CUI because it identified areas that needed work to bring them into compliance.

The 21 SOPS began scrutinizing its programs in October 2011 in an effort to reinvigorate those that had little attention during the 2009-2011 transition effort from Onizuka Air Force Station to Vandenberg.

"Much of the initial groundwork was already complete and since we had already prepared our 50 SW programs, it was easier to flow right into our 30 SW programs," Brady said. "Anything we learned from the 50 SW CUI, we took into consideration with our 30 SW programs. Additionally, we saw what was written up against the 50 SW, so we could use those write-ups as benchmarks in preparation for this next CUI."

The squadron reviewed all the mandatory programs and host-tenant support agreements at each of its six operating locations to determine which programs fell under the authority of host bases versus the 50 SW.

"It obviously took the entire team," Wulfestieg said. "We are actually a fairly small unit, when you look at how many locations we are operating day to day. That means some individuals have anywhere from two to 10 programs they are responsible for, so teamwork was essential to make sure we worked as efficiently as possible during the inspection spin up."

The program managers at the squadron headquarters made the extra effort to consolidate status and updates for all the various locations, which simplified the lines of communication, and helped to distribute the workload across the entire team. The squadrons also partnered with 30 SW units such as communications, safety, Office of Special Investigations, security forces, IG and the 148th Space Operations Squadron to make sure the IG team reception and logistics were successfully executed.

"The 21 SOPS members at Vandenberg, and across all of our locations, have been working hard to bring programs and processes up to a high level of compliance and to maintain that standard. The 50 SW CUI results proved that we were doing extremely well," Wulfestieg said.

The commander said the 21 SOPS team made huge improvements across the board, which was noted during the 50th Network Operations Group staff assistance visit in January 2012, and showed in 50 SW CUI results.

"All of that, day to day mission operations have proceeded without missing a beat, sustaining a fantastic success rate, supporting all of our hosted organizations and missions at our sites, and ensuring access to space for 2nd Space Operations Squadron, 22nd Space Operations Squadron, all the Air Force Satellite Control Network users and ultimately the warfighters," he said. "This squadron spans half the globe, with locations 10,000 miles apart and in five different time zones. But we are an integrated team, closely synchronized to deliver operational excellence while maintaining impeccable compliance."

Detachment 2 of 21 SOPS will be part of the 36th Wing CUI at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in May, while the 21 SOPS at Vandenberg will have a cyber-readiness inspection in September.